Examples, Templates, Prompts, and Exercises
Examples of “A Summary of a Learning Journey”
Here are a few examples of what a Summary of a Learning Journey could look like. This document would be your official transcript. Obviously the details of your own Summary will be specific to you.
OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT
SUMMARY OF A LEARNING JOURNEY
STUDENT: First_Name Middle_Initial Last_Name
DATE OF BIRTH: Month, Day, Year
EXPECTED DATE OF GRADUATION: Month Year
OVERVIEW
During my high school years I made a decision to go on a learning journey. The goal of my learning journey was to discover what the world had to offer and to find my place in it. My journey allowed me to make progress towards autonomy, competence, confidence, and connection. Each activity on a my learning journey, whether a class, a workshop, a self-directed project, a rabbit hole research, an internship, or a self-guided field trip is referred to below as a Learning Opportunity. Every Learning Opportunity represents a choice I made about what to learn, how to learn it, and who to learn it with. The requirement I gave myself was to Explore Widely and Dive Deeply.
HIGHLIGHTS
My overall goal during my Learning Journey was to discover what the world had to offer and to find a place where I could use my strengths and passions. This process wasn’t always straight forward or predictable. I have always been interested in making art. I spent a lot of time during my high school years developing art techniques through formal and informal classes and through self-directed practice. I am not surprised that I still have a passion and interest in creating visual art. What surprised me was how interested I would become in history and different cultures. I came to realize that the sensibilities of an artist can go far beyond artistic techniques.
After a visit to a group of New York art museums, I returned to my community and designed a Learning Opportunity that involved me interviewing local working artists. This challenged me to get out of my comfort zone to reach out, schedule, and conduct interviews. What I learned from them went beyond my expectations. I expected to learn about picking an art school or learning the craft, instead I had conversations with interesting human beings who had a variety of life experiences and a variety of approaches to their work.
Combining this Learning Opportunity with learning about Japanese culture, history, and language, exploring the painful histories of genocide, and even a local history project about an old building in my community opened up my thinking about the world. I still see myself as “Thinking like an artist” but now my conception of what that means has become much larger.
SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
The following Learning Opportunities were self-designed and self-directed. The list includes independent research and projects, group projects with friends, travel and field trips with friends and family.
ACT Prep - small group workshop
Book Club - small group discussion
Afro Futurism - research project
League of Nations - small group role playing game
World History - small group reading and discussion
American Presidential History - research project
Articles of Impeachment - research project
Holocaust and Genocide History - research project
Holocaust Museum Visit - travel/field trip
Japan History and Culture - research project
NYC Art Museum Tour - travel/field trips
21st Century American Art - research project
Kitchen Chemistry - hands-on research and experiments
Film Festival - small group film making challenge project
Creative Writing - small group workshop
Fear of Public Speaking - small group workshop to overcome our fear of public speaking
PreAlgebra - self-paced, online
Algebra - self-paced, online
Geometry - self-paced, online
Sandwich Squad - small group service project to benefit community shelter
Tennis - small group activity
SCHOOL-BASED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
I signed up for courses at my local high school to experience learning in a classroom setting and to spend some time with friends.
American History - Central High School
Photography - Central High School
Theatre - Central High School
Journalism - Central High School
COMMUNITY-BASED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
The following learning opportunities took place in my local community.
Shrek Jr - Community Theatre Production
Community Garden - volunteer service project
Interviews with Working Artists - research interviews with working artists in my community
Drawing Workshop - community class at the Springfield Art Museum
Painting Workshop - community class at the Springfield Art Museum
Aquarium Internship - summer internship with the Springfield Aquarium
Concession Worker - summer job with the parks department
History of 893 Oak Avenue - local history research project
COLLEGE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
As part of my overall learning journey I decided to challenge myself with college level coursework. This challenge allowed me to stretch my academic skills and also test whether learning in a college classroom fit my overall goals. I completed the following Learning Opportunities.
Japanese 1 - Ozarks Technical Community College, Grade A
Japanese 2 - Ozarks Technical Community College, Grade A
American Literature - Ozarks Technical Community College, Grade B
Biology 1 - Ozarks Technical Community College, Grade A
CURRENT AND FUTURE LEARNING PLAN
The following Learning Opportunities are ongoing or planned for the last few months of my high school learning journey.
Japanese 3 - Ozarks Technical Community College, currently enrolled
College Algebra - Ozarks Technical Community College, currently enrolled
Japanese 4 - Ozarks Technical Community College, planned for spring 2023
Illustration 1 - Ozarks Technical Community College, planned for spring 2023
Book Club - Small group reading discussion. Ongoing
Community Garden - Volunteer Service Project. Ongoing
Art Practice - Self-directed art and illustration. Ongoing
GRADUATION
I expect to complete my high school learning journey by May 2023 and fulfill my stated goal of being prepared for entry into a four year college. I am ready for the challenge of continuing to work towards autonomy, competence, confidence, and connection at the college level.
In the next example, the same information is organized a little bit differently. Instead of organizing the Learning Opportunities around their method and location, the information is organized around traditional subject areas like Science, Math, and Language Arts.
The way you organize your "Summary of a Learning Journey" is up to you. There are not right or wrong answers. Just remember it is a summary. It should be somewhat short and easy to digest but you should use it to tell your story in a way that makes sense for you.
OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT
SUMMARY OF A LEARNING JOURNEY
STUDENT: First_Name Middle_Initial Last_Name
DATE OF BIRTH: Month, Day, Year
EXPECTED DATE OF GRADUATION: Month Year
OVERVIEW
During my high school years I made a decision to go on a learning journey. The goal of my learning journey was to discover what the world had to offer and to find my place in it. My journey allowed me to make progress towards autonomy, competence, confidence, and connection. Each activity on a my learning journey, whether a class, a workshop, a self-directed project, a rabbit hole research, an internship, or a self-guided field trip is referred to below as a Learning Opportunity. Every Learning Opportunity represents a choice I made about what to learn, how to learn it, and who to learn it with. The requirement I gave myself was to Explore Widely and Dive Deeply.
HIGHLIGHTS
My overall goal during my Learning Journey was to discover what the world had to offer and to find a place where I could use my strengths and passions. This process wasn’t always straight forward or predictable. I have always been interested in making art. I spent a lot of time during my high school years developing art techniques through formal and informal classes and through self-directed practice. I am not surprised that I still have a passion and interest in creating visual art. What surprised me was how interested I would become in history and different cultures. I came to realize that the sensibilities of an artist can go far beyond artistic techniques.
After a visit to a group of New York art museums, I returned to my community and designed a Learning Opportunity that involved me interviewing local working artists. This challenged me to get out of my comfort zone to reach out, schedule, and conduct interviews. What I learned from them went beyond my expectations. I expected to learn about picking an art school or learning the craft, instead I had conversations with interesting human beings who had a variety of life experiences and a variety of approaches to their work.
Combining this Learning Opportunity with learning about Japanese culture, history, and language, exploring the painful histories of genocide, and even a local history project about an old building in my community opened up my thinking about the world. I still see myself as “Thinking like an artist” but now my conception of what that means has become much larger.
SCIENCE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Kitchen Chemistry - hands-on research and experiments
Biology 1 - Ozarks Technical Community College, Grade A
MATH LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
PreAlgebra - self-paced, online
Algebra - self-paced, online
Geometry - self-paced, online
College Algebra - Ozarks Technical Community College, currently enrolled
LANGUAGE ARTS LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Book Club - small group discussion
Creative Writing - small group workshop
Fear of Public Speaking - small group workshop to overcome our fear of public speaking
Journalism - Central High School
American Literature - Ozarks Technical Community College, Grade B
SOCIAL STUDIES LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
League of Nations - small group role playing game
World History - small group reading and discussion
American Presidential History - research project
Articles of Impeachment - research project
Holocaust and Genocide History - research project
Holocaust Museum Visit - travel/field trip
Japan History and Culture - research project
American History - Central High School
History of 893 Oak Avenue - local history research project
ARTS LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Afro Futurism - research project
NYC Art Museum Tour - travel/field trips
21st Century American Art - research project
Film Festival - small group film making challenge project
Photography - Central High School
Theatre - Central High School
Shrek Jr - Community Theatre Production
Interviews with Working Artists - research interviews with working artists in my community
Drawing Workshop - community class at the Springfield Art Museum
Painting Workshop - community class at the Springfield Art Museum
FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Japanese 1 - Ozarks Technical Community College, Grade A
Japanese 2 - Ozarks Technical Community College, Grade A
Japanese 3 - Ozarks Technical Community College, currently enrolled
Japanese 4 - Ozarks Technical Community College, planned for spring 2023
OTHER LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
ACT Prep - small group workshop
Sandwich Squad - small group service project to benefit community shelter
Tennis - small group activity
Community Garden - volunteer service project
Aquarium Internship - summer internship with the Springfield Aquarium
Concession Worker - summer job with the parks department
CURRENT AND FUTURE LEARNING PLAN
The following Learning Opportunities are ongoing or planned for the last few months of my high school learning journey.
Japanese 3 - Ozarks Technical Community College, currently enrolled
College Algebra - Ozarks Technical Community College, currently enrolled
Japanese 4 - Ozarks Technical Community College, planned for spring 2023
Illustration 1 - Ozarks Technical Community College, planned for spring 2023
Book Club - Small group reading discussion. Ongoing
Community Garden - Volunteer Service Project. Ongoing
Art Practice - Self-directed art and illustration. Ongoing
GRADUATION
I expect to complete my high school learning journey by May 2023 and fulfill my stated goal of being prepared for entry into a four year college. I am ready for the challenge of continuing to work towards autonomy, competence, confidence, and connection at the college level.
If you felt it was necessary, you could include the total number of hours spent per Learning Opportunity or per subject area. You could even convert those total hours to the equivalent in credit hours. In some cases, it might be important to do those translations.
Just be careful, if you go to great lengths to try and make your Learning Journey read like a traditional transcript you run the risk of losing what is unique and valuable about your journey. As far as college admissions go, most colleges will be glad to receive a transcript that tells a more complete and interesting story about you. Don’t lose that advantage by trying to sound like everyone else. Lean into the uniqueness of your Learning Journey and you will also be leaning into your own uniqueness.
Finding Existing Learning Opportunities
Making Your Own Learning Opportunities
Making Sure You Explore Widely
How to Dive Deeply
Examples of Learning Opportunities
Interviewing as a Learning Opportunity
Telling Your Story for College Admissions
Examples of A Summary of a Learning Journey