Reflection Phase
Learning Intention & Success Criteria
My Learning Intention was:
“Through research, maintaining a detailed log, peer-consultation and rigorous self-reflection, I will internalize and implement a healthier life-style.”
I believe that I have achieved this learning intention in part. I engaged in research, I maintained a detailed log of my nutritional intake, I took part in and accepted peer-consultation, and I thoroughly enjoyed self-reflection.
The internalization of a healthier life-style however, is still a work in progress since I do not automatically opt for healthier options, which is one of my success criteria. I believe that once I have attained my goal weight, I will then be able to work on this part of my learning intention. Since maintenance will be important at that stage, and in order to achieve this, a balance must occur.
What's Next?
The Transferability of SRL to my Personal and Professional Context
Professionally:
1) I have immersed myself in the culture that is SRL. It has become so influential to me that I have submitted a workshop proposal for the 2019 Quebec Teacher’s Convention, whereby I am hoping to show my colleagues how vital the teaching and modeling SRL actually is.
2) As I wait for the approval of my proposal, I am slowing revising my class assignments in order to teach and model SRL to my students. I know that I have been using parts of the SRL process, but I have yet to use them all together as a continuum. There are some challenges that I am facing. For example, I am starting late in the school year, and the time aspect is imposing some pressure however, I feel that SRL will equip students with the skills they need to tackle their academic challenges. My students have never taken the time to reflect on their own capabilities. Even when I ask a question related to their own experiences or personal background knowledge, they are reluctant to take the time to reflect. This particular cohort seems to struggle in this area. They need to start somewhere and I am hoping to open up their own personal curiosity.
3) I have already used what I have learned in my Academic Consolidation class and subsequent team meetings. Our Professional Learning Community’s goal is to find solutions to foster a growth mindset in these students. I advocated for teaching them SRL skills so that they can recognize their strengths and weaknesses. I feel that this is more important at this part of their learning. If these kids are aiming to graduate high school, then they need to learn how to achieve success in their own way. Once, I made this point to my colleagues, our discussion turned into brainstorming strategies we could show them within the context of our subjects. It has now evolved into my colleagues and my administrator watching one of my lessons. I believe if we work collaboratively (a hook to our next PME course), then SRL could be taught as a team.
Personally:
1) My weight loss journey will not stop here. I still have a long way to go. I really feel that the self-reflection phase of the SRL process has helped me tremendously. Therefore, I will continue my weight loss journey, and I will engage, more frequently in self-reflection. Furthermore, I will continue to use the SR strategies I have created with the help of my research and advice from friends and classmates, so that with time, the strategies will become more automatic. I will be setting a new distal goal for myself. Briefly, I aim to have attained my goal weight by Convocation 2021.
2) Stuart Shanker’s message that SRL should be taught to young children and that this lesson should come from the parents, continues to resonate deeply with me. I continue to support my first post for this class, which pertains to the fact that I will model SRL to my son. As a personal goal in the near future, I am hoping to show him strategies and positive self-talk to help him get himself dressed fully. I know this may seem simple and trivial to us adults, but to a child who is learning, it is imperative that his frustration does not conclude in him giving up. Persistence, trial and error, acceptance of failure (with a tickle from mom), are all part of the SRL process. This is one of the many parenting moments that I will employ SRL skills.
Weekly Reflections
I decided to post my weekly reflections right after my documented nutritional intake in the Performance Phase of my inquiry project. In addition, I engaged in self-reflection as I conducted research throughout this project which you can find in the BLOG section. If I were to summarize the importance of self-reflection I would say it was VITAL to the SRL process.
This page aims to consolidate what I have learned throughout this inquiry project, and to look at the transferability of SRL to my personal and professional context.
How has SRL Helped my Inquiry Project?
My inquiry project was personal and introspective. The Forethought Phase prompted deep emotional triggers and reasoning behind my choosing weight loss as my goal. The creation of my SMART goal depicted the detail that would have to go into the work needed to attain my goal. Throughout the Performance and Reflection Phases, I constantly moved from the learning to the performance zones, in that I engaged in rigorous research and self-reflection. I felt empowered and motivated when I was writing my reflections. The feedback I was able to give myself was crucial to my advancement towards my goal. Group feedback from classmates, friends, family and my WW group was also important. My research encouraged me to dive deeper into my emotions and I discovered more about myself in the last 5 weeks (and a lot of it I have not even shared here). I was able to make the necessary changes in order to reach my goal.
I was often dealing with the other factors that play a role in the SRL process including motivation and a sense of self-efficacy. The weeks when I lost some weight my motivation and sense of self-efficacy were at a high level. Contrarily, when I had difficult weeks, I dealt with a lack of motivation and a low sense of self-efficacy. The ability to navigate these fluctuations successfully is important for goal achievement.
In conclusion, SRL was part of every part of this process and I feel its transferability to all aspects of life is easily achievable. In fact, many of us are already using SRL strategies. It is just a matter of being consciously aware of this and then using our metacognitive state to achieve prime SRL.
"[S]elf-regulated learners have high levels of knowledge about different cognitive learning strategies and have the ability to select, monitor, and regulate their use of those strategies."
Wolters, C. A. (2003). Regulation of motivation: Evaluating an underemphasized aspect of self-regulated learning. Educational Psychologist, 38. 189-205.
Thank You!
I want to thank my family for their support, not only for this project but for my choice to pursue higher education. My son, my little man, my inspiration, and my helper - Thank You for being You! My husband, who loves me the way I am but supports all my crazy projects - Thank You! My parents who continue to listen to my dreams and aspirations like when I was a young child - Thank You!
To my friends who are doing this weight loss journey with me, and to my colleagues for listening to me sing the praises of SRL!
Group 2! Thank you! Especially Kristin for checking in on me and making sure we get in that extra drink of water! Thank You! To my classmates ,who contributed immensely to my learning, and who took the time to respond - Thank You!
Congratulations to all of us! Job Well Done!