Reflective Learning Interviews

The power of reflection, something that is overlooked, dismissed, and sometimes ridiculed. When reflection is done with intention, care, and a growth mindset, they are powerful. Reflection is just one of the small but BIG changes I have been making in my classroom.

First, I would like to point out that I STARTED BEFORE I WAS READY! And I am ok with this and I encourage others to be okay with this as well. We have to let go of perfectionism! Why is it a good idea to start before you're ready? It's a good idea because 1) perfect doesn't exist and it'll keep you from ever actually starting, 2) "failing" in front of our students shows them that teachers are human and that it's normal to make mistakes and that your classroom is also a safe place to make mistakes. We learn from our mistakes especially when we REFLECT back and try to actively find solutions

Over the past week or so, I have been doing reflective learning interviews with my students. I decided to do these after reading chapter 4 The Power of Talk in Assessment from Trevor Mackenzie's Inquiry Mindset Assessment Edition book. I then flipped ahead for some question ideas and went with it with some adaptations for my context and my current comfort level:

1. What kind of learning evidence have you been gathering? How is this evidence helpful?

2. How has what you know changed since the onset of class?

3. Are you on task to be successful? What strategies have you been using to help you be successful?

4. What aha moments have you experienced in class so far? or What have you been proudest of in these past days or weeks? Why?

5. Do you have any questions for me? How can I better support you?

I conducted the majority of the interviews in groups of three. I sent out the questions ahead of time to allow for students to start thinking about them and to gather their learning evidence. I sent them out via email to both students and their parents/guardians in hopes that conversations might take place first at home and to also inform parents/guardians about our upcoming parent/teacher conferences. Some students prepped and some didn't. In addition to the questions we did go over their assignments to which I had assigned a mark.

Overall, the conversations were amazing, some even phenomenal. Some of the highlight stories I heard were based on particular activities that I do in my classroom:

• In my Child Development and Caregiving 12 class I do a circle share about where we come from. What type of family do you have? What are some events in your life that show us what your family is like? - - - I shared my story with them first. This helps show them not to judge a book by its cover. Teachers can have bad experiences too. Every.Single.Student.Shared! that were present that day. During the reflective interviews, almost every single student said they enjoyed this exercise. They mentioned that it opened their eyes and that the "SEE" each other now, that they are not alone! This activity build a community where my students have a deep level of respect for each other and are genuinely there for each other.

• Another student mentioned, after learning about parenting styles, discipline, and neglect/abuse in relation to generational trauma, that they are no longer angry with their parents for being "bad parents." They now have an understanding of what their parents went through and how generational trauma is real. They are now taking what they have learned in class and trying to help heal with their parents.

For me personally, my last question was about how I can improve my own teaching to better support my students. Even though most students said that everything was great, that they enjoy me as a teacher, that they feel like I have built a safe community, there is always room to grow whether you're a new teacher or a veteran! Some points of growth for me:

• pause points / turn and talk/recap what was just discussed/read to help with keeping focused

• clearer instructions: one project my careers class is doing was developed on the fly because we were inspired by a guest speaker and a comment made by a student about school/life/work/volunteer balance. I went with it, did a complete learning pivot because of the students interest... hence the poor pre-planning

• my split Spanish 11/12 class is struggling a bit. There are only 3 SP12s in the class and they feel left out a bit... so more intentional planning for them needs to happen.

After the interviews were over, I reflected back and looked at what went well and what went wrong:

• students shared honestly because they felt safe

• in 3s the students could add on to what others said, validating what they had learned

• could add information as it came up because of something someone else said

• those with language barriers could nod in agreement and their peers helped them

• inclusive to students who may have written output issues or students who just don't do the work, but have learned and applied it in other ways.

• I learned what they learned

• Some made some incredible connections / transfer of knowledge that I wouldn't have discovered otherwise

• more intentional prep needed as Trevor does outline in chapter 11 of the above mentioned book! I flipped ahead, I was in a time constraint and wanted to just try!

• I need to set a time limit for interviews

• I also had the students write their answers in a Microsoft Form. MyBlueprint would have been a better platform for journal-like reflections of learning that will also act as reflections they can gather and look back on in their class portfolios.

Sometimes teachers feel overwhelmed and don't always do the best job. However, admitting to not being perfect, and reflecting back on what went wrong and finding solutions to the problems is what is important. Doing these interviews also validated my own professional judgement of where students stand and that my marks I had written down (which they don't see - feedback only) were accurate. They also felt that marks were accurate. Will I do these interviews again? DEFINITELY. I will make changes, but I found them to be a powerful tool in my assessment toolbox.