Wow! What Just Happened: The Power of Reflection for an Early-Childhood Educator
Written by: Olivia Johnson
Calling all early-childhood superstars: teachers, para-pro’s, assistants, directors, yes you! Is it an understatement to say that the early-childhood world is unlike anything else in education? I know, silly question, right? Welcome! Pull up a chair, grab some coffee, a snack, and let’s talk PD that fits our needs!
As an educator, one of the most powerful tools in my teacher toolbox is REFLECTION. Reflection can transform the world around us for good or bad. With a growth mindset, reflection can make us better, stronger, more resilient educators and people. With a fixed mindset, reflection can be halting, causing doubt, conflict, and fear. When we have a growth mindset, paired with purposeful reflection, we can’t help but make ourselves, our students, our classrooms, our buildings better! Well friends, this last year has given us so much to reflect on! All of the tears, discomfort, and growing pains that we have felt this year as educators is no secret. You only have to jump on social media to see meme after meme bringing “humor” to our growing pains.
We cannot let all of our experiences from this last year go to waste! I have created a vlog to model what “purposeful reflection” can look like for the educators of our youngest learners. Join me on a journey of reflection over the last year in my kindergarten classroom. I invite you to use these videos as a tool with your team, or staff, to begin your own dialogue. As a reflective educator, I think about:
- What has happened (experiences)
- What connections I can make (personally and professionally)
- What I can learn from experiences that impact my classroom
- What changes I might make as a result
So here we go. Whether you have been teaching for five years or 25 years, last year provided you with opportunities for growth. Let’s journey together. Let’s turn all of the chaos and turmoil that we have all seen into something amazing that will impact the classroom for years to come! *Images created by Olivia Johnson
In this video, I model my reflection on the last year and a half, and how it has made me a better teacher, parent, and friend. I hope this inspires you to take some time to reflect on your experiences and how they can help shape your future for the better!
In this video, I model my reflection on the technology integration from this last school year and how it has worked in my kindergarten classroom. I am sure your classroom, like mine, looks nothing like it usually does. The spatial changes because of social distancing AND the virtual option this year have required many changes of us, our students, and our classrooms. But as I look back, I think there was a lot of good sprinkled through the challenges of the year. What have you learned or tried this year that went really well? Share those things with your educator friends!
Resources
Please login or register to claim PGPs.
Alternatively, you may use the PGP Request Form if you prefer to not register an account.
