Spring: A time for Reflection at Spicewoood

"We don't learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience." -John Dewey

Each Spring Spicewood students engage in a reflection that connects them to the collaborative goals they set at the beginning of the year, and has them sharing a year's worth of celebrations with their families. It is so exciting to see them flipping through the pages of their portfolios, eyes opening wider at each page as they look at their work from the year, and mark their progress with smiles and pride!
All Spicewood students will engage in portfolio conferences on May 6th. From kindergarten to 5th grade, Spicewood's learners lead and facilitate their own conference as they share their work across the PYP transdisciplinary themes and subject areas!
In addition to our portfolio conferences that day, our 5th graders are sharing the culminating project of they PYP journey through the Exhibition. This year our students are exploring the ways that creative expression inspires people to take action! Beginning in March students are shepherded through the project by a Spicewood staff mentor who has helped them not only plan for their project, but also reflect on their learning throughout the program. Each week they meet and look at the impact of the essential elements of the PYP: skills, knowledge, concepts, attitudes and action. In small groups students discuss how their learning has been impacted by exploring these things and what it means for their perspectives as learners and how they view the world. These conversations are a way to consolidate the aspects of a PYP education, while simultaneously completing a project that exemplifies all the elements of the program.
Reflecting on experiences encourages insight and transfers understanding to new contexts that go beyond the classroom. Students solidify growth when they are asked to control their learning, and we believe this process is enhance by exploring and discussing this learning with others. This is also part of inquiry, we learn and expand on that learning by the presence, ideas, thoughts, and questions of other learners. For students at Spicewood this continues through to the reflection process and is shared at our Spring conferences!
We hope you join us on May 6th to watch our students synthesize their year and joyfully share it with those around them!