Zone Notebooks: learner journals for processing, assessment, and sharing¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Zone Notebooks are learner-maintained journals built into the curriculum. "Scattered throughout the curriculum are questions that help youth think about their experiences," which youth answer in their notebooks along with data sheets and other materials produced during the riparian adventure. Learners provide their own notebooks and are encouraged to personalize them with artwork, articles, photos, collages, and poems. The notebooks serve three functions: helping participants process experiences as they go, helping leaders evaluate whether the group understands the material, and helping youth tell others what their group learned and accomplished.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Learners provide their own notebooks
• Leaders set aside a few minutes during each unit for notebook responses

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• youth in grades 5-8

Target Learning Goals¶

• reflection on inquiry experiences
• communication of learning to others

Claims¶

Related Elements¶

• Holding onto the GREEN Zone curriculum: an Earth Science riparian education program for grades 5-8

Examples¶

• Assess youth learning through journals, observation, discussion, and applied reflection products

Key Sources¶

• Reilly, K., Wooster, B., Andrews, E., Bourdeau, V., Conley, R., & Thompson, M. (2008). Holding onto the GREEN Zone Leader Guide: A Youth Program for the Study and Stewardship of Community Riparian Areas. Bureau of Land Management. https://www.blm.gov/education