Miguel Licona

1.  What class are you using TJP in?

I have used TJP in the block I classes for secondary pre-service teachers. It has been used by a group of four classes as a single source writing, reflection and communication space.  I have also used it in stand-alone science education classes.

2. What are some of the goals/purposes for the class?

One of the goals for using TJP in our classes is to allow students to  "process" the tremendous amount of information and ideas that they encounter in their short time with us during a semester where they meet face to face with each other and the professor only 15 or so times.  It allows us to extend the conversations and feedback to levels that cannot otherwise be done with traditional time constrained classes.

3. How are you using it in the class? A specific exercise.

Four professors, from different discipline areas, post a single weekly question that requires students to provide some form of integrated response.  The journal serves as a single yet common source for all professors involved.  Students only have to keep one journal, which reduces the activity load on them.  We ask them to use their class readings and activities to respond in the first column.  The second column is used to support their response with applications in their field placement (to the issue or concept in the question).  The final column is used for students to dialogue with one another concerning the responses in the previous columns.  Professors are assigned one forth of the clusters to read and respond to for several weeks and then they rotate in order to respond to all students at some time during the semester.  This also lessens the grading load for the professors.

4. What percentage of the grade do you give to the journal and why?

We have agreed to count the journal as 20% of the grade for each class.  The grade is determined by the four professors during a meeting where scores are shared.

5. How does TJP help fulfill those goals?

I think I responded to this when I said it allows for students to address the needs of four classes while professors share the responsibility for questions, curriculum integration, scoring and assigning a grade from four rather than one professor. It is less likely a student will complain if four professors have provided a grade based on consensus.

6. What special insights would you like to share with a reader/fellow teacher?  That is, any special way that TJP has helped or opened the class up.

This has caused/allowed professors to meet and collaborate in a way that stand-alone courses cannot.  We have pushed a model of curriculum integration that values reflective practice.  Each semester we modify and improve the integration of journaling and I feel it has made a positive difference for the reasons already stated.  Students used to write in four separate notebook type journals and each of us had to cart them around in boxes, read and respond to them.