Field Notes or Professional Journal?

What have I been writing these past three weeks? According to Falk and Blumenreich in The Power of Questions, field notes are detailed observations of what happens in the classroom. (p. 92) and a professional journal contains the thoughts, questions, and ideas of the writer that may include insight about what happens in and out of the classroom.  (p. 91) Our assignment is to write daily “field notes” and yes, I have been recording observations from my work as a teacher, but it seems to me I am also writing a professional journal.  My writings are a mix of both types of journaling:  observational detail and reflections, questions, and brainstorming.  It is difficult to stick strictly to the field notes format because I am not yet in a steady class of my own.  Adult ESL Education is a new career for me.  I started volunteering at Dorcas International Institute of RI, working with adult immigrants and refugees in ESL classes three and a half years ago.  Three years ago, I started the RIC Master of education program in Teaching English as a Second Language. Two and a half years ago I become a substitute teacher in addition to continuing to volunteer in classrooms and tutoring students.   So, I am a student part time, a teacher part time and a volunteer part time.  Every week is different for me and every day of the week I am in a different setting.  My field notes have turned out to be just as variable as my weeks are.  I decided to use different colored sticky notes to designate the different settings my notes are based on.  The categories are:

1.      Substitute teaching for Dorcas,

2.      Volunteering at Dorcas (includes volunteering as classroom assistant, conversation facilitating for class break-out group, and tutoring individual or small groups of students),

3.      Working in Adult Basic Education (ABE/GED) for the Department of Corrections (DOC) at the Adult Correctional Institute (ACI) (so far this includes two days as volunteer, one job interview, two half days as hired substitute teacher), and

4.      Working and reflecting on my coursework for FNED 547: Introduction to Classroom Research.

What I have learned from the process?  IT IS USEFUL.  I have always written extensive notes to the teachers for whom I substitute.  I give them great detail about what topics we covered and what activities we did and if any particular questions, confusions or issues came up and also specifics about students themselves if any events stood out.  But to now write extensive notes for myself helps me in many ways.  Writing in my field notes/journal allows me to remember more about what activities worked, what didn’t, and how I should adapt them in the future.  Writing allows me to brainstorm for future lessons and follow-up for individuals and classes I will work with again.  Writing causes me to reflect on and give expression to my personal philosophies, attitudes, and perspectives about teaching practices and strategies.  It allows me to be reflective and identify what I believe is good pedagogy.

What I have realized about my own pedagogy? I value getting to know my students, using authentic materials, translanguaging, using props, costumes, and realia for context, including writing exercises, and sticking with a grammatic theme or vocabulary theme for a long time while varying the activities (rather than jumping for one theme to another too quickly).  Methods I dislike include word searches, current adult ESL and ABE text books, handouts with one-word blanks, cloze sentences, and multiple choice, and using child-oriented videos and materials for adults.

How can I use the field note/journaling process more productively?  I need to REREAD my notes more regularly.  I think I need a way to mark or draw attention to my notes I have labeled “action” or perhaps have a separate “to do list” page where I also transcribe my “action” items, for quick reference. 

How will my field notes fit into my research project? I had thought that some of the students I tutor and write about in my field notes would be students I interview for my research project, but I realize it is past students who are more appropriate for my research questions.  The classes I have subbed for so far are beginning level ESL and therefore not directly connected to my research questions about intermediate level students stalled in their progress towards advanced level proficiency.  Some of my journaling does pertain to the course work I am doing including the research project in the planning and organizational aspects. Thus far it proves to not be a source of data for the project.  But the lessons about process make me think that I am learning skills of journaling that will help me in my future endeavors in classroom research.