100422: Self-Awareness (CEW) Activity - Guest Teacher

OVERVIEW
Self-reflection can be a great tool for students to build confidence and improve in a variety of areas, but they need your guidance. Students need to learn to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. Not just academic strengths and weaknesses but also personality and character traits. Students should be encouraged to reflect on their effort and their motivation.

Art allows us to express ourselves in ways that words cannot. When we tap into our creative brains, we can uncover feelings and thoughts that we were unable to see. The art project below invites students to explore how they view themselves, what makes them unique, and how that image fits into the world around them.

Create opportunities for sharing and discussion while doing this activity with a group. Although you do not have to share in detail, sharing our self-reflections out loud reinforces our feelings about those reflections and creates space to discover similarities, learn about our differences, and celebrate what makes us unique.

Make this activity your own! You can also create a collage, paint, draw, or doodle using the above reflections. Allow art to be an avenue for creative expression and self-exploration.

OBJECTIVE(S) / (SWBAT)
Students should have a basic understanding of how they view, and interact, with the world and their community. Understanding their approach to solving problems and how to harness their unique skills and abilities can give them insight into the ways that they communicate and collaborate with others.

KNOW: How they learn best, interact with others, and recognize leadership and personality strengths and areas of improvement.

UNDERSTAND: How they can focus their energy and gifts into the effort to complete work and be better members of the communities they find themselves in.

DEMONSTRATE: The ability to professionally reflect on their scores and understand what they mean in light of their mission and capabilities.

(❗️) Project / Lesson Task Overview
Using the "Picture Me" Google Slides Presentation listed below, find a picture online that best represents your response to the title of each slide.  There are many slides in the presentation, but you need only complete a minimum of eight (8).  Feel free to complete more if you like.  Please Delete the Slides you do not complete.  You must complete at least one (1) picture on each slide.  Be creative and have fun with this activity!

STEP BY STEP
STEP 1:  Click on the "Picture Me!" Google Slides Presentation Link Below

STEP 2:  Click FILE and MAKE A COPY

STEP 3:  Click SHARE and add Mr. Harvey and Ms. Jaleesa for credit

STEP 4:  Use Google, the Camera on your Phone, or other resources to create at least eight (8) slides of the presentation.  You may also draw, write poetry or a short paragraph, or express yourself in other ways on each slide.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  You are only graded on adding content to the slides, the content itself is not judged or graded in any way.  You MUST include only items on the slides that are school appropriate.  Please do not include anything that might need to be reported as inappropriate for school use, or search for anything inappropriate on school-issued devices or networks to avoid disciplinary trouble.

LINKS & RESOURCES
"Picture Me!" Google Slides Presentation (Click Here)

(❗️) POST-PROJECT GMAIL REFLECTION / ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY

1. What mood were you in prior to starting the project?  

2. How do you think that affected the images you chose?  

3.  When you found your images, what feelings did you have about who you are, and how

     did that affect your choices?  

Example Gmail
TO: jaleesa.thomas@techfreire.org, harvey.scribner@techfreire.org
SUBJECT: Picture Me!
Body of Message: Answer All Questions Listed Above (Copy/Paste Questions into Gmail)

R.A.C.E.S. Method R - Repeat the Question, A - Answer the Question,
C - Cite Evidence, E - Examples / Explanation, S - Summarize your Thoughts

BACKGROUND
Self-awareness is defined as “the ability to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts… including capacities to recognize one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose” (CASEL, 2019). Confidence is a key component of self-awareness and is a skill that requires lifelong exploration. Confidence can be defined as the way in which we view ourselves and our ability to achieve our goals. There are many internal and external factors that contribute to our confidence. As we get older, we develop a deeper sense of self as we push through challenges, celebrate successes, and everything in between. External factors such as support of family and friends, education, and community relations affect our confidence and sense of self. As adults, we can help to create safe and supportive environments for our children to have the space to learn, grow, and gain confidence in themselves.

KEY TERMS
https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-reflection

Self-reflection is an essential skill for personal growth. Without it, we walk around unconscious and often reactive to others and even our own selves.

CAUTION: if self-reflection becomes obsessive, it can turn into self-judgment

ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S)
EQ: How can I take a snapshot of the way I process information, react to situations, and identify strengths and areas of improvement to be more successful at leadership, teamwork, and how I function in a community, classroom, or career environment.

ACADEMIC STANDARD(S) (PA)
Reference: Business, Computer and Information Technologies
PA SAS (BCIT) / ISTE / CSTA / NGSS / PA Career & Work

PA BCIT 15.4.12.G: Create an advanced digital project using sophisticated design and appropriate software/applications.

PA CE&W 13.3.11.11A: Evaluate personal attitudes and work habits that support career retention and advancement.

PA BCIT 15.3.12.D: Evaluate business materials (including web-based resources) for value related to purpose, quality, and appropriateness. Understands that interactions among learning, inheritance and physical development affect human behavior. Understands that differences in the behavior of individuals arise from the interaction of heredity and experience.

ADDITIONAL PROJECTS

Here are ideas to help students remember what they did and evaluate their outcomes.

Sketch or Draw
Have students draw what they’ve learned or how they feel. Having a piece of art they can view is an excellent way to reflect on in the future. For example, if a child is very frustrated with a new concept, they could draw a picture of how they feel at that time. Over time as the concept becomes easier, they could draw another illustration of how they feel after making progress. They’ll see how far they have come and recognize how their hard work and effort paid off.

Make it Fun
Make reflection a game. Just like with any other skill, self-reflection takes a lot of practice, and kids are usually not very interested in rote memorization or repetitive drills, so make it fun! For example, you could put reflection questions on dice, use apps, or play games to help students practice answering reflection questions after ordering or even before a lesson.

Portfolio
Portfolios lend themselves to student reflection. They have the added benefit of being available for parents to reflect on their kids’ work and to help their children reflect on their work. Things to include in a portfolio include student work samples or graphs that show anything from student behavior to growth in academic areas. When children look at their portfolios and see the growth they have made, it reinforces the value of self-reflection.

Journaling
Journals have many of the same benefits portfolios except that they get into the heart of what a student is honestly thinking. When children journal, they can share their thoughts and feelings at the moment and then look back at them later. Even younger children or those who are unable to write independently can draw pictures, or they can have someone dictate for them.