You’re finally there. That Friday afternoon bell that we all love sounded to round out the end of term 3. There was no bell this time around for many of us, but rather the Zoom call ended, and you shut the laptop to walk from the kitchen table to the couch.
It’s now your time to rest, relax, reset, and recharge. They are four important R’s that will help us kick off term 4 in the right spirit. But there is one more important R that we can’t forget. It’s reflection. The last term may have been marked by challenges on so many fronts, and although you just want to put it behind you, it’s essential that you take the time to reflect before you move too far forward into Term 4 and embrace the raft of new possibilities that lie ahead.
Reflection doesn’t need to be an arduous task or a formal process. Your reflections don’t need to be shared with others. Alternatively, it doesn’t need to be done alone and can be an effective way to kick off your first team meeting of the term. 20 minutes is all it needs.
Put simply, reflection is the act of setting time aside to look at yourself. It helps us make sense of our daily experience, to make decisions and to take action. The intention of reflection is to make an adjustment, not to make a judgement.
Our best reflections are when we have a frame to help us make that adjustment. It’s when we reflect on something. You may have your way, but if not, I’d like to share with you something I stumbled across many years ago. It’s called a PIGS reflection. It’s a simple way of taking your thinking from the past, into the present and then the future.
Try it out, and let me know how you go.
P…Positive – What are the positives? There will be plenty, so make sure you celebrate them
I…Interesting – What’s interesting? Maybe not good, or bad, just worth noting.
G….Growth Opportunity – A nice way of identifying the negatives.
S….Suggestions – What are the next steps, new ideas or goals?
Term 4 is always my favourite. You get to put the icing on the cake. Your hard work shaping and moulding your class will come to fruition and you’ll have them eating out of your hand. For our NSW and Vic schools, I really hope that your Term 4 will be a little more normal.
Now, rest up.
Check out other articles Simon has written here.