Sometimes when you hear the phrase – season’s greetings – you can easily become drawn into an automatic response and not truly receive the greetings of the season. Traditionally, this holiday season is filled with gift giving, goodwill, cheer, and lots of merriment. When we extend season’s greetings to each other, we imply that all the goodwill of the season spreads to the recipient.
In our current clime as educators, we have a chance to extend more than season’s greetings to those around us when we take the time to first reflect on where we are. We can give great feedback to all those around us when we pause, breathe, and reflect. I personally find it important to spend ample time reflecting at the end of the year, which happens to be the end of the first term in most academic sessions.
I’ve decided to share this simple framework for reflection as my gift to you this season 😀
Think about your students. This is a time to wrap up the term and give feedback to the students you have nurtured. This is a time to think about what went well and what could have gone better, based on data from all assessment touch points (homework, classwork, observations, quizzes, tests, and if applicable, internal examinations). This is also a time to reflect on what needs to be taught differently to ensure that all the students make adequate progress in the next term.
Think about your personal professional development. This is a time to reflect on the personal goals you set for yourself, especially your goals for personal professional development. If you read the book(s) you planned to read, you get to celebrate and if you didn’t find the time to read, you need to re-strategize instead of beating yourself up. If you planned to take an online course (for instance, a course with us next year 😉) but didn’t get round to it, you must set firmer targets for 2024 and perhaps find accountability partners or systems that will help you achieve those goals.
Think about your contributions to the school community. This is also a time to have honest conversations with your colleagues about the working environment as well as the learning environment. How have you contributed to building a positive working environment for all stakeholders? How have you supported your colleagues to foster a positive learning environment for all your students? Feedback is supposed to be our breakfast as champion educators, so we must explore every opportunity to ‘eat a healthy meal’😜.
Think about what you can do differently as an educator. This is a time to seek for honest feedback from your line managers, coaches, mentors, and school leaders. What is their perception of your disposition to work and what suggestions do they have for improvement? Based on the lesson observations, agreed targets in the SIP (School Improvement Plan) and any departmental self-evaluation reviews conducted, how have you fared?
Pause.
Breathe.
Reflect.
Then offer season’s greetings; wishing your students, colleagues, friends, and family all the goodwill, love, and merriment they actually need to fully enjoy the season.
Season’s Greetings from all of us at ISED! See you in 2024!
Dr Joy Isa
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