Self-Reflection

21st Century Learner Final Project: A Focus on Reflection By: James Hawkins

The 21st century ecosystem element that I chose to focus on is reflection skills. It is not uncommon for me to encounter students that say: “I do not know what I want to do when I grow up”, or “I am not sure what major to pursue in college” or “I do not know what I am passionate about”. What I encounter with students that may be unsure about various aspects of their future, is that the efforts and time allocated towards reflection is either absent or minimal. Our students have a myriad of life experiences. An important element to propel our students along the journey of life is to provide them with the tool of self-reflection. These lifelong transferable skills will truly benefit our students as they graduate from high school and move into adulthood. The personal insight that is drawn from self-reflection can lead to new discoveries, perspectives, and assurances regarding who they are and the path they choose to pursue. Our students will be able to reflect on a particular experience, and draw from it ideas, things to change or adjust, and other insights that help the students moving forward. For example, a student can reflect on their experience after giving a group presentation in class. The student can reflect on many different aspects of the group presentation process from their role within the group, personal contributions, peer to peer interactions, overcoming group member or content related challenges, to the actual delivery of the presentation itself. In reflecting on the group presentation process the student can begin to think about what went well and possible areas of change. Once those two areas have been identified and analyzed, the information can be used and applied to future situations. If that same student realizes after reflection time that one area of change may be to step outside their comfort zone and try to reach out to other group members that may not be actively participating. The student’s skills and strengths may have been confirmed after reflecting. The assurance can lead to an increased confidence and recognition to use those skills in a positive way to impact others around them. For example, if one of the group members is more quiet and reserved, they can try to reach out to encourage and invite the student to share their perspectives in an appropriate manner. The student may be taking a risk reaching out to the more reserved student; however, what the student may discover is the power of team and that diverse perspectives and experiences enrich the group presentation process leading to a better product. By providing our students with improved reflection skills, we empower them to make more informed decisions as a result of applying the lessons learned in previous experiences to future choices. The element of empowerment is critical to the reflection process because we want our students to be able to reflect and apply those lessons in a more refined and increased measure over time. Our students can then go and share with their peers the power and applications of reflection.

Artifact 1: The nearpod presentation artifact will invite students to explore and think about reflection, how it can be utilized and applied to their lives. It was also make the connection between reflection and identifying your passion. It will challenge students to reflect on their experiences to draw conclusions that may help them as they seek to identify their passion. Through the nearpod presentation they will discover that the first step towards finding your passion is to first look within themselves through the lens of reflection.



Artifact 2: The reflection survey will provide a baseline of how students currently use reflection skills and how it relates to their future. The survey results can be used to give feedback to students and further discuss areas of reflection and continued application according to the needs of students.

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