Create reflective journals using the discussion tool

Reflective journals are a valuable educational tool. They often consist of a series of entries that act as a personal record of students’ learning. Reflective journals allow students to explore and articulate their thoughts and demonstrate understanding. This promotes critical thinking and facilitates the application of theoretical knowledge to real-world situations.

When used thoughtfully, reflective journals can also contribute to a culture of academic integrity. They emphasise personal growth, authentic engagement, and the development of students' ideas and insights.

To create reflective journals in Brightspace, you use the Groups and Discussions tools.

To do this, you need to:

  1. Create groups consisting of individual students.
  2. Create a discussion forum.
  3. Create one or more topics within the forum.
  4. Provide each student with their own discussion thread, which they can use to reflect on their learning.
  5. If assessable, add points to the discussion thread.
  6. If assessable, mark the students’ submissions.

to come

Forum: Think of the forum as the space or container where discussions happen. It is like a big room where people can talk about various topics.

Topic: Now, imagine each specific conversation or subject happening within that big room. Each of these specific conversations is like a topic. So, a forum is a big room, and each topic is a separate discussion within that room.

Thread: A thread is like an individual message or post within a specific topic. Think of it as a single comment made by a participant in that discussion.

The key here is that we are going to create private threads. So that comments or posts made by students cannot be read by any other student.

Before creating your Reflective Journal, you will need to consider the following:

  • How many journal entries are expected from students.
  • What you intend students will do for each journal entry.
  • How students will find out what is expected of them.
  • How marking and feedback will operate. For example, will you provide ongoing feedback to students? Will you mark each response separately? Will you mark students’ Reflective Journal as a whole?
  • What standards and academic integrity expectations apply.
  • Equity, accessibility, and inclusion.

Every Charles Sturt subject is unique, and there's no singular 'right' way to create a Reflective Journal. Interested in discussing your subject further with an Educational Designer? Log a Service Request.

How to:

  1. Click on the Subject Admin menu in the subject navigation bar.
  2. Click Groups.
  3. Click New Category.
  4. Enter a Category Name.

    It is important to be specific here. If the reflective journal has assessment weighting, use the following naming conventions:

    -  Cohort (BD, WI, PTI, etc.)
    -  Assessment number (as per the Subject Outline schedule – 1, 2, etc.)
    -  Title
    -  Assignment type (in brackets – if not identified in the title)

    For example: ‘BD: 1 – Academic Process (Reflective Journal)’

  5. Under Enrolment Type, click Single user, member-specific groups from the drop-down menu.
  6. Under Restrict Enrolments To, click on the Section e.g. Bathurst Campus Distance Mode. This step is not necessary if your site has only a single cohort.
  7. Under Additional Options, select Set up discussion areas.
  8. Click the New Forum link.
  9. Enter a Title and click Save.

    Your forum title should be the same title used for the group above.

  10. Enter a Description for the Forum. The description should outline the primary purpose of the reflective journal.
  11. Select Create new topic.
  12. Click Save.

    You have now created groups consisting of individual students and a Discussion Forum, which will be the location of your reflective journal.

    Now you need to Create Restricted Topics to provide students with their own discussion thread.
  13. Select Create one topic threads separated by group.
  14. Enter a Title for the Topic. The topic title should succinctly reflect the purpose of the topic.
  15. Enter a Description for the Topic. The description should be the specific instructions you want students to follow.
  16. Click Create and Next.
  17. Click the Done button.
  1. Click on the Communication expanding menu in the subject navigation bar.
  2. Click Discussions.
  3. Find the Forum and Topic you just created.
  4. The topic you have just created should have an icon to show Group and Section Restrictions have been applied. This means that the topic is linked to the individual groups you have set up for each student. Because the setting "Threads separated by group" has been applied, each student will only see the thread that has been created for them individually.

If the reflective journal has assessment weighting, you will need to link the individual discussion thread to My Grades.

  1. Click on the Communication expanding menu in the subject navigation bar.
  2. Click Discussions.
  3. Find the Forum and Topic you just created.
  4. Click the drop-down menu next to the topic title and click Edit Topic.
  5. Under Grade Out Of, enter the points.
  6. Click In Grade Book and click Edit or Link to Existing.
  7. Select Link to an existing grade item. The drop-down menu lists all the grade items accessible to you in My Grades, corresponding to the assessment tasks in the Subject Outline.
  8. Choose the grade item the assignment should be linked to.
  9. Click OK.
  10. To set availability dates from the Edit Topic screen, expand Availability Dates and Conditions in the accordion on the right-hand side.
  11. You can choose a start and end date and time. By default, times are set to 12.01 am on the start date and 11.59 pm on the end date.
  12. Add a rubric to the discussion topic. See Add a rubric to a discussion in Create Rubrics.

If you want students to respond to a range of prompts, you should create additional topics under the same forum.

  1. Click on the Communication expanding menu in the subject navigation bar.
  2. Click Discussions.
  3. Find the Forum.
  4. Click the drop-down menu next to the Forum title and click Add Topic.
  5. Enter a Title for the Topic.
  6. Enter a Description for the Topic. The description should be the specific instructions you want students to follow.
  7. Under Grade Out Of, enter the points.
  8. Click In Grade Book and click Edit or Link to Existing.
  9. Select Link to an existing grade item. The drop-down menu lists all the grade items accessible to you in My Grades, corresponding to the assessment tasks in the Subject Outline.
  10. Choose the grade item the assignment should be linked to.
  11. Click OK.
  12. Expand Availability Dates and Conditions in the accordion on the right-hand side.
  13. Click Manage Restrictions.
  14. Select Restrict topic and separate the threads.
  15. Under Group Category or Section, select your group from the drop-down menu.
  16. Click Add.
  17. To set availability dates from the Edit Topic screen, expand Availability Dates and Conditions in the accordion on the right-hand side.
  18. You can choose a start and end date and time. By default, times are set to 12.01 am on the start date and 11.59 pm on the end date.
  19. Add a rubric to the discussion topic. See Add a rubric to a discussion in Create Rubrics.

If the reflective journal has assessment weighting, you will need to mark the student submissions.

  1. Click on the Communication expanding menu in the subject navigation bar.
  2. Click Discussions.
  3. Find the Forum and Topic you want to mark.
  4. Click the drop-down menu next to the topic title and click Assess Topic.
  5. Click on Topic Score under the student's name to view and mark their submission.

Read the article on Marking Discussions if you would like some more information.

After marking and publishing, the student can still edit their thread. Changes are timestamped.

This page may be updated at any time. If you print it, you could miss future changes. Please check this page regularly for the latest updates.