Critical Incident Journal

This journal includes a set of prompts that ask students to consider their thoughts and reactions and articulate the action they plan to take in the future: Describe a significant event that occurred as part of the community experience. Why was this event significant to you? What did you learn from this experience? How will this incident influence your future behavior? What new action steps will you take next time?

Highlighted Journal

Before students submit their reflective journal, they reread personal entries and, using a highlighter, mark sections of the journal that directly relate to concepts and terms discussed in the text or in class. This makes it easier for both the student and the instructor to identify the academic connections made during the reflection process.

Double-entry Journal

Students describe their personal thoughts and reactions to the service experience on the left page of the journal, and write about key issues from class discussion or readings on the right page of the journal. Students then draw arrows indicating relationships between their personal experience and course content.

Three-part Journal

Each page of the weekly journal entry is divided into thirds; description, analysis, application. In the top section, students describe some aspect of the community experience. In the middle section, students analyze how course content relates to the community experience. And in the application section students comment on how the experience and course content can be applied to their personal or professional life.

Key-phrase Journal

The instructor provides a list of terms and key phrases at the beginning of the semester for students to include in journal entries. Evaluation is based on the use and demonstrated understanding and application of the term.