Read and reflect #10

Setting aside time for reflection is very important when students complete a project. Setting aside time for reflection helps students reveal things they might not otherwise think about including what they learned (and what they enjoyed about learning), their growth as learners, and what (and how) they want to learn in projects ahead. Students are able to reflect on how the project became personally meaningful. When thinking about reflects is is important to ask students how specific learning behaviors factored into the success of a project and their skill development.

One important factor that helps schools build tradition is building awareness in others. When families, the community, and students coming up through the grades know what you are up to, you have the foundation for tradition. As community members begin to notice and value students' accomplishments they will become enthusiastic and show support. It is helpful to ask community members to participate in learning. This way they can see how your class accomplishments are the results of students' commitments to their own learning.

Creating a celebration for a project can actually be a project in and of itself. Put students in charge of planning the celebration. Celebrating a project can help build the school's identity as a place where kids get to learn through projects.

All of these concepts relate to our project of creating a living museum. I think it would be a great idea to have students plan an event to hold for their parents and members of the community once they have experienced the living museum the students created. Planning the event could be incorporated as part of the project, giving each student an opportunity to plan some aspect of it as they are also creating the living museum. I also think that reflection upon the project could be a part of the event as it would give community members a chance to hear the students' thoughts on the living museum they worked on.