EmilyGF Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Hi all, I've been thinking through some of the thought experiments in Rethinking School and would love to do some more big picture thinking. Since it is (by definition) outside-the-box thinking, I think some prompts might help me explore ideas. What are some reflection/assessment/goal-setting prompts that work for you? I'm thinking big picture... Clear as mud? Emily 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 I don't know if this is exactly what you're looking for, but we hold conferences here. Once a month or semester (depending on the need), I sit down with the kid, some cookies, and tea or cocoa. It's a no-judgement time. He tells me what he likes/doesn't like, what he thinks is working well, what he would like to do or change. Then I give my input with the same. Listening lets me think about the goals we have for the year and long term and figure out what could work instead if something really isn't working for both of us. We'll end up tweaking and then having another conference in a month to see how things stand. Each kid is different so when I try to apply what worked for one to the other, well, that's where we usually have problems. I can't teach without an active learner, and I can't have an active learner who doesn't have ownership of his education. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Sometimes I sit down with a pad of paper and a pencil and free-write what I would like our school experience to be, what I'd like them to remember about their high school years (coming up!) and what I want them to remember and reflect on when they think about education at home. Writing like that helps me come up with my own prompts that are meaningful for me. An example: 1) I want free time and leisure to be an important part of our education experience. 2) Questions: What should that look like? What does that mean for extracurricular activities? Time spent at home? How should I model that in my life? How should that be reflected in daily work? Will this lead to some laziness? (So far, no) What prevents us from having the free time we value? Etc. 3) Answers to those questions provoke more questions. Will this lead to laziness? No. More free time has led to greater time spent reading, time outdoors, time drawing, thinking about big issues, meditating on what has been learned during the day. Why would I think about laziness, then? What values do I have or beliefs about work and "play" that make me concerned? What are they? Where did I come by them? Should I change my thinking entirely, or is there merit in my concerns? Is that sort of what you are looking for? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 I find that I do best if I work backwards for big picture stuff. When DD finishes her homeschool experience, what would I like her to have gotten out of it? What will make me feel like it has been successful? What skills would I have liked her to learn? What attitudes or beliefs about education do I want her to take with her? Then I can move on to brainstorming some of the things I can actually do to accomplish those goals. Since DD is in elementary, I again find it easiest to break things down backwards. What might this mean for high school? Middle grades? Elementary? I have to make myself return to this about twice a year. Otherwise, I start getting caught up in the minutia of how far we’ve gotten in the math book or whether she can punctuate a sentence correctly. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 We do that. When we do portfolios, the kids choose their work and then they write a self-assessment and reflect on their schooling. I usually toss out a variety of questions for them to get started. It has changed over the years. Typically I ask things like... What are you most proud of? What do you feel you need to work on most? What assignments/projects do you think helped you learn most? What things did you do that you don't think helped you learn? What was your favorite... assignment/book/subject/topic/field trip...? What was your least favorite... ? What would you like to improve next term? What was easy? What made it easy? What was difficult? What made it difficult? Sometimes I ask them to include things about specific subjects. Now that they're older, I ask them to write a little summary of what they're doing from their perspective. I remind them of big assignments and topics, but mostly let them do it. That's reflective too, just in a different way, I guess. We have done this for ages. I'm SO glad we do it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 (edited) nm Edited February 23, 2018 by rozes 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted February 16, 2018 Author Share Posted February 16, 2018 Thanks for the ideas to get going with! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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