This article reflects on an instructor's experience of incorporating an optional assignment in a theology class wherein students are invited to learn a new athletic skill, journal while doing so, and then theologically reflect on their experience. It begins with the instructor making a case for the need to bring the body back into the classroom.…

Purpose: This article outlines the experience of conducting Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis research into the chronic illness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, an incurable condition of the gastro-intestinal tract which results in numerous physically and psychologically symptoms that are difficult to live with, by a researcher who shares the…

To reclaim Indigenous epistemologies and Indigenous ways of producing knowledge (e.g., Shahjahan, 2005b; Smith, 2013), I use a series of vignettes, short biographical reflections, photographic narratives, poetry, journal entries, and memoir to explore what curriculum as embodied lived experiences (e.g., Au et al., 2016; Gonzales, 2015; He, 2003)…

The aim of this paper is to discuss the development and evolution of particular personas adopted by researchers in the quest for rich exchanges within the social field. It analyses my role (the principal author) as a female ethnographer (and the sole female) in the world of elite male rowing. Data are drawn from personal notes, reflections and…

The authors--drawing on their varied experiences as authors and publishers of a journal and several book series--provide a historical review and consideration of peer review in publishing. They find that scholarly peer review, from the question of signed reviews to the practices of digital publications, is in the midst of change, but that at the…

In this article the authors argue that the researcher reflective journal is a critical interpretive tool for conducting educational policy analysis. The idea for this research grew from the experiences of a doctoral candidate (Ruth) in pursuit of a policy focused dissertation and a series of on-going conversations with her qualitative…

Draws from personal and professional experiences to provide a narrative perspective on journal writing. Delineates 10 reasons why journal writing can serve as a powerful adjunct to therapy, drawing on examples from journal therapy programs for inpatient psychiatric hospitals. (SR)

Submits references from a journal kept to accompany a new research project. Sheds light on the delicate relationship between life story and narrative reference. (Author/VWL)

This issue of "Stepping into the Classroom" reaches the broad ends of the spectrum of experience to showcase two authors who have worked hard to learn from personal experience and translate ideas into practice. Greg Van Nest, a veteran teacher of six years, had gone to many national conferences, but in Nashville in 2006, he came away knowing he…

Characters in children's books can help to guide readers through stories, contributing to deepened understandings of plot and themes. The authors discuss why characters become vivid and lasting in readers' minds, the ways in which students are often asked to think about characters in classroom literature study, and how students' understanding of…

Learning-in-action must be accompanied by reflection in and on action. Journals are a personal, self-consciously interactive method of communicating reflection to oneself and others, although they manifest a tension between the public and private aspects of learning-in-action. (SK)

Explores the author's experiences with freewriting. Argues that freewriting has gradually given the author a profoundly different experience of and relationship to writing. Concludes that freewriting is at the root of the author's sense of his progress in writing. (RS)

Advocates the practice of students writing journals in all of their courses. Drawing on observations of scholars like Vygotsky and Berthoff, this article discusses how the writing-to-learn movement links writing to critical thinking; spontaneous, exploratory writing enables students to create "webs of meaning" through which they can…

A new type of teacher is needed in the contemporary classroom--one who is not just a mere technician, but who can keep an open and critical mind. Today's teacher must adjust to a fast-changing reality and the demands of the surrounding world, and internalize the ever-growing flow of information while reflecting on both personal and professional…

In this article, the author talks about Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down the Bones." Over the past 20 years, she has referred to its pages whenever she needs a chapter of cheery Buddhist philosophy to soften an onslaught of editorial rejection slips. In the midst of any heady publishing success, she turns to the book to remind her that,…