LibGuides: EDU 505: Leadership: Theory &amp; Practice: Reflective Writing Resources

Resources for the Writing a Leadership Journal

The practice of keeping a leadership journal can help students connect the course readings with their own experiences, and this reading & writing strategy might just develop into a life-long habit that can inform an educational leader's professional life as well.

To the right is a list of books available from Ikeda Library on journal and reflective writing. Below are links to external resources with ideas and examples for how to keep a journal. Each page is followed by a description of the resource and how it might be useful for your own journal writing. The first five links relate to more academic settings; the latter five links come from webpages maintained by practitioners and professionals.

Examples of Reflective Writing
This page by The Learning Centre at The University of New South Wales lists different kinds of reflective writing with examples. Each of the different examples will be pertinent to your educational journey, but the Learning Journal outline will probably be the most helpful for your leadership journal.
Online Tutorial: Reflective Journal
This is a step-by-step guide to writing a reflective journal, from describing the context to integrating theory. It comes from the RMIT University Learning Lab. Use the tabs to work through the tutorial, and check out the other resources available by clicking on links on the right hand side of the screen.
Reflective Writing
This page maintained by the Queensland University of Technology includes a chart of the 4Rs model of reflective writing and explains how to use it.
Reflective Writing
This page maintained by Deakin University offers helpful phrases for getting reflective writing started.
Reflection Journals
This page describes a journal writing requirement for a volunteer program at the University of Arlington, and reflects the experiential learning aspect of the leadership journal. You will find useful suggestions for what to write under "The Three Levels of Reflection" heading.
Reflective Thinking and Writing
This page from Solent University has suggestions for writing reflectively and includes activities and tools. The most helpful feature might be the two models they discuss.
Journaling
This article by Henna Inam, at the website Transformational Leadership: Coaching and Leadership Development, describes how journaling can be used as part of a professional's daily routine. She discusses the benefits that journaling can have as well.
The Value of Keeping a Leadership Journal
This blog post by Chuck Hebert, Vice President of Professional Services for Taleo, was first published on 4-1-1 Management. It describes the whys and hows of keeping and using a leadership journal. This PDF of the post was created by the School of Community and Social Justice Centre for Leadership at the Justice Institute of British Columbia.
Want to Be an Outstanding Leader? Keep a Journal
This article by Nancy J. Adler from the Harvard Business Review touches on the research about leadership and reflection and offers strategies for making the most of keeping a journal.
Why Journaling Makes Better Leaders
This blog post by Bruce Rhoades describes the benefits journaling can bring to different aspects of a leader's job: Organization; Decision Making; Demeanor, Attitude and Judgment; and Intentions.

Materials on Journal and Reflective Writing @ Ikeda Library

The Art of Educational Leadership by Fenwick W. English
Call Number: LB2805 .E638 2008
ISBN: 9781412957410
Publication Date: 2007-08-24
Journal Keeping by Dannelle D. Stevens; Joanne E. Cooper
Call Number: PE1404.S827 2009eb
ISBN: 1441658637
Publication Date: 2009
Theory into Practice by Timothy S. O'Connell
Call Number: PN4390.O28 2013eb
ISBN: 9781623961527
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Transformation Through Journal Writing by Jane Wood
Call Number: BF697.5.S43 W66 2013
ISBN: 0857006908
Publication Date: 2012-11-15