During this class, we really started to dive into what each class will look like over time as well as the expectations that come with it. After a brief class beginning, myself and my classmates went into the Learning Circles! My symbol for this week is a cycle– constantly flowing set of stages. 

*One thing to note as we move forward along his journey; I do not intend on using anyones specific names or genders as I did not ask for anyone’s consent specifically to be put on this blog which is accessible by anyone who looks up this website. If I happened to seem vague or quick on certain details, this could be a small atonement as for why. I take consent and confidentiality very seriously*

This was the very first learning circle, the group I am in has a plethora of different wisdoms and experiences that is expelled by all of those in the group. Remembe  ring that time was an element we had to keep track of, we got to business. We quickly went over our interpretations and expectations of each job and their role, we know that everyone will have to have a turn with each job so we had those who wanted to have a role- have the role they would like to start off this monthly process. I wrote down each of our names in my notebook therefore we would all be able to remember who does what- I plan on using the same page for future circles as well. As we continue with the cycling learning circles, we all made an agreement to read the chapter and come ready to participate. We made sure that everyone gave consent to having our voices recorded to be sent back out to the rest of us- our recorder did so and has already sent the recording out to us. Our time keeper put on timers set by the group to make sure we made time for all the topics at hand. Our Dialogue Facilitator was quick on their feet to think up questions to carry along conversation, we talked about: presenting- the fears and pressure that can follow that as well as ways that educators can adapt those types of projects to make them less scary, parachute activity- from the textbook (Making Classroom Assessment Work by Anne Davies) on page two where it talks about when to evaluate and what to evaluate when giving an activity, parent involvement- how it can be nerve racking to involve the grown ups in a child’s life and how it is extremely important to take in all roles and sides when coming to an agreement on goals and communication. Overall, the group was efficient, and everyone participated- We made very good use of the time we had and I believe that this conversation could have gone on all day.

The class has a cycle of its own- we learn and talk about the content and what we feel about the content, but then we do so in an anonymous way which gives everyone a safe space to say what they really feel. We always come back to Poll Guru. We also went along a journey of self goal setting and questioning where we could see where we stand on assessing student learning. Another piece brought into the cycle is the touching back on the rubric andthe expectations of the activities that take place throughout the semester. We cycle back to the cycle of the medicine wheel: Belonging, Mastery, Independence, and Generosity. Our Instructor referenced the course symbol which talks about our own constantly growing and evolving journeys- Where am I going? How am I doing? & Where to next? This is a beautiful view of not only educational assessment, but for self assessments, life assessments, assessing certain choices, and the list goes on. This is a beautiful way to layout and look back on my personal growth and use it towards my future role as an educator, someone who wants to continue this cycle and have students be able to use their own self assessments to further their journey as their best selves.

Thank you for reading!

Best Baylee

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