In my previous life, I spent 20 years working on project implementations. One thing that was always part of the project plan, but rarely used effectively, was a lessons learned/look back session. Essentially, once the project was over, so were we and off to another project. Unfortunately, many of the missteps we made previously would show up again on the next project. Luckily, after several missteps, we learned that we would include a lessons learned/best practices event at the start of our projects. So, as we kick off the new semester, I thought it would be a good time to revisit two key points of a lessons learned session.

Capturing Successes

“Lessons learned” tends to refer to improvements that need to be made on a team. But it’s just as important to capture the successes throughout a semester—and not just to celebrate. These successes can identify best practices to apply to future classes and assignments and can be shared across future endeavors. Specifically, we might even learn how to successfully utilize our Study Hall hours!
 
It’s also helpful to record (yes, write them down) successes that should be carried through to the next semester. Whether that was a short-term change, a commitment to an existing St. Thomas process, communication (with our parents/teachers/LEC) tweaks, or something else, it’s worth documenting this to realize what can and should be carried on in the future.

Improvements Needed

Recording the reasons behind academic improvements or issues is also important to documenting our semester lessons learned. Identifying an academic issue isn’t enough—understanding where the issue originated and the impact it had gives more context to the issue and helps set up recommendations for improvements moving forward. This is why I suggest reviewing academic improvements by breaking down the Problem, Impact, and Recommendation.
 
Although, this seems formal, it can be as simple as just having a conversation. For most of us parents, our  recommendation is to “plan your week and study more effectively.” However, remember that this is a collaboration and when our sons arrive at the answer themselves, they feel more empowered to implement a plan fully. Thus, my biggest recommendation, is to simply ask them, “how might you go about doing this differently?” Then, be OK with the silence. For us parents, this is typically a struggle. I know how difficult (and frustrating) it can be to sit back and let our sons arrive at the answer on their time, but I would highly encourage you give them a little space and see what they come up with. Also, if they answer with a generic “study more,” simply say, “and how might that look for this upcoming week – specifically, what would Monday look like if you were to study more?”

This is easier said than done, but hopefully it just offers something to think about as we kick off the new year.

I look forward to a great semester!
 
 
 

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