Creating Active Engagement and Reflection

One of Dr. Harapnuik’s statements really struck me after reviewing these pages. “Educators need to realize that if we expect to maintain any level of credibility and respect with our students we can only ask our students to do things that we are willing to do ourselves.” I have found this to be absolutely the truth, especially teaching high school students. They are always questioning why they have to do the tasks that I am asking them to complete, and sometimes, I feel like my only answer is, “Because the state mandates it.” That isn’t good enough for me and it absolutely shouldn’t be for them. How can I, as an educator, expect them to take ownership of something that I personally know they will never care about because after they take the state test, none of it will matter anyway?

I can honestly say that by going through this process, I am going to start requiring my students to create their own eportfolios. I have been able to see the benefit of watching my own reflection and learning process just through the first three classes of this program, and I know that this sort of learning reflection will help my students become more active in their own learning journey. Dr. Harapnuik writes that, “The act of creation means students are engaged in reflection and deeper learning.” As a video production teacher, I know that this is true. My students are so much more engaged in a course where they are in control of creating a piece that is meaningful to them in some way. They are also much more engaged in the feedback and reflection process, because they want honest feedback in order to improve their current project AND so that they are able to apply what they have learned to their next production. It is my hope that applying this sort of reflection to their other courses through an eportfolio will be equally as beneficial to them.

I also believe that using an eportfolio as an assessment tool will make it easier for me to gauge where each of my students are individually in their own learning process. “An eportfolio helps teachers see learning through the eyes of students and effective feedback helps learners become their own teachers” (Harapnuik, 2019). Not only will reading my students’ reflections help me know where they are in terms of what we are covering in class, I believe that the eportfolio experience will make students more accepting of feedback and criticism. Most high school students are so scared of being judged, but I think that if the feedback process is laid out from the very beginning, it will help teach them HOW to use the feedback that they are given in a positive way that they can apply to their learning. It is a critical skill that they need to be able to use no matter what avenue they decide to take after high school.

Reference:

Harapnuik, D. (2019, May). Who owns the portfolio. It’s About Learning.

http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6050

Hapranuik D. (2019, May). Why use an eportfolio. It’s About Learning.

http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6063