During this mentorship course blog we all have been participating in reflection. It involves the critical thinking of one's past experiences. Description is generally the list of details of a person, place, or a thing. Reflection involves the conscious thinking of one's experience with a person, place, or a thing. It can be described as the difference between a resume and the answers given in an interview. Reflection should be a daily activity. Proper reflection will enhance a person's confidence and will help lead to learning life lessons more impactfully.
In order to have an impactful e-Portfolio it is best to reflect back on past job and educational experiences. You will need to know what the most effective evidence will be. Thinking about the projects experiences that had the biggest impact on you. In order to know that you will need to think back on those experiences, coupled with reflecting on which direction you want to head into for the future. What are the requirements of this goal? What qualities should be exhibited? What experience do others have who are in the position I seek? Everything must have a purpose and relevance. The audience of your e-Portfolio is generally going to be prospective employers. They most likely do not have much time. So you must be focused and have a purpose.
This blog has forced us to look back on our academic and professional histories. What tools do you use to help you reflect on your personal and/or professional life? If you do not currently use any tools (although this blog should count as one) what could you begin doing and using?
P.S.
Hopefully at this point you have an idea of where you want to go with your IDS degree and you all seem very motivated. We have no doubt you guys will do great for yourselves! Since this is our last blog posting we would like to wish you all good luck and lots of success!! :)
As far as reflection goes, I have found that I have created a habit of reflecting each week, mostly over my week, my level of productiveness, and what I can do differntly the next week. I keep a journal and write in it almost daily. It has been interesting to be able to look back on past reflections and see what I have accomplished since then or still need to work on. I have also completed a service-learning reflection journal last semester that allowed me to reflect on what I observed and learned in my service learning experiences. This blog has also helped me to reflect on how I can incorporate my areas of study and be more prepared in marketing myself.
ReplyDeleteAs a stduent studying to be a professional educator, I feel that I have some solid evidence to reflect my experience. By the end of this semester, I will have a 15 lesson science unit plan for a seventh grade life science class. I will also have a personal theory paper about my theory of learning and teaching, several hours of service learning in middle and high school science classes, and a letter to families that I wrote that can be used in my first year of teaching. As school administrators view my e-portfolio, I believe that they will see a significant amount of evidence of my experience in classrooms and planning to be in one in the future.
Erica,
ReplyDeleteI noticed that you are studying to be an educator and since we are discussing reflections I was wondering if you ever reflect back to the days of being in Middle school. If you do reflect back to 7th grade do you ever think about the things your teachers did that you liked or disliked as a guideline for your future students or education plans?
Thinking back over the past three years I have had here at UCF I realize that I have taken a vast variety of classes. I have completed many memorable and helpful assignments that have ranged from performances to thesis papers to criminal case studies and many more. Thinking back on my academic career has caused me to reflect on my accomplishments and the goals that I still must achieve. Reflecting has allowed me to track my progress and make sure I am charting my course correctly. These reflections give me the chance to really evaluate my past, presnt and future.
ReplyDeleteChristina,
ReplyDeleteThat is a great question! I was actually homeschooled during my sixth and seventh grade years. My mom wrote lesson plans, but there weren't very many activities involved, mainly just book work and an occasional project here and there. So, I guess I don't have a lot of things to refelct on when it comes to remembering how I was taught in seventh grade. I actually did most of the work on my own in seventh grade. There wasn't a whole lot of things that I had to have her do with me for my work.
I liked your comment about how reflecting has allowed you to track your progress and making sure that you are staying on course. It's interesting because I have changed my major 3 times and it seems that I've been on several different courses, finally ending with the IDS course towards education. As I look back and reflect on how I was going about trying to find out what I wanted to do, I have seen several different things that I could have done differently and would have possibly allowed me to stay with one major instead of change multiple times.
I have been in school since 2005 and have sort of swayed back and forth on what I truly wanted to do in life and I think that is what has kept me from finishing sooner. I still am a little unsure about what I want for my future but I know that over these past four years I have learned a lot about myself and have grown intellectually. Looking back I can say that I am proud of what I have accomplished and know that I am a more open minded person because of the classes that I have taken and the people I have met along the way. I like to use reflection when I get to that, "will I ever finish school?" point to see that I am a very capable person who has a lot to offer any future employer I may have.
