Our Wildwood, Volume 53

FEATURE A Portrait in Practice

GOING DEEPER In middle school, the Portrait found a powerful partner in the Portfolio Archive Website (PAW), a digital tool introduced in 6th grade that allows students to gather and reflect on work across subjects. According to 6th grade humanities teacher Megan DiNoia, students used the PAW not just to prepare for their student led conferences, but also to reflect deeply at year’s end using the Portrait as a lens. “We asked students to synthesize their growth across all classes and identify patterns—like needing to slow down and read more carefully,” DiNoia explained. “That’s where the Portrait came in. It gave them language to name their strengths and stretches.” Each student engaged with a set of Portrait prompts, selected to align with developmental and curricular goals for 6th grade. For many students, this reflection deepened over time. One student, Audrey I. ‘31, revised her spring reflections after realizing her earlier entries lacked detail. “She reflected on her reflection,” DiNoia noted. “That metacognition is exactly what we’re hoping to foster.” In her role as an 8th grade advisor, Megan has used a similar approach to infuse Portrait language into the prompts for her students’ Gateway projects, helping them connect their academic work to the qualities of a lifelong learner.

“Starting this year, we’ve asked students to tie the evidence in their Gateway back to specific parts of the Portrait,” Megan says. “It helps students see that the skills they’re building are part of something bigger–not just assignments, but habits that will serve them for life.” Fellow 8th grade advisor (and Spanish teacher) Camryn Tiner has built on that effort in her own way. “We encouraged students to zoom out—to look at themselves from a bird’s-eye view and ask: How has Wildwood shaped me not just as a student, but as a person?” Camryn says. Moving forward, Megan and Camryn have begun experimenting with reframing their unit plans through the Portrait’s lens— mapping learning outcomes to thinking, feeling, doing, and being. “At the end of a lesson, I’ll ask students to think reflectively or analytically using the Portrait’s language,” Camryn says. “For example, ‘How did you show critical thinking today?’ or ‘Where did you persevere through a challenge?’ These reflections scaffold their ability to articulate their growth.” As students move through middle school—culminating in the 8th grade Gateway—they’ll naturally gain fluency with the Portrait’s language and tools. “It’s exciting to think about how students will evolve in how they see themselves,” Megan said. “This gives them a map for that journey.”

Scan the QR code below to see the full Portrait of a Lifelong Learner.

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