Mirror, mirror, on the wall…
Usually, when we talk about reflection in education we are referring to assessment and evaluation. We evaluate through reflecting, that is, thoughtful consideration (#7) or meditation (#6) on something. Both of these qualify as the action we take as educators to assess and evaluate whether it be our students or ourselves. It’s interesting then to view reflection through its other lenses. I’ve not thought about reflecting as producing or influencing something before, so it forced me to question what I’ve produced by reflecting? What did I influence? And finally, it made me consider that what is reflected back to me is in direct correlation to what I emit.
Definition of reflection
1: an instance of reflecting especially the return of light or sound waves from a surface
2: the production of an image by or as if by a mirror
3: the action of bending or folding back
b: a reflected part : FOLD
4: something produced by reflecting: such as
a: an image given back by a reflecting surface
b: an effect produced by an influence the high crime rate is a reflection of our violent society
5: an often obscure or indirect criticism : REPROACH
a reflection on his character
6: a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation
7: consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose
I began the year with some goal-setting in the form of #OneWord2019. The word I chose was a bit unusual compared to the normal gamut, but as I explained in my post a year ago, it works for me. In a nutshell, knit, was my word because it encapsulated the “Cs” that made up my goal for the year: consolidation, creation and creativity, coding, and calm.
Reflecting in an evaluative sense, I still have some work to do. But if I consider the other ways to think of reflection, I feel accomplished, primarily because I like what is being reflected back to me.
So, what reflections am I sending out to the world? Well, here’s a collection from the year: Best of 2019 Wakelet.
As you ponder the year as many of us do, consider not just what you are putting out there, but what you are getting back because that’s part of you reflecting back.
