Donelle Knight-French-EDLM6200-Reflective-Reflexive Practices in Technology-Enabled Environments

Reflections by Donelle Knight-French

Image credit: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/fr/content/learn/modules/manage_the_sfdc_
way_engage_retain_employees/msfw_engage_retain_recognize_signs

I started this course not knowing what to expect.  As we have established I am a teacher in a K-12 school and in this environment reflection is not seen as important.  the focus is on exam preparation and reflection is not a part of any syllabus.  As I got into the program and got familiar with the benefits of engaging in reflective activity for the students and also for the teacher, I began to think about how I could encourage such practices in my workplace.  To be honest, I have not been successful up to this point with trying to encourage reflective practices among my peers but I have been experimenting with reflective practices in my grade 7 Introduction to Business Class and also in my grade 10 Business Innovations class.

Image credit: http://www.carlheneghan.com/trust-the-evidence-2/

Let's a take a look at the reflective activity completed by students in the grade 7 class:

Reflective Activity

Create a Powerpoint or a video this presents the following information:

1.      A summary of the things you have learned in Introduction to Business class.  (5)

2.      The things you enjoyed most. (5)

3.      The things you did not enjoy (be honest but polite). (5)

4.      Things that you would like to do in class in the future. (5)

5.      How you think what you are learning can help in the future. (5)

6.      Make your presentation as creative as possible.  (5)

30 marks

The assignment served two purposes:

1. It gave students a practical exercise to complete as an introduction to reflective practices.
2. It allowed me to reflect on students presentations, and use the information to improve on their learning experiences.

Here are some examples of the assignments that were submitted:

https://pestleanalysis.com/examples-of-pestle-analysis/

• https://www.powtoon.com/c/f0Dj0yQU81X/1/m -(copy the link and past it in the browser)
• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pzQ6FR4j-GE9gx8ekaFyMSXmQosKH_Iu/view?usp=sharing

Image credit: http://www.petegodfrey.com/business-success/whats-your-outcome/

A valuable lesson I learned from implementing reflective activity in my classroom, is that in order for this type of activity to work, there must be a good and trusting relationship between the facilitator and the students.  Initially, students expressed some discomfort with expressing constructive criticism.  However, once I was able to convince them that I would not be offended, they were willing to share.  Overall, I will be implementing reflective practices and activities into my classes.  The next step is to try to help my work colleagues to see the value in reflection as well.