Reflection is an integral part of the action learning cycle, helping us to make sense of our experiences, deepen our learning and gain direction for the journey ahead. Reflection is the step that completes a loop of learning and launches us into our next round of observing, learning, exploring, deciding and acting.
Discussing what you did and how it went helps to build capacity for future learning and action. It gives a chance for different people’s perspectives on an experience to surface, widening and deepening your collective Pool of Knowledge/ Puna Mātauranga
Reflection is about investigating the impact and quality of our actions. It is about observing change in an early childhood centre or school surroundings, operation, organisation, and curriculum. These changes may be seen in the living, non-living and built environment, and young people, staff, whānau and the whole community. Measuring change can reinforce your achievements and confirm that you are making a difference.
Outcomes
- To consider where you are at and look ahead to where you might go
- To review and learn more from your experiences
- To recognise and celebrate your journey so far
- To touch base with the Enviroschools kaupapa (Guiding Principles and Whole School/ Centre Approach), as well as with your own school/ centre vision, mission or kaupapa.
Key Questions
- What are we reflecting on?
- Purpose: To review and document our progress
- How did the project go?
- Purpose: To reflect on specific projects in order to maximise our learning
- What changes have come about because of our learning and actions?
- Purpose: To see what difference we are making
- How will we celebrate?
- Purpose: To consider all the ways we can acknowledge honour and celebrate
- Where to from here?
- Purpose: To look ahead and think about new directions and next steps.
Reflect on Change – Documenting, Reflecting and Celebrating offers tools to enable students to track their progress, measure environmental changes, reflect on the journey and celebrate successes.
Each of the reflection activities can be downloaded as individual pdf’s below.
You can access the Reflect on Change Section of the Enviroschools Kit here and the matrix questions here.
You might also find the Enviroschools Kit Learning and Teaching Methods_Reflective Techniques useful.
For Holistic Reflection Process you will find the overview here.