Take some time to look closely at this graphic. Let the depth of insight into learning wash over you. This is a 'Reflective Expression' created by a Year 6 student towards the end of her exhibition inquiry about her as a learner throughout the process.
The surface level of the words are an initial invitation to empathize with her process. They also let you know how aware she is of her own strengths and areas for development. There is a high level of meta-cognition presented within this. The words present what she thought, felt and decisions she made, rather than just what she did. The visuals and context she creates give you a hint as to her mindset, schema and perseverance. Did you notice that mushroom strength boost? The flower of motivation? The many sharp points seem to make a point of their own: about 'jumping to conclusions', distractions and chat traps! It is intriguing that the goal, even though self-selected and student-led, felt like a ball and chain. Leaping over the looming 'Wall of Stuckness' with that weight was challenging, and once overcome still presented a dark, seemingly never-ending hole! And yet hope led her on. "Feel it," she says, of that hot glue gunned shape to the left. "Get it???'" she asks, "that feeling of being stuck!" And I do. I can absolutely relate - being a novice, risk-taking and setting yourself a hard goal. Writing my recent keynote speech felt exactly like that patch of glue! This will definitely become a resource I share with each new group of learners I work with. We're embracing The Adventure of Being Stuck!
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www.glocallearners.weebly.comThe idea of being Third Culture Kids came up during a conversation in class, and as I dug a little deeper I realized that the students didn't know this terminology at all. I followed up later that evening by looking for a kid-friendly website to recommend for further reading and quickly realized that much of the information available is targeted at the parents of TCK's rather than at the children themselves.
As we met again the next day I shared my noticing with them, we shared more of our complex stories. I was fascinated to hear the stories, experinces and family histories of just my 23 students, and believed they were worth sharing! We came up with a plan for a website that shared their stories, yet went further to take action in supporting other children experiencing some of the complexities of our lives in transition. And thus our website was born. The student owned the planning for this, and although they had some support, they made and submitted their segments as they saw fit. Already new students have had the website recommended and we've seen how reassuring it can be to know you're not the only one dealing with this. The hope is to continue to develop this website, and to continue empowering the students with a community just like them! The concept of glocal is sometimes seen as trivialising a large complex issue in the global trade sense, but for our commuity we think it works quite well. Our meme expands on this: |
Nicky BourgeoisPrimarily compiled tweets and classroom practice. Categories
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