In this episode of Change Starts Here, Kim Yaris and Dr. Eve Miller discuss the final weeks of the school year, a time typically filled with tying up loose ends, cleaning up, and the temptation to just pop in a movie. However, research shows that how a year ends disproportionately shapes how students will remember the entire experience.
Drawing on Daniel Kahneman's famous "peak-end rule" and Crystal Park's research on meaning-making, the hosts explain that it isn't enough for an ending to just be positive; it has to feel meaningful. Students who can articulate what they learned from turning points show higher well-being years later. To help educators end the year with intention, Kim and Eve offer two practical, research-backed moves: planning the last week backward from a final shared moment, and providing a structured reflection for students to make sense of their year.
Download the Handout
Handout: https://resources.franklincovey.com/c/podcast_handout_epis-35?x=whj9VQ
Hosts:
Kim Yaris, M.Ed. (Associate Director of Research with FranklinCovey Education)
Dr. Eve Miller (Director of Research with FranklinCovey Education)
Timestamps:
00:00 Podcast intro
00:15 The end of year
01:22 Temptation to coast
02:29 Why endings matter
03:54 The peak end rule
06:02 Remembering school years
08:06 Meaning making research
09:26 Practice one plan backward
11:24 Practice two structured reflection
13:21 The impact of reflection
14:21 Closing thoughts
