"Self-reflection is a humbling process. It's essential to find out why you think, say, and do certain things...then better yourself" -unknown
Throughout 2016 I researchied the importance of student reflection. Reflection is the process of examining and interpreting experience to gain new understandings. Without reflection it is almost impossible for actual 'learning' to occur. Reflection is an integral part of the learning process. It allows students to learn more about themselves and how they learn, all while improving academic skills. Teaching students to reflect on their work by noticing and critiquing as well as coming up with new strategies allows them to to be a successful part of their learning experience. As teachers we should model this expectation by reflecting ourselves and involving students in our own reflections.
"Students need to learn that making mistakes is a part of the learning process"
Morning meeting
Each morning we use a Adobe Spark presentation as a visual addition to our class morning meetings. During morning meeting students share their feelings, go through important messages, check recent news and weather. This sets a good tone to start the day and students feel valid as soon as the enter the room for the day.