Commendations
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry should be recognized for the high quality education it offers to young wizards and witches. Hogwarts provides a "learn by doing" approach in which students acquire knowledge and skills through active engagement inside the classrooms and beyond. Students are exposed to hands-on opportunities in all aspects of their learning experience. The teachers create opportunities for formative assessments and practice prior to summative evaluations.
Hogwarts' professors are also experts in their fields and are prepared to offer support to students, although professor pedagogical approaches on this differ among the staff. Hogwarts should be recognized for the variety of subjects offered, both through core curriculum and elective classes. Also offered are very specialized subjects upon adequate demand. Additionally, Hogwarts offers a variety of extracurricular activities and leadership opportunities for students to further their interests outside of the classroom.
Recommendations
Hogwarts is a school that offers many opportunities for hands-on learning, although these activities are not always carried out in the safest of conditions. It is recommended that students and professors receive safety training specific to each class and to include social, emotional, and physical safety. When crafting learning opportunities safety in all realms should be taken into account (Jenkins et al., 2016). Within each class, it is recommended that there be differentiation and a wide range of idea creation techniques be implemented in order to allow access for all types of learners, with particular emphasis placed on opening up student choice in learning tasks to increase engagement (Schneider et al., 2018) and allowing students more opportunities to access localized sources of knowledge (Wargo, 2016). Allowing students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of modalities and have access to mentorship as well as an authentic audience outside the walls of Hogwarts would be beneficial in order to inspire students (Boss, 2014; Marsh, 2021). As it stands, there are also issues of inequity and a lack of inclusivity, meaning there is a climate that does not promote fairness and respect amongst students and staff. As noted in a variety of educational research, inequitable learning environments hinder student learning and student engagement (Bell, 2015; Jenkins et al., 2016).
It is therefore recommended that the professors of Hogwarts be provided professional development opportunities in collaborative learning techniques, differentiation for learning modalities, inclusivity, and safety protocols. I look forward to returning to Hogwarts in the future to witness these recommendations in place for an even better student learning experience and school culture.
References
Bell, M. K. (2015, Summer). Making space: Affinity groups offer a platform for voices often relegated to the margins. Teaching Tolerance Magazine, (50). magazine/summer-2015/making-space
Boss, S. (2015, February 14). Focus on Audience for Better PBL Results. Edutopia. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from blog/focus-on-audience-for-better-pbl-results-suzie-boss
Jenkins, H., Ito, M., & boyd, d. (2016). Participatory culture in a networked era: A conversation on youth, learning, commerce, and politics (Reprinted. ed.). Polity Press.
Marsh, V. L. (2021). Broadening Student and Teacher Participation: Multimodal Projects in a Classroom Affinity Space. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 64(5), 521–529.
Schneider, S., Nebel, S., Beege, M., & Rey, G. D. (2018). The autonomy-enhancing effects of choice on cognitive load, motivation and learning with digital media. Learning and Instruction, 58, 161-172. /10.1016/ .2018.06.006
Wargo, J. M. (2016). Youth techtual economies: The paradox and purchase of equity. Education, Equity, Economy, 195-214. /10.1007/978-3-319-21644-7_10