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Areas of Impact

School-Wide
Classroom

Age Group

High school and middle school

Length

20-30 minutes

Frequency

Yearly

Type

Print Materials

Student-Led Conference Community Reflection

Self Awareness & Growth Mindset, Collaboration & Community Skills

If we want a community in which all students belong, in which all strengths and contributions are recognized, it just makes sense to have students include that in their portfolios.

Overview

This document scaffolds students’ reflection on their contributions to their community for the Student-Led Conference Portfolio.

Context

At Gateway we decided to include a “Community” section of the portfolio because community is something that we talk about all the time, and so we felt that we needed to value it in students’ portfolio presentations at Student-Led Conferences. After completing the Community Commitments Checklist, students are ready to choose an artifact that represents their contributions to the community. Some examples of an artifact might be a community recognition award, a sports team certificate, a photo of their contribution to a school event, or a Collaboration Rubric with peer feedback from a class.

Implementation

Just like thinking about learning, thinking about social-emotional skills takes practice. The more you highlight and teach collaboration and community skills in class and across the school, the more students will be able to thoughtfully reflect on their own skills. At first they may be uncomfortable with this process. But the more they are exposed to identifying community skills through groupwork and reflection, the more comfortable and capable they become in discussing their skills.

Related Content:

Student-Led Conference Community Commitments Checklist

Student-Led Conference Portfolio Checklist

Student-Led Conference Work Selection Checklist

Student-Led Conference Work Reflection

Student-Led Conference Goal-Setting

Student-Led Conference Family Letter

Student-Led Conference Family Homework

Student-Led Conference Checklist

Collaboration Rubric

Group Collaboration Role Cards

Student Agency Rubric

Belonging and Becoming:  The Power of Social and Emotional Learning in High Schools by Barbara Cervone & Kathleen Cushman.