Looking Back at 10 years of EdCamps Oh how the time flies, EdCamp Madison is turning 10 this year! It will be held Saturday, February 3rd at Sun Prairie West High School. Which can be found at 2850 Ironwood Drive in Sun Prairie Wisconsin from 8:30 am - 3:00 pm. Get more information and register here: https://sites.google.com/sunprairieschools.org/edcampmadwi/home I will always remember sitting in my first EdCamp opening session at the very first EdCamp Madison and having no clue what I was in for. So, I’d like to take this space to go over some of the basic rules of EdCamp. No One Will Pitch It for You EdCamps are unconferences. By this I mean that they have a blank slate of sessions for the day. There may be a few predetermined sessions, but ultimately the session topics are determined by attendees during the pitch & plan session that opens the day. If an idea gets pitched there will be a session on it. If a topic doesn’t get pitched, there won’t be a session on it. So, it i
Exam time seems to be all about quantitative data. Teachers are determining how many points students have, percentages are being translated into letter grades, quarter grades and final exams are being weighted and combined to determine that all important final percentage which will determine that final letter grade. That letter will give us some idea of how well the learner mastered the course outcomes. In addition, students are using online grade calculators to determine the minimum level they need to perform at in order to earn the grade they desire. Yes, final exam time is about arguing for the grade you deserve, but I feel that there is room for more. I always feel that final exam time should be just as much about reflection on learning as it is about expression of learning.
It is in that spirit that I am hoping to shift the focus of what goes in student portfolios in my courses. I currently ask students to do some reflection, but it seems minimal at best. Over the course of the last term, students were asked to do brief reflections about strengths and challenges at the end of each instructional unit and present that in their portfolio. At the end of this term, I asked students to present a strength in each area of the UDL model: access, engage, and express. In the future, it is my hope to make this reflection process deeper without being seen as simply a hoop for students to jump through. What follows are some examples of these reflections:
As I continue to try to give my students the agency to become learners, the reflection process takes on more meaning. They need to understand their strengths as learners (we’ll get to challenges in my next post). As an educator, I need to know who each learner is and what tools are proving effective and why. Reflection is a learning process. I am privileged to have these learners with me for another 9 weeks. This simple process has shown me who they are outside of a number or a letter grade. It will help me be a better guide for them in their learning process.
It is my hope to ask my learners to do more reflecting on their learning next term than I currently am.
I would love to hear how others have learners reflect on their learning and just as importantly, how you follow up on those reflections and make them actionable.
I would love to hear how others have learners reflect on their learning and just as importantly, how you follow up on those reflections and make them actionable.
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