Journal

Journals Must Address the Following Guidelines:

Capstone Process Journal Guidelines

Your journal is a reflection of your progress in problem solving. It also documents all the work you have accomplished for your project. It should be neat and organized. All journals must be typed during Monday's class and submitted at the end of class. Journal entries should not summarize your activities in the classroom. You are required to complete a minimum of 10 Journal entries of at least 200 words are required.

All journals are due at the end of class on Monday - No grade is given for journals submitted after the class they are due. You must complete any missed journal as part of your graduation requirement.

A minimum of 10 journals are required for your capstone project.

The following are guidelines for what your journal needs to include and what it should look like when it is finished.

Page Setup:

Name
Date
Course
Period
Core Question
Journal Number

Template

Assessment

Specific criteria to include in each of your entries:

• Timeline

• Starting dates for each activity

• Estimated date of completion

• Evidence to show that each work activity has been successfully completed

• Reflection that shows evidence of problem solving.

To document your completion adequately, you must include some entries that reflect the following:

• Resources to help you complete the activity (materials, individuals to contact, locations to visit)

• Planned steps (what you did, what you saw, what you heard)

• Modifications you made to your original plan

• Evidence that demonstrates successful completion of activity

• Specific standards and/or GSE's addressed

A non-example would be:

September 16, 1999

I met my mentor and we talked about my project. Worked on my proposal. Made a journal entry.

Total hours: 5

An example of an appropriate journal entry:

September 16, 2004

Today, I met with my mentor for the first time for about an hour. My mentor is a mechanic who specializes in Ford engines. I told him about my plan to rebuild my '67 Mustang engine and put it in my car. I told him what I think the problems are, which are that the block is cracked, the engine needs new heads and pistons, and the carburetor is damaged and needs new parts. My mentor agreed to come take a look at the engine next week on Wednesday so we can determine if there is anything else that is wrong and figure out approximately how much this is going to cost me. The second hour I spent working on my proposal. I'm having trouble deciding how I am going to research engines and exactly what I need to learn to complete this project. I also typed my overview so I can show it to my teacher tomorrow. I hope she approves it! All of my work today related to Applied Learning 1b — I'm improving a system (my car engine).

(Journal examples adapted from Mountlake Terrace High School Journal Guidelines)