While I know for many of us, myself included, when your students dismiss on that last day of school we want to give ourselves some time to think about anything else other than school. While this can be extremely tempting, especially after this difficult year, I want to remind you that the end of the year can also be a wonderful time to reflect while all of the thoughts of the year are fresh in your mind. Reflection can be a wonderful tool both for you when you are ready to start planning for next year, but also for your students. It is always helpful to hear from students and get their thoughts and reflections on how they felt the year went, or what thoughts they had about specific lessons/activities. Below I have shared 3 different ways you can reflect on your year, as well as ways that you can share with your students to allow for them to individually reflect as well.

High/Low of the Year:

This template created by Catlin Tucker can be a great way for students to reflect on a high(s) of the year as well as low(s) of the year. This can be done in a whole group setting by duplicating the template to make enough copies for everyone in your class. You can then share the link through Google Classroom and allow students to share their thoughts. You can the provide time for students to read each other's thoughts. This could also be a wonderful time for a whole group discussion to reflect on some of the thoughts shared within the template.

As an alternative you could also assign this template in Google Classroom and make a copy for each student. This model will allow for students to individually share their thoughts in regards to the past year. If you see fit, you could also take an opportunity to engage students in a one-on-one conversation discussing further their thoughts shared within the template.

No matter how you choose to structure this reflection, the thoughts provided by students can serve as a great insight as to what types of changes may need to be considered next year, as well as what activities/lessons you will want to ensure that you use again the following year.

Google Reflection Form:

If you love the idea of gathering student reflections from the year, however the idea of reading through all of the feedback sounds overwhelming, a Google Reflection Form may be just what you are looking for! Many of us a familiar with setting up Google Forms as a way to assess student learning. However, these forms can also be a great way to gather additional information, such as reflections, from your students. The best part, if you choose to create multiple choice questions within your form, Google will create graphs based on the data gathered from student responses. This is a great way to get an overview of your students' thoughts, without having to overwhelm yourself with all of the information provided. If you choose to stick with a multiple choice format, you may want to consider leaving one question a long answer. This will provide students the opportunity to put any thoughts in that were not reflected through the multiple choice questions. Chances are, not all students will have information they would like to include in this answer, making it easier to digest the information that is shared because it will be in a smaller amount.

In addition to having immediate data based on student answers, another perk that comes along with collecting student reflections through a Google Form is that data will remain in the form until you are ready to start looking at the information. Meaning, if you collect your reflections, however, if the thought of reading through all of the information is overwhelming to you at this time, Google will keep all of the information within the form. It will be there after you have given yourself some space and time to rest, when you are ready to start reading through the information.

Questions to Ask Yourself Over the Summer

It is a great idea to get feedback from students. They are the ones in your class, getting the content delivered to them from you. It is wonderful to know if the way in which you are delivering content has helped them, or has been delivered in a way that has made learning more concrete for them. However, it is also important for you yourself to reflect on the ways in which you deliver content. I know I say it a lot, but this year has been one like no other. While there have been many struggles throughout the year, it is my hope that you have also learned a great deal. Matt Miller shares 20 questions on his blog that teachers can ask themselves over the summer. All of the questions that he poses are fantastic and can really lead to you getting a true sense of how you are feeling about the year. However, I have listed 5 below in hopes that these will help to get you started. It is my hope that through this reflection you are able to find pieces of your instruction with technology that you enjoyed and that you felt improved your instruction. It is also my hope, that you may have new ideas you would like to try out in the next year.

What is my best lesson? What is my favorite lesson?

This question is great, because it will really show you how/what you enjoy teaching. Once you know the style of lesson, or possibly the type of content you prefer, you can begin to incorporate that into other lessons as well.

What is a lesson I always struggle to teach?

I love this question, because this lesson(s) can be a great place to start incorporating new ideas, or strategies. If you are not enjoying the lesson, chances are, your students are not either. This can be a great lesson to try out a new strategy or technology tool that will help enhance the lesson.

Are there times when I could do less for my students?

I am an advocate for putting students in charge of their own learning. I try as much as possible to have students working with the content that is being taught, to help them take ownership. During this process students will make mistakes, and I will be available to help coach them and correct any misconceptions. Through this process students are not only taking more ownership of their learning, they are also learning from their mistakes so they are less likely to make them again in the future. Another added bonus of putting students in charge of their learning, is it makes much less work for you. Now, instead of you having to do the heavy lifting, you are there as a coach and a support, but the majority of work is being done by the students themselves. Therefore, if this is a model you are not currently using, or possibly one you are not comfortable with, take some time this summer to reflect on ways that you may possibly explore this structure in your classroom.

How do I ensure all students have a voice?

While this past year posed a great deal of challenges with technology, one benefit I noticed happening in many classrooms was that technology was giving every student a voice. Students that in a whole group setting, may not have been comfortable speaking, now had other opportunities to share their voice. With the use of technology students had many different opportunities to share their voice such as using the chat, private comments in Google Classroom, and much more. As we move into next year it will be important that we take some time to reflect on how we can continue to give every student a voice in the classroom. We want to ensure as we move back to "normal" we are taking some positives, such a individual voices, with us as we set up our lessons for the fall.

What do I want to keep from remote learning?

While I know many of us would be happy if we never had to hear the words remote learning again, it is important that we take some time to reflect on what did work well for our learners during remote learning. After reflecting on the strengths you noticed throughout remote learning, start to think and plan on how you may be able to incorporate that into your lessons. It is important that we do not look back at the last year as lost time. Rather, let us take some time to look back year on lessons learned, and ways to grow and push ourselves and learners further in our learning.

High/Low of the Year:

No matter how you choose to structure this reflection, the thoughts provided by students can serve as a great insight as to what types of changes may need to be considered next year, as well as what activities/lessons you will want to ensure that you use again the following year.

Google Reflection Form:

Questions to Ask Yourself Over the Summer

What is my best lesson? What is my favorite lesson?

This question is great, because it will really show you how/what you enjoy teaching. Once you know the style of lesson, or possibly the type of content you prefer, you can begin to incorporate that into other lessons as well.

What is a lesson I always struggle to teach?

Are there times when I could do less for my students?

How do I ensure all students have a voice?

What do I want to keep from remote learning?