Self-Reflection as Professional Development
We know that metacognitive activities increase agency and ownership for students. So why aren’t we doing more of this as education professionals?
Do you remember the start to your school year in the fall of 2019? I know, it feels like forever ago.
In my middle school context, we began the year by following in the footsteps of Holly Elementary in Delta, BC. We created a bulletin board that celebrated the learning journeys of all of our teachers and administrators.
Like Holly Elementary, we asked every staff member in our building to answer three questions:
- What are you learning?
- How is it going?
- Where will your learning take you next?
The answers didn’t have to be profound, and for the sake of this exercise, they didn’t even have to be education-related. Some of us were improving our gardening skills. Others were attempting home improvement projects. Others were hoping to learn more about vlogging. (Okay, that was mine.) You get the idea.
The point was to show our students that we’re learning, too. It’s rarely a linear process, but we’re trying. We’re pushing forward. We’re saying that this learning thing isn’t always easy, and that’s okay.
