My #oneword2020 was reflection. One of my goals at the beginning of this practicum was to make my reflection meaningful through documentation. At the beginning of this practicum, this meaningful reflection was intended to be in some form of reflection journal. After trying to write my reflections in a journal, I soon realized that I was spending the majority of my time thinking about how to put my thoughts into words than my reflections themselves. It wasn’t until a conversation in the staff lunchroom that an idea popped in my head. One of the teachers at my school was discussing a recent assessment workshop that she went to held by Sandra Herbst. She mentioned that Sandra said an excellent way to give feedback is to write your feedback on sticky notes, and have students carry and place that sticky note wherever it is relevant to apply the feedback given. I loved the premise of this and figured it could apply to my reflection practice. I started reflecting after each day, starting with what went well throughout the day. I then moved onto what needed improvement and found a few words that fit a common theme throughout my day. Some days it would be 1 word, some days it would be 3 or more. I took these word(s) and wrote them down on a large sticky note for the next day. The next day, I would place the sticky note on my day plan as a reminder of what I was focusing on for the day. I found this method to work much better for me as opposed to the reflection journal. Throughout the day, the bright yellow sticky note was my reflection feedback to myself.

My goal relating to my one word, to create meaningful reflection, was most definitely reasonable and attainable. Although my reflection didn’t look like what I had initially planned, I’m glad that I explored different options to find what worked best for me. I think the use of the sticky note method allowed me to enjoy the process of reflection, leading me to satisfy my goal. This trial and error process reinforced the idea that there is more than one way to represent learning. Some people may do best writing their reflections in a journal, while others may do best communicating their reflections verbally. For me, I worked best reflecting with my sticky note method.

I learned so many valuable pieces of information about myself and my students throughout my process of reflection. I learned the importance of adaptation for both myself and my students. I also learned how powerful feedback can be, whether it be feedback to self or feedback to others. Ironically, I learned that less is sometimes more. I was trying to create extravagant journal entries with appealing writing and grammar when all I needed was a sticky note with a few words. I am so glad that I chose reflection as my one word. The word reflection resonates more with me now than ever, because I know there will always be a place for reflection in my practice as an educator.