Our learning circle this week was a little bit smaller than usual as we were missing one member, but I think we were still able to have a productive and meaningful conversation surrounding this week's chapters. We have been maintaining the same roles each week as they have been working well for the structure of our conversations. These group roles have allowed us to jump right into our conversations as soon as we enter our breakout room, so we can discuss as much as possible (this is important because we often have lots to say about the topic at hand). Though this week, as a group we found these chapters were a little bit hard to pull things to discuss from as they were mostly in point form, however, some very interesting things still did come up for us during our conversation.
Our discussion was opened with an idea one of my group members had noted, the idea was that the students who are coming into our classrooms are there to learn, but they are also learning how to learn. This is so important to think about when we are teaching our students and especially important when we are assessing them. They are still learning how to take in information, the ways they learn best, and how they can best demonstrate the things they are learning. And in knowing this, we need to be more understanding of where our students are at in this journey so we can create the best plan for them to reach the goals that are set for them (like meeting the curricular outcomes). Along with understanding that our students are learning, we also need to recognize that mistakes are part of this process as well. During this part of the conversation, I was able to add in an example of celebrating the learning process from my own pre-internship experience. I shared that a common saying in my pre-internship classroom is "mistakes make our brains grow" and I think this is a really beautiful thing to teach children. Students used this saying when they were becoming frustrated, encouraging them to keep going. It also gives teachers room to make mistakes, showing students that mistakes are normal and vital to the learning process that they are working through.
During the second part of our learning circle discussion we discussed portfolios and how they can be incredibly helpful in gaining insight into a students learning journey, their learning process, and creating evidence for parents to see. Portfolios are great to track progress and get to meet with students one on one and set goals, self assess, and establish where they are going, how they are doing, and where they are headed to next. This collection of evidence is also such a great way to back up the feedback students are given as the work they have done is accessible.