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Explain, in your own words, what “processing activities” are and how they contribute to a coherent curriculum.
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Processing activities is when students review and debrief what they have already learned. This often incorporates old content but can also act as a bridge to introducing new content. This is incredibly valuable to students as it allows them to not only practice repetition of content, but also allows them to compare and contrast old content with new content.
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They are activities based off of curriculum and what the students learned from them. Using activities like journaling, note cards with goals, or similar projects they can reflect back on to see how their thinking has changed or if what they are learning is being applied as it was intended
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I think of it as scaffolding where you build on what is learned (review, learn something new, repeat).
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Processing activities help students reflect on the lesson taught as well as check for retention and development that can happen the next moment, day, or month. Processing activities are key to teaching. In my teaching career, I would call some of these activities tickets out the door. Students would answer questions to be able to move on to the next event. However, giving back these tickets, thoughts, reflections to further discuss understanding is a way to engage students in higher order and critical thinking. Relating to faith, this can help students to think about the big questions and create a strong foundation within their own faith journey.
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Processing activities provide the interaction between the student, the curriculum, and God’s Word. These activities contribute to a coherent curriculum by infusing God’s word into everything that’s done rather than simply overlaying a verse or prayer practice during the course period.
