I have long believed that teaching students the practice of reflecting on their own learning is one of the most important elements of personalized learning. If we want students who are aware of their own academic identity and learning strengths and areas for growth, they have to practice reflecting on their work and progress.
Perhaps this belief is why the chapter on the practice of reflection in Teaching Entrepreneurship resonated so powerfully with me. Indeed, the authors point out unequivocably that “the practice of reflection is arguably the most important of all the practices for entrepreneurship education.” But why would this be the case?
The primary point the authors drive home is that entrepreneurship education has to blend both theory and practice. In other words, learning about entrepreneurship will never be enough. Students actually have to experience it, with all of the intellectual and emotional learning that goes hand in hand. They cite Alfred North Whitehead, who reminds us that we have to experience things in order to better think about them. In other words, our practical experience informs our conceptual understanding of those same things. The practice of reflection, therefore, becomes an essential bridge between what we experience and how that experience informs our developing understanding.
This is a connection that I am passionate about. As a high school principal with Envision Education, we employed a portfolio assessment system that held reflection at the pinnacle of our educational practices. Following each major project, students wrote a reflection, drawing conclusions about both the content they had mastered as well as the leadership skills they had applied along the way towards completion. Both the final drafts of their work plus their reflective writing on their learning process were then systematically uploaded into their student portfolios. As students approached the conclusion of the sophomore and seniors years, they reviewed their work and assembled what might be considered as a meta-reflection, that sought to synthesize their learning and growth into a single document (we called it the “cover letter” to their portfolio presentation in 10th grade, and their “academic identity” paper as they approached graduation). The cover letter and academic identity formed the foundation of their portfiolio defense presentation – a 90 minute presentation and Q&A experience in front of a review panel of teachers and community partners.
Everything about the Envision College Portfolio was designed with reflection and self-awareness as a primary goal. And it worked. I was constantly amazed not only with the content and academic content knowledge students had learned, but with how they developed in their ability to articulate their own unique journey. Our graduates were intensely familiar with their strengths and weaknesses as learners and students. They had many explicit conversations about the leadership skills, strategies, and routines that helped them be successful, and where they needed further attention and development. This type of reflection proved to be hefty emotional work, as students confronted the challenges that stood in the way of achieving success, including how personal and family adversity both enriched and complicated their personal journey. It was no suprise that tears were often shed during the public defense, with parents and other loved ones in the room to share the experience.
With that rich professional experience in my mind, I smiled as I read the first line of the conclusion in the chapter on reflection in Teaching Entrepreneurship: “Reflection is one of the hardest things we ask our students to do.” As the authors point out, entrepreneurship is deeply personal, and venturing requires navigation through tremendous uncertainty. Having an awareness of who they are and why they are doing what they are doing has the power to sustain students in their entrepreneurial endeavors.