This week in CONNECTIONS:

• REFLECTION | Moving from afterthought to intentional as part of the learning process.
• AI AS CO-PILOT. HUMANS AS THE HEART | Discover the role AI plays for Jordan, a 14 year old high school student, in his reimagined journey through school in HAPPENING IN THE FIELD.
• VIBRANT LEARNING: WHAT’S AI GOT TO DO WITH IT? Attending our Summer AI Conference will answer that question and so much more! Interested in sharing your lessons learned and ideas? Proposal and Registration below in WHAT’S ON DECK.
• HOW MIGHT ELEVATED STUDIOS SUPPORT YOUR WORK? Learn more about what we do here! No matter where you are in the work or geographically, we’d love to be your design partners.
  

CONNECTIONS

March 2025 | Issue 18

From Event to Habit: Reflection as Everyday Learning

Defenses of Learning taking place across the state almost always ask that students reflect on themselves as learners both academically and in terms of the durable skills found in district and school graduate/learner profiles.

However, we put students in a difficult situation when reflection only takes place when preparing for an event like a Defense. 

Years of study about the way humans learn makes it clear that reflection isn’t something to be overlooked. Probably all of us through our educator preparation programs learned about John Dewey and his theory that learning doesn’t simply happen as result of experiences but instead, as result of reflecting on those experiences.

Despite Dewey’s work and the research of others who emphasize the essential role reflection plays in learning, it’s still sometimes an afterthought - something we have students do if there’s time.

How might reflection become an integral and intentional part of lesson design?

Rob Collins, former English teacher at Greenup County High School, now an Innovative Programs Consultant at KDE, shared an important question from one of Kentucky’s Innovative Lab Network Teacher Fellows and his response through a recent LinkedIN post.

Today, we are sharing Rob’s post below with his permission. We hope it might spark some new thinking about the shape reflection can take - and if it does, please let us know! We’d love to share and learn from your ideas.

Rob’s post: Important food for thought - and action

Reflection is the most powerful, most enduring assessment we do in life. So why do we often overlook it as a meaningful measure in school?

During a recent meeting of the teacher fellowship I facilitate, one of our excellent teacher fellows asked: "Does student reflection on their attainment of standards actually count as enough of an assessment?"

She was reflecting on a classroom project that culminated in a community exhibition of learning, where students shared stories of their town’s history—how they are part of it and how they plan to contribute in the future.

In previous years, she had walked around with a clipboard and rubric, scoring student projects and engagement. This year, she made a different choice:

Instead of scoring projects in real time, she focused on being present—engaging in conversations, truly listening as students shared their work.

The assessment? Student reflection.

Instead of being graded by a rubric in real time, students completed a guided reflection—self-assessing their attainment of the project’s standards and their mastery of key skills.

For me, the answer was immediate: Of course, that’s assessment! And a damn good one at that if her students’ reflections are any indication.

But it raises a bigger question: Why do we so often discount reflection as a true, valid assessment of learning?

🔹 We assess ourselves through reflection all the time—at work, in relationships, in personal growth. These self-assessments shape who we are.
🔹 Tests fade. Projects get archived. But reflection endures.
🔹 When students reflect deeply, they’re not just showing what they’ve learned—they’re shaping how they learn (and who they are) in the future.

How can we elevate reflection as a main course assessment, not just a formative tool or an afterthought?

AI AS CO-PILOT. HUMANS AS HEART | Discover the role AI plays for Jordan, a 14 year old high school student living in Anytown, KY, in his reimagined journey through school thanks to this recent article from Sujata Bhatt and Mason Pashia in Getting Smart’s H3 series, Kentucky’s Learning Ecosystem in 2040: A Day in the Life.

• A NEW SPIN ON US HISTORY | Bullitt County High School teacher Lexie Bewley-Gilley’s work is being featured in a newly released book by Karin Hess, Applying Depth of Knowledge and Cognitive Rigor. Thanks to a connection with OVEC Digital Learning Consultant Adam Watson, Hess used Gilley’s overhauled US history unit, designed by applying principles from table-top role-playing game design, as a “Story from the Field.” You can find a screenshot of the excerpt providing more detail about Lexie’s unit above. What a great example of vibrant learning! Congratulations, Lexie!

HOW MIGHT WE RETHINK TEACHER-LED CLASSROOM ROUTINES TO INSPIRE STUDENT AGENCY? | April 17 | 9:00-3:00 pm EST | Join us this spring to learn how even the simplest of classroom routines can cultivate agency in your students. Register here!

VIBRANT LEARNING: WHAT’S AI GOT TO DO WITH IT? | We’re on the hunt for passionate, forward-thinking speakers and presenters to take the stage at AI for Kentucky Educators: Launch 2025! This flagship event ignites a yearlong journey, empowering educators with cutting-edge AI tools and transformative strategies to revolutionize teaching and learning.

If you have innovative insights, practical solutions, research-backed approaches for AI integration in education or for equipping students with the skills they need to use AI, we invite you to submit a proposal. 

📅 **Event Date:** June 4, 2025 

📍 **Location:** Shelbyville Conference Center, KY 

🎯 **Audience:** Teachers, librarians, education leaders, digital learning coaches, academic coaches…everyone! 

**Topics of Interest:** 

✅ AI-powered teaching tools 

✅ Ethical AI use in education 

✅ AI for personalized learning 

✅ Time-saving AI strategies for educators 

📩 Submit your proposal today!**

Questions? Contact Adam Watson at awatson@ovec.org.

Let’s shape the future of AI in education—together! 🚀 Learn more and register here!

WHAT MIGHT THE NEXT STEPS BE FOR YOUR CLASSROOM, SCHOOL OR DISTRICT?

Whether looking for ways to bring your Profile to life, rethinking the way we use time, designing your local accountability system, creating a performance assessment system or finding simple shifts to create a different - and much more meaningful and memorable - learning experience, we’d love to be your design partners. Check out some of the key ways we can partner with your school or district here!

Not sure what your next steps need to be? We can help with that too! Contact us at elevatED studios!