Incorporating Student Logbooks into Geography Classes

I began assigning logbooks many years ago, to a special field geography class, and have since become so enamored with the idea of logs (journals, class diaries) that I now require them from all my students. In this essay my purpose is to provide encouragement and assistance for geographic educators who might wish to make logbooks a part of their teaching arsenals. Benefits to us, as teachers, can include feedback about the content and process of our courses, insights about our students, and the pure pleasure of reading what their fertile minds produce. For our students, benefits can include the chance to better their writing skills; a feeling of worth about their thoughts on geographic issues; and, perhaps, a lifelong interest in the keeping of a daily journal. Teachers should choose, from the long list of suggestions I provide here, ideas appropriate for their particular instructional setting.