Watch yourself grow all the way up!
MindLog is a sophisticated learning tool that supports mental development while creating a visual record of an individual's development in the form of a growth chart calibrated to the Lectical Scale. MindLog is the first tool of its kind, and is backed by more than 100 years of research.
MindLog offers several advantages over conventional study or learning tools. MindLog:
- will not help you memorize course material or prepare for standardized assessments;
- will directly support your mental development by helping you connect new information or ideas with what you already know, understand, or can do;
- will allow you to monitor the impact of learning practices by connecting them to variations in your personal growth trajectory;
- will make learning more engaging by helping you focus on your own interests, learning needs, and desired skills;
- will foster insights into your own learning that will help you build skills for driving your own development; and
- along with a micro-VCoLing practice, will help you learn to convert textbook knowledge into real-world skill.
How does MindLog work?
MindLog records your written reflections or reactions to what you are learning, then scores them for their Lectical® Level so you can watch yourself grow. Subscribers who combine Mindlogging™ with a micro-VCoLing practice, also build essential skills for learning better and faster.
There are numerous ways to use MindLog. For example, you could use it to…
- record your thoughts,
- practice a particular journaling approach,
- keep a record of your growing understanding of course material,
- learn how to make better decisions,
- mull over thorny problems,
- reflect upon and explore possibilities around a life transition,
- make boring courses more interesting by going deeper on aspects that interest you,
- capture insights from your learning practice, or
- record micro-VCoLing reflections.
MindLog provides developmental benefits from day 1. These benefits multiply if you use MindLog to experiment with setting and fulfilling learning goals. If you link your MindLog reflections to a micro-VCoLing practice, you can even test Lectica's claim that micro-learning with micro-VCoLs helps people learn better and faster.
Two kinds of MindLog for Adults
There are two basic versions of MindLog for Adults. The Reflection version is for short, relatively frequent, reflections and the Essay version is for longer, less frequent, reflections. When you fill in our subscription form, you will be asked to choose the version that works best for you. Writers can switch between versions when they renew their subscriptions.
Making entries and viewing results
To make an entry in MindLog, all you need to do sign in to Lectica, select “new entry” in the MindLog section then dictate or type your thoughts into the online form. If English is not your first language (and you speak a relatively common first language), you're welcome to enter responses in your first language. (This feature will not be available in the BETA version of MindLog.)
MindLog is designed exclusively to measure the mental development of individual humans. This means that it only works when you do your own work and generally make a reasonable effort to share what is on your mind. Doing your own work means no AI, no grammar checkers, and no open-book entries. If you use outside sources, your growth curve will be meaningless.
We also recommend that you don't try too hard on your initial entries. Write clearly, explain what you mean, use your everyday language, and don't make an extraordinary effort. If you start out trying to write the best paragraph you've ever written, you won't be able to maintain that level of effort and it will take longer than usual for you to see measurable growth.
Working with a coach
After responses have been submitted, and if you are working with a coach, per will be able to comment on your entries. You will be able to view these comments as soon as they have been saved by the coach.
Entries made into the Reflection version of MindLog are generally too short to be scored on their own, so we score only when there is enough material to calculate a reliable score. Once you have been awarded your first score, you will see your growth chart whenever you view an entry. If you have previously taken one or more Lectical Assessments, your previous scores will automatically show up on your growth chart. Below, is an example report page showing a prompt, a response, educator comments, a micro-task, and a growth chart.
The upward spikes in the growth chart below show what happens when MindLoggers use outside sources. The first spikes are caused by a grammar checker, the second by paraphrasing from a Gemini response. If you want to watch your own growth, it's important to do your own work.
MindLog entry
Date entered: 2025-01-05
Topic
How am I going to be able to work with Tamaki? He barely ever opens his mouth.
My thougths
I'm completely at a loss. I have no idea how to work with someone as shy and quiet as Tamaki. I've tried inviting him into discussions, sitting down over a cup of tea, and just being patient. Unfortunately, I see no progress. I think I need to understand him better before I'm able to structure our work together. He is very good at his job. His coding skills are phenomenal. I'd like to get him more involved in project planning, but he just sits quietly in his seat during meetings. Not a peep from him. And his face literally has no expression. He doesn't smile, frown, or even lift his eyebrows. Maybe I should type all of this into Gemini and ask if Tamaki's behavior is a common pattern of behavior. I could also chat with other team members to find out how they work with him. And I wonder if Tamaki might be more comfortable sharing his ideas in writing. I feel like I'm batting at the air here. I hope you have some ideas, Kate.
