6 - That's a Wrap!
I cannot believe, this is the end...
I hope everyone has enjoyed following along my journey the past 6 weeks. It has been fun engaging with you here, so thank you!
What have I learned?
Throughout this process, I learned many digital skills, not just in creating a cookbook, but in creating something worth looking at. For example, making sure the information on the page is pertinent to the theme and is easily followed but legible. We could make the connection to assessment here and see that without proper instructions or layout, students will be unsure of what you are expecting of them, or what you should be of them. I also learned time management skills, such as deciding what took precedence. Deciding what should go in the cookbook and what could be left out was also something I learned during this time.
What did I enjoy?
I enjoyed that this was a free-range activity. We had criteria to follow, but we were free to choose our own topics, questions, and how we approached the process. Giving students choice, so that they can better engage with the content is so important. We saw the same with all of us students in this course. There is a diverging amount of topics ranging from activities, adventures, skills, and even educational ones just to name a few. However, every student was still able to follow the process and develop some sort of product alongside any of the expected tasks.
Were there any challenges?
I know for myself, it was difficult to get going. For example, a student who might be indecisive would have a hard time determining a topic, and could potentially fall behind. A big part of this task is staying on track and doing the necessary work every week. There is no time to catch up, so it is important to stay up to date. Therefore, the first week was hard for me because there was a lot of information being thrown at me and I had to decide then and there where the next 5 weeks would take me. Ideally, we would do this for a longer duration but just being aware of what is expected along this journey is necessary to develop those original thoughts. However, this assignment is very forgiving. If there is a direction that is not working, then adapting it and discussing the process is all part of the final product. This part makes the activity all the better for the students to succeed.
Would I change anything?
A lot would have to do with time. Although this is an implication always because we never have as much time to put into something as we may wish. I shared my cookbook with friends and family because they asked for it, and I felt the need to tell them that it is not what I would have made if I had more than 5weeks. Although this may be true, we need to learn and evaluate what we can accomplish in a certain amount of time and set out goals for ourselves. This is something I will continue to look at and understand about myself. However, it is also something very important in education, as if we do not set out clear learning goals then what is the point of certain practices.
Where do we go from here?
I think this was such a fun project, that really helped me reflect on who I am as a learner. It also made me think in terms of how would I incorporate such activity in my own teaching. There is a big focus for engaging students in the content they are studying, as well as making lessons and tasks be cross-curricular. The guiding questions could have students make connections to certain disciplines, such as creating a question that connects to their social studies lessons, allowing students to make a community-based connection, or even graphing/outlining data relevant to the math curriculum. I feel like there are so many connections that could be made for students providing them with opportunities to utilize the information they are learning in other components of the curriculum in their daily practices.
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