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From: Amy
Date: 07 Feb 2006
Time: 17:40:43 -0600
Remote Name: 24.0.114.4
Reading about the elements of a good learning experience stood out for me because these elements are evident in good leaders. The two that mean a great deal to me are reflection and collaboration. Metacognition is the term that encompasses "Thinking about Thinking". When children and adults grow as leaders, we find that they do a lot of thinking about why they make the choices they do or why they do things a certain way. Until children begin to think deeply about their own thinking processes, they can't really make many changes on their own. I know we want children to be independent and self-thinkers, and that is why it is so important for children to have think time. When children can express why they do something a certain way, or how they achieved their goal, they will also see other possibilities and areas to explore the next time. I also love the aspect of collaboration. I know when educators are in meetings, collaboration often makes decisions and projects much easier. Collaboration also brings about change from multiple perspectives. Children, especially children with giftedness, can have difficulty working with others or seeing others' points of view. Bringing them together for collaboration gives students a truer picture of what a learning community should be like.