Reflections

Another school year passes, and as I reflect on what went well and what didn't work quite as expected, I think about my learning experiences alongside the students. Student surveys and written reflections are always helpful when analyzing a curriculum, but a key indication to success is not in the grading of student projects. It is sensing the overall tone in the classroom throughout the year. Did the students seems happy, engaged, eager to learn and able to produce quality work?

If I think about those moments where I sparked an interest, guided learning and helped to inspire an atmosphere of creativity, collaboration and communication, I feel satisfied that something did in fact go well. Not every project or lesson was perfect and I realized that each student needed to learn how to code complex pages and/or scenes in their own unique way. So I was pleased to see that the outcomes in my Programming class revealed student successes on personal levels.

During projects, I watched students take their coding skills a step further, troubleshooting issues along the way. They collaborated to solve problems that they never imagined existed and willingly helped fellow students achieve their goals. Each student left the course with various skills that they didn't have when they started. Students proudly showed me their work and the coding skills that they mastered. From HTML to JavaScript to JAVA animations, students experimented with the unknown and willingly accepted challenges along the way.

One student's JAVA animation of a race may look rather simple, but I know that it took time, patience and critical thinking to perfect the arm and leg movements. As I watched his characters running in a race, I couldn't help but think how his scene related to learning. Students all start together and run at different speeds, but in the end, they are all winners!