Celebrating and Reflecting

Celebrating and Reflecting: Reflection is a key element in the learning process. Students are given the opportunity to reflect at the end of each class session. Reflection is meaning to each student because they must relate the assignment to some aspect of their lives. My students are asked, “How can you use what you learned today in some aspect of your life? What skills did you use? What did you learn today that you didn’t know yesterday or prior to enter this class?” Students must take their educational experience as a personal journey. Blogs and podcasts are well-suited to capture reflection. Students will be encouraged to use blogs and other digital tools to reflect upon their learning experience. Aside from reflection, it is important to celebrate what they have learned. Projects and other assessments will have a tangible outcome in which students’ work will be displayed. I’m an advocate of hosting socials which serves as the opportunity to showcase the work of my students. In the past, I taught a course entitled Administrative Technology and Support. The entire class was given a project in which they were required to use technology to carry out this assignment. Once all of the details were finalized, the students were able to host a luncheon they designed, and they were able to showcase their work to other teachers, students, parents, etc… Celebrating is always a key element in praising students for their accomplishments and motivating them to continue to make positive contributions to their learning experience.

Boss, S. & Kraus, J. (2007). Reinventing Project-Based Learning. International Society for Technology in Education. pp. 147-155.