Celebrating Successes, Accomplishments and Learning

Hard work deserves appreciation.  After such a supportive effort by students to make it down the road to independence, it was important to celebrate.  They had worked hard!   The new tone in the classroom, one of student engagement, responsibility and ownership of learning, is the result of the co-partnership we had created.  

Regular reflections about our successes and challenges have become part of our routine- students capture these more formally once per week but, on a daily basis, we engage in conversations with the students about how things are going.  

As students assumed more responsibility for their learning, we saw a change in their participation and the language they were using in our reflection conversations.  We saw a greater interest in what others were doing and heard supportive comments and suggestions for problem-solving with their peers.  We wondered if the students felt the change too.  From our observations and in truly listening to them as they interacted with one another, we could totally see and hear it so it was important to make these observations visible to them.

A special treat to celebrate

In a discussion with them, we were able to identify the learning that had happened- in learning skills and content. Together, we decided on a way to celebrate the learning. Students brainstormed ideas and then chose their own way to capture their learning in order to share it at our classroom celebration.  They enjoyed participating in special collaborative tasks as part of the day and decided that a special snack would be nice too.

Students need opportunities to share their learning with others.
It gives another purpose for learning in the first place and provides them
with opportunities to impact others.