Reading Reflection 10

1.) Because the school year is something that goes by incredibly fast, it is important that we as teachers set time aside for our students to reflect on their projects and what they have learned after each new accomplishment. It has been said that reflection is what truly allows the students to ponder their new knowledge and helps the information stick in their brains. After all, students spend so much time and energy putting effort into their projects it only seems fitting to allow them to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of what they have learned. We want to prompt our students to think about how far they've come as leaners and where they want to go next. Reflection is critical to our students abilities to recognize their own good work.

2.) Reflection is important because it allows our students to think about the obstacles they overcome. Through reflection our students will feel satisfied about their learning progress, but with elaboration our students will have the opportunity to question what they know and decide for themselves where they want to go next. The key element to elaboration is that the students should be allowed to pick and choose for themselves how they want to expand their learning progress. If we allow students to chose their own subjects they will feel more attached to their own learning and more likely put in a stronger effort. Elaboration is an important element for deepening the roots of questions and ideas that our students are curious about.

3.) All schools are different, and all schools have different strengths. Some schools might be very proud of their athletic teams while other schools are very proud of their arts programs. As a teacher it can be very rewarding to the students if you set your goal to be school wide recognition of exemplary project work. Not only will your students gain excitement about coming to class but the community will recognize your for your good work as a teacher. If we can instill enough enthusiasm and creativity in our students to achieve high goals they will reap the benefits in tenfold and even pass down their ideas to younger generations.

4.) Lastly, it is a wonderful idea to celebrate the works of your students so you can show them how proud you are of how far they have all come. Every celebration should make it well known that you are truly happy for your students and you want to celebrate their accomplishments. Some ways to celebrate are to throw parties, put on events, make recognition blogs, or anything that will show them how far they have come. It is important to include parents and families so that are also aware of how outstanding their learner are. Another important tip is to ensure that you display their work through the building or the classroom so that they will feel a sense of pride for completing such an important project.

5.) The information in this chapter is useful to all of us students in EDT3470 because it allows for us to begin thinking about the bigger picture of our projects. What is the importance in doing these projects, and how do we want our students to feel when they are done? Not only can we apply these ideas to our projects right now, but even more so in the future when we have our own classrooms that need to recognized for their accomplishments.