Today at #LethCamp I attended a session on Learning for Assessment with some amazing teachers. The ideas and conversation that flowed in that room were inspiring. One of the ideas that stood out to me is that self-reflection is key to students becoming self-motivated learners who are engaged, ethical and entrepreneurial.

Inspiring Education directs education to promote students who are engaged, ethical and entrepreneurial. This is great, but students are going to have to buy-in. We cannot give them notes and lessons followed by worksheets and quizzes to give them these skills; they need to get there on their own. This is where self-reflection comes in. When a students can think about a goal or tasks at hand, then evaluate their successes, failures and possible ways of extend their learning, they are developing as self-motivated learners. We have to ready them for the world of infinite possibilities, where if they can dream it, they can do it.

In my last post about Using Ipads in the Classroom, I discussed the effectiveness of my students’ self-reflections. As an educator I know the citizens of tomorrow will need to be self-guided learners who collaborate effectively with others. I see the diversification of the current job market that coincides with the infinite combinations of interests, passions and goals that students have. We are seeing a transition from a world of countable professions – teacher, lawyer, doctor, welder, secretary, etc. – to an infinite array of jobs that perhaps did not even exist yesterday. Education needs to move towards a model that not only differentiates for various types of learners, but differentiates for various learner goals and motivations to accommodate this transition.

As an educator, I need to embrace and nurture the individual interests and aspirations of each of my students. In saying this, it means taking the leap of faith to becoming an educational facilitator. Taking a role where I am not directing my students learning, but they are directing their own learning – frightening, but invigorating. To get there, they will have to continually evaluate their own growth and weaknesses, assess their goals and progress in relation to their long-term plan. This is no small order, but student self-reflection as a part of assessment is a great place to start.

Jessica Marcotte
@jmarcotte85

    I find my students always love to use the Ipads, making the Ipads great motivational tools. One activity I recently tried in my Grade 4 Language Arts class I found to be extremely successful. I had my students create PodCast (not true PodCast since they were not posted online or in series, but it caught their interest). Here are the reasons why this assignment worked:

-Students had the opportunity to instantly correct oral presentations skills in a low stress situation

-Students were motivated to share personal stories while implementing important sequencing structures

-Students were given an audience and a purpose to practice their oral production and presentation skills

-Students had to monitor and reflect on their own oral production skills

Preparations

                I let the students know they would be marked with a rubric on the following criteria:

-Eye Contact

-Posture

-Volume

-Clarity

-Flow

-Expression

Planning

                I started this assignment the first day the students came back from their Christmas Holidays. This ensured that they had at least a few good stories to share with their classmates. The students were asked to choose a story and fill out the 5 Ws question sheet and an addition planning sheet. I have attached this resource with this post - find below.

Practice

                We discussed the difference between memorizing text and oral story telling. After students had filled out the planning sheet, they practiced telling their story to a partner. I modelled proper oral presentation/ story telling skills, and then encouraged them to tell the story without reading off the planning sheet.

PodCasts

                The students paired up and recorded each other telling their stories without their planning sheets. They were allowed enough time to try a few times if needed. The situation was low stress for the students since they were not in front of a large group and knew they could make corrections if needed.

Presentations & Self-Reflections

                The class watched the story PodCasts together. While the students watched their own PodCast, they filled out a self-reflection (3 positive comments and 3 suggestions). This was very effective, since many of the comment I heard while my students watched themselves on screen sounded like “Oh, I do read too fast, Mrs. Marcotte,” or “Oh, I forget to take pauses”. All comments I have told them before in Daily 5 conferencing, but may not have clicked for particular students.

Jessica Marcotte
@jmarcotte85