Kate's comments
I don't think you're batting at the air, Jamal. All of your ideas are good ones. How about you take action on them in order, from easiest to hardest, and see what you learn. Also, if you can, try to observe how Josh and Tina interact with Tamaki before you meet with them. Use what you notice to frame some questions for them.
My micro-task(s)
(1) Ask Gemini if Tamaki's behavior is part of a known pattern. (2) try exchanging a few emails with Tamaki about the upcoming courseware project. (3) Chat separately with Josh and Dina about the way they work with Tamaki (after watching them interact with Tamaki). Might have to do #3 next week.
MindLog and aging
As we age, mental development slows. There are two reasons for this. First, as we get older, moving from one level to another involves altering an increasingly complex mental network. Second, after the age of 60 or so we are more likely to encounter changes in the brain that make building skills and knowledge increasingly difficult. In the past, researchers have suggested exercising the brain with crossword puzzles or games. However, playing games and solving puzzles tends to make us better at games and puzzles, with little effect on real-life functioning. A MindLog writing practice, on the other hand, asks us to reflect on real-life learning, issues, and challenges in a way that maintains or builds relevant life skills—which is the best way to maintain mental acuity.
In addition to functioning as a learning tool that can help us maintain mental function as we age, MindLog, like other mental ability assessments, may also serve as an indicator of decline in mental functioning. More research is needed to determine the extent to which MindLog could play a role in the early detection of mental decline.
Why focus on mental growth?
Conventional standardized educational assessments primarily measure correctness. Scores on these tests can go up or down and are readily compared to the scores of other students, but they don't tell us much about the quality of students' minds, such as how skillfully they can put their knowledge to work in messy real-world contexts. They also tend to narrow the way we think about learning—the things they measure become the important things to learn. Moreover, if we look closely at tests of correctness, we find that they are highly focused on one set of mental skills—skills for remembering. Unfortunately, a strong focus on skills for remembering leaves little educational time for working on many other skills required for optimal mental development.
In the mid 1990's Lectica's founder, Dr. Theo Dawson, decided that a high-quality and scalable measure of mental development would help educators strike a balance between skills for remembering and other critical life skills like those required for self-regulation, reflection, interpretation, deliberation, investigation, evaluation, social interaction, collaboration, perspective-taking, perspective-sharing, citizenship, and learning from everyday experience. She also decided that it was possible, given enough time and hard work, to develop such a measure. In the early 2000's Dawson demonstrated the feasibility of creating such a measure, then immediately began designing the research required to go from feasible to real. CLAS—the accurate, reliable, fair, and scalable developmental scoring system that makes MindLog possible—is the outcome of that research.
MindLog is not only a way of measuring the development of the mind, it is one of a set of Lectical learning tools that support learning and development. These tools include micro-VCoLing™, the Micro-VCoL Maker™, and Skill-Mapping.™ Users of MindLog are invited to make use of these tools. We also offer courses for people who are interested in building skills for working with our learning tools, and certify Lectical Coaches and Consultants to work with all of our learning tools, including MindLog, to support optimal mental development.
At Lectica, when we use the term “mental development,” we're not just talking about thinking, knowing, and deciding. We think of mental development as the development of the mind as a whole, including it's sensory, emotional, kinesthetic, and unconscious functions. We believe that learning always involves the whole person and works better when we actively invite the whole person to become actively involved.
Important MindLog requirements and conventions
- There is one form of outside help that we permit. We encourage MindLoggers to use a simple spell-checker. Too many misspelled words often lead to lower scores.
- For maximum benefit, write MindLog reflections regularly.
- We place both upper and lower limitations on character count for practical purposes.
- You are the owner of your MindLog data and have total control over who you share it with. Individuals who want permission to view your responses will need an account on Lectica's site in order to make viewing requests.
- Only one report or response can be viewed or downloaded at a time. This provision is required to protect Lectica's IP.
- Consider working with Certified Lectical Coach or Consultant if you'd like to build micro-VCoLing skills more efficiently.
Purchasing MindLog
Setting up a MindLog subscription is easy. Simply fill in the MindLog™ Subscription form.
Lectica plans to begin offering MindLog in the late Spring of 2025. Subscribers to the BETA version will receive a 10% discount. Request a MindLog™ Subscription, below, and we'll keep you posted.