Module 9 Self Reflection Essay
I found the development of this course to be relevant and helpful in filling a need to curate and organize a repository or resources for students as they prepare for the PSAT. One of the most common questions that I get from students is about where they can find good resources to study for standardized tests. Florida has a scholarship program called Bright Futures which provides tuition for students who have qualifying test scores on the SAT, ACT or CLT. Bright Futures encourages students to focus on maximizing these scores and retaking them to hit target scores for the medallion (FMS) level which provides 75% or tuition or the academic level (FAS) which covers 100% of tuition at any of twelve schools within the public university system in Florida. Beyond this more general goal, I wanted to target a specific audience of 10th grade students who have the potential to score well enough on the PSAT that they take junior year to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. Each year, when we call down students who have been identified as commended scholars for the first stage of the contest, we find that the majority of students who took the exam did not understand that scoring well on this specific test was a gateway to National Merit status. The students who make the cutoff for commended but have scores that will not be likely to qualify them to move on to the next phase of the contest are often frustrated that they were not aware of the importance of this exam. They often comment that they wish they had known more because they would have done some prep work if they had been more aware.
Beyond this specific target audience, I would like to develop this blog to support test prep for the SAT and the ACT. Although I have a list of resources posted on the college prep page of our school’s web site, I feel that posting a list of links without relevant context makes interacting and navigating the resources more difficult for students.
I found the resources that I created in many of the assignments during this course to be relevant and useful. They could serve as a foundation for more targeted resources to support standardized testing preparation for students. The problem is not that there are not plenty of available resources, but rather that the sheer volume of resources can be overwhelming. When there are too many sources of content for students, they can become overwhelmed and spend time bouncing passively from one tool to another rather than genuinely understanding the content and practicing relevant skills.
Module 7 Self Reflection Essay
Our state has recently banned cell phones for student use during the school day for all students in elementary and middle school. My district has extended that ban to include students in high school as well. Though the digital device ban initially included tablets and lap tops, that ban has been narrowed to cell phones. As a result of this ban, our school has moved to implement a 1-1 device policy that is scheduled to take effect next school year. This will make sure that all students have access to a device at home and at school. Because this course is self-paced, the students will be completing most components outside of the regular school day where they will have access to their own devices. If they need to complete some assignments during the school day, specific areas of the school have been designated as cell phone safe zones. These include the attendance office as well as the college and career planning office where students have direct supervision. Students may find smart phones a quick and easy way to keep track of progress, update their error log and set regular alarms and reminders. They can also access practice questions and YouTube videos using this tool. Both Canva and Cap-Cut are available as smartphone apps, but students could also film themselves directly on their cell phone. This allows students to be creative in using tools that they are familiar with. Students can generate a link to their videos by posting it to YouTube or by generating a direct link in the video recording app that they choose to use. Digital story telling forces students to organize and explain their thinking in a short format that helps them focus on the key parts of their study plan. By setting limits on the format and providing planning and organization tools, this lesson helps students to reflect and plan as they continue their PSAT study journey. Video blogging, Tic-tocs and YouTube videos are a way to encourage communication and sharing ideas while showing students that tools used for entertainment also have educational value.
Module 5 Self Reflection Essay
Digital portfolios are research supported methods designed to encourage evidence-based reflection and to provide shared spaces for collaboration and mentoring (Gulzar et al., 2025). A digital space was created and organized using Google Drive, Blogger and YouTube to collect artifacts from a curriculum and instruction class focusing on technology and social media. E-portfolios serve as tangible products which demonstrate learning and serve as a source of data while also encouraging personal reflection (Kuon et al., 2024). Because this portfolio is supporting a course in curriculum focused on technology and social media, a digital portfolio is an ideal platform for record keeping and resource collection.
My focus for this course has been the development of a self-paced PSAT prep class for 10th grade students who have scores that indicate they have the potential to qualify for National Merit recognition in 11th grade. During each module, additional elements for the course are being added to the course so that students will have a full range of resources and support when they begin to prepare for the test.
As part of the self-reflection process, I created a Google Form which can be used to evaluate content, reflection and insight of the digital learning tools being developed in this course. The process of self-reflection is an important part of personal growth and continuing improvement that helps leaders to continue to refine and apply their learning to their practice (Bleach, 2014). Because the PSAT prep course is being designed through an iterative process over the length of the course, self reflection and continuing improvement will make sure that the parts of the course fit together, provide an adequate range of resources, and are of a high quality to support the self-paced course.
Content accuracy relates to whether the information and resources are a true reflection of the format, policies and questions on the PSAT. Using and referencing original source documents from the College Board is one way that content accuracy has been improved. Information will be cross referenced with original source documents from the non-profit organization who develops and administers the program in order to make sure that the content is high quality and relevant. When secondary sources are used, they will be compared to the benchmarks provided by College Board and referenced as secondary or supporting sources. Khan Academy is one example of a secondary source that is research backed and correlated tightly with the College Board resources.
Breadth refers to a wide range of content supporting multiple modalities, formats and student learning preferences. In a self-paced course, it is important for a student to have a large variety of options and ways of engaging with the content. Multiple tabs are being added to a blog which serves as a central collection area for digital resources. Videos, quizzes, digital resources and websites are a few of the resources provided and more will be added as the course develops.
Insight is being supported with multiple pathways for self-reflection, feedback, and interaction with the instructor. The commenting feature on Blogger is one avenue for student communication, but additional reflection opportunities will occur through in person meetings as well as feedback questions built into specific quizzes and surveys. Making sure that the avenues of communication remain active will support ongoing student engagement. Given the student-directed nature of the course and limited accountability of voluntary instruction, consistent check-ins will help students to evaluate progress and encourage motivation to continue. Error logging and record keeping are other components of accountability. By asking students to collect concrete data about mistakes and having them categorize that data, they will be able to track growth and target areas of improvement. A rubric for self-reflection is included in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Self Assessment Rubric
References
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