Weekly Learning Logs

Overview

As students complete virtual assignments and engage in live classes, virtual schools may find it helpful to build in “checkpoints” at the end of each week to provide a snapshot of what a student accomplished that week, whether they encountered any challenges, and any takeaways or reflections they may have. My Tech High, a virtual personalized education program operating in 10 states, requires students to submit a weekly learning log, a short summary of each student’s educational activities over the course of a week, including active participation and attendance in live classes.

My Tech High requires students to submit their learning logs through their LMS at any point during the week, as long as they are completed by the following Monday before midnight. Students must complete a learning log each week to stay enrolled in the program.

Approach

Weekly learning logs can include specific questions, reflections, and/or summaries that demonstrate what a student learned or accomplished each week during synchronous and/or asynchronous learning time. Some examples of questions to include in a weekly learning log are:

• Participation: Did the student actively participate in live lessons? If not, please explain why. (Note: It is also important to clearly define how participation will be measured.)

• Summary: What did the student work on and accomplish this week?

• Highlights: Were there any specific highlights or takeaways from this week’s work?

• Competencies: Did the student work on developing any individual competencies (e.g., character traits or goals defined by the school)?

• Questions/Feedback: Does the student have any questions or feedback they would like to share with their teacher?

For younger students, parents or caregivers can assist in submitting these weekly learning logs. Schools can also offer multiple modalities for students to complete learning logs to increase accessibility and equity, such as through Google Forms, over video, in a family blog/digital journal, or in a text message.