ReplyDeleteErica,
ReplyDeleteI really like your idea about keeping a journal of your progress of the week. I think that maybe that would help me keep myself on track and focused because I tend to forget some things and I think a journal would really be useful.
Im currentally taking several education classes, and a big part of them right now is reflecting. I think what you said about taking things weeke by week is a great idea, but doesn't always happen. It is however nice to be able to look back on a semester and think about what you learned and how you should apply these things to that you do, especially in education.
ReplyDeleteThe same goes for life too. There have been several fairly insane things that have happened to me in the last week alone, which included getting a job. I plan to use the rest of the year to focus on the good the bad and what I need to do for next year.
I think it si intersting to note how we all hope to use the e portfolio as a reflection type of thing especally with our teaching goals. I'm wondering it that is the best idea or if you think it might be better to just put down the experiences that are relavent for the job, as Erica talked about.
ReplyDeleteReflection plays a very large role in ones day to day life. I think one really great example of reflection is "learning from your own mistakes." Obviously this only encompasses a small part of reflection but I think it is a good example of how everyone uses it daily. When someone is faced with a situation or problem, they reflect and will come back with some sort of internal information to help them make decisions. If someone is presented with a situation and they are ale to look back and see what they did before and how it ended they can then act accordingly. I used to think reflection was only used when in English class and having to write about different pieces of literature, but I have now realized how it plays a large role everyday.
ReplyDeleteI like how Christina also included that reflecting helps you stay on course. If we never looked back at what we have done then we would not know where to go next. We have to see the work which we have put in and know where to take it next and how it helps us move forward. I wish everyone could know how useful reflection can be and that it is not just for English classes.
ReplyDeleteKeeping a journal as suggested is a great idea! I had a journal a while back but got so caught up in other activities going on, but I think it is something I would love to set aside time to do. My mom actually writes in a journal every morning for about thirty minutes, she has probably gone through at least 50 single subject notebooks. She love to go back and read from the earlier ones because she realizes how much she has accomplished and what she wants to do next. Sometimes she feels she has finished with a project or a period of life and is ready to move on, and other times she decides to go back to what she was doing before and run with it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, reflecting back on this semester, if I will use my e-portfolio or not. Yes, it has helped me put together all of my accomplishments thus far but Im still not fully convinced on whether I will use it or not. I suppose it is always a nice thing to have just in case.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Cassandra, I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I am glad it helped me get everything together.
ReplyDeleteWow! home schooled! that's pretty intense, but cool.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ive also changed my major a few times and somehow ended up on the IDS track! funny ow it all seems to fit doesn't it?
Reflections have become second nature to me. In education classes that is one of the main things a person will do. Reflect on the observation that was done last week. Reflect on the child that was watched with a special need... reflect on the class presentations. I don't think I had a test for almost two years. It was all papers and majority reflections. The subject matter would change, but format would stay the same. I think it is important to look back on what was learned. I don't think I would have remembered so much if I wasn't asked to go back and recall events. I took notes and some of the things I couldn't remember off the top of my head was there.
ReplyDeleteErica...
ReplyDeleteI see that you are learning to teach 7th grade. I am going to school for early childhood, which means I will teach no higher then 3rd grade, but I to have an abundance of lesson plans. When I go to be a teacher I have units already planned out. I think that is one of the best thing about going to school to be an educator because you learn tricks of the trait. My teachers would give the class website and resources that can be used in our own classroom. This will help all us first year teachers.
Jess Jones,
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to agree with you when it come from learning mistakes. When I reflect on a classroom I observed, I try to take the good with the bad. I'm sorry but not everyone is perfect, the same, and people will have different learning and teaching styles. I have been in classrooms and would remind myself of something I would not incorporate in my classroom. For example, I would never but up a behavior chart. Other children shouldn't if a child is being "bad." But this charts are very common in classrooms.
It is important to learn from your own mistakes and especially others.