Using Labels In Blogger To Support Evidence and Reflection

Returning to school after the winter break, I always feel that I need to refocus my students on their evidence and goal reflections.. At this point in the year they have been working on their goals for enough time to do a larger self-assessment and think about adjusting their goals based on the evidence that they have been collecting.

One of the large challenges of doing this is trying to figure out what system to use with students that allows them one place to put all of their reflection and evidence. It also needs to be easy to use and easy to organize so they can find their evidence to put on the PLP. At Peoples Academy Middle Level, all of our teams use Blogger. Paired with the use of labels, it has allows students the ability to reflect on their learning throughout the day in one organized place.

With the addition of labels on the blog, students can tag their posts so they will have easy access to evidence demonstrating growth towards their goals. Labels also allow students to put multiple labels on one post, allowing students to track goals and growth in all subject areas. Please see an example student blog on the PLP Pathways site.

Maura Kelly is a 7th grade humanities teacher at Peoples Academy Middle Level in Morrisville, Vermont. She has a passion for working with young adolescents and believes in the power of a strong middle level program in developing students to be ready to face challenges in our world today. When Maura is not teaching you can find her out skiing and biking around the state of Vermont.