Math Journal, a great learning tool for the students! 

A math journal is where every student gets the opportunity to articulate their math knowledge to their teacher, internally to themselves, and their classmates. Social interaction happens to take place as they read journal entries to the whole class, talk about their learning and listen to others share different levels of mathematical reasoning. Thoughts of students can be extended with the help of the math journals and make sense of problems that can sometimes leave them confused or frustrated.

When students write in journals, they scrutinize, express, and keep track of their analysis, which is especially encouraging and useful when ideas are too complex to keep in their heads. By reading their journals, you can estimate their progress and recognize their strengths and needs.

Why should you start journaling?

A math journal offers opportunities for a student to explore and express ideas as solutions evolve. Journaling leads to flexible thinking and encourages the use of precise mathematical vocabulary in learners.

Here are some fundamental reasons to start journaling:

• Active engagement in learning: Every teacher can recognise the challenge of keeping their students focused throughout a lesson. Journaling helps them focus on their learning and take ownership of it. Students start making connections across mathematical ideas, see and use a variety of strategies, monitor and reflect on processes, and understand and use multiple representations. This keeps them engaged, as they are not performing repetitive tasks again and again. Instead, they’ll gain a deep understanding of concepts by recording their learning in their own words.

• Problem Solving: A student might work through a mathematical problem and write about the strategy. In retrospect, the student might analyse how that solution worked, consider other viewpoints, and make suggestions for tackling problems that might arise in future. Sharing solutions with other students or sharing journal entries can be less intimidating than impromptu explanations in front of the whole class. They can reference earlier work in the journal and revisit similar tasks to personalise and refine their knowledge of problem-solving.

• Development of higher-level thinking: Math journals sometimes reveal unplanned learning insights. An early elementary child who is working on additional problems may reveal that they know the fundamentals of multiplication as they illustrate several groups of the same number of items.

• Teacher’s analysis of a student’s strengths and needs: Journals help learners in communicating their knowledge about Mathematics, and how they feel about the learning ambience they are in. That’s beneficial not only for students but also for teachers! By reading journals, a teacher can easily evaluate his/her learners’ progress and recognise their strengths and weaknesses. There are many ways to encourage learners to journal: problem-solving, active learning, language experience or group discussion. Whatever method you use, you’ll start to see that journaling builds a strong foundation for mastering maths.

• Discussion amongst students: You can give all students the same assignment and then use it for a class discussion. Ask them to describe what they did in an activity, rather than having them describe how they thought about solving a problem. Learners respond well to opportunities to be expressive and creative, and journaling seems to help deepen their understanding.

What are the characteristics of a good Math Journal?

• Provides the opportunity for students to learn by moving beyond what they already know when answering a question, and for the teacher to learn about each student from their attempt
• Has more than one solution or a variety of possible solution paths that range from simple to complex
• Provides opportunities for students to illustrate their mathematical ideas using models and written language
• Provides opportunities for students to justify their reasoning and analyse the reasoning of others
• Has clear and to the point directions

What are the Types of Learning Journals?

1. Question Journal: This type of journal is focused on inquiry–the asking and clarification of questions.
2. Connecting Journal: A Connecting Journal is a learning journal that frames writing through the connections between things.
3. Visualization Journal: A type of learning journal that promotes specific and sharp visualization of learning, knowledge, etc. 
4. Private Journal: A type of learning journal that is private only to the student, and only requires that the student write something about learning. It can be about their learning experience, or their confidence or other emotion during/after the lesson.
5. Key Phrase Journal: In this type of journal, students are asked to combine terms and key phrases within their journal entries.
6. Evaluative Journal: Evaluative Journal asks children why they chose a method and how helpful it was to solve the problem. Children must justify the choices that they’ve made.
7. Creative Journal: Creative Journal lets children develop models and stories to show their understanding.
8. Descriptive Journal: Descriptive Journal asks students to describe the methods they have used or explain a concept. Descriptive journaling lets you see if learners have misconceptions or gaps in their understanding.
9. Investigative Journal: In this type of journal, the children can explore a problem and record their findings.
10. Formative Journal: This type of journal provides an opportunity for learners to reflect on what they found challenging and why. Formative journals are a great way to assess and record progress.

Key Takeaways: Why are Math Journals important?

The Math Journal is a great learning tool for all the students. This is why we think it’s good practice to incorporate journal writing in Math class. When children write in journals, they examine, convey, and keep track of their reasoning, which is very much useful when ideas are too complex to keep in their heads. The important thing is to ensure that students are being offered regular opportunities throughout the year to represent their mathematical thinking in ways which are sensible to them. By reading their journals, you can evaluate their progress and recognize their strengths and needs.

Also published on Medium.