- Stanley British Primary School
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Learners Pause, Reflect on Their Learning, & Then Create
Posted by Stanley Communications on 5/2/2024 3:00:00 PM
As a culminating project for their second, fifth and eighth grade years, each student writes a speech to present to their classmates, teachers and families. Often students reflect on how they have changed, obstacles they have overcome, ways they know themselves better. They share gratitude for those who have supported them along the way and offer words of advice to their younger peers who will follow after them. This moment of creation is a final synthesis of their Stanley experience as they head into the next phase of their journeys as learners.
Whether writing a continuation speech, building a diorama at the end of a unit on the National Parks, or designing a powerpoint presentation about supernovas during a deep dive into space exploration, students reach a true depth of understanding through these final processes of creation. They think through all their learning, determine the most significant parts, and make connections. They extend their thinking further to identify how to communicate their knowledge and insights beyond themselves. At Stanley, we believe that through this problem solving process of creation, learners naturally move beyond what they already know to develop something new. This final synthesis and creation reflects the highest level of thinking.
At times, it can be challenging for students to pull back from the messiness of their learning process and see what they have learned. As BP teachers we ask students to pause, to reflect. We provide language and lenses to help students see all they have accomplished. We model questions to our students, such as, What have you learned? What is worthy of remembering and recording? What information can you use to support your conclusion? We help learners look for key patterns, themes, relationships and ideas and model how to evaluate and revise their growing understanding. We help learners understand for themselves what is essential and what is important, what new insights they gained and how those insights connect to their lives and their growth.
The construction of a final product makes the journey that came before it more worthy as students personalize their learning. The act of creating in this way, infusing what they have learned with the heart of who they are, broadens all they can be. We talk through and practice these moments so each learner can truly share and shine.
During the last week of school, we will gather to hear the voices of our students, young and old, as we celebrate their new depths of understanding and their uniqueness, and witness who they have become and are becoming in their journey as learners.
