Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you handed back a quiz or rough draft of an essay with meaningful feedback directing the learner where to go with their learning and as they read the feedback they made plan, asked themselves questions and completely internalized your suggestions only to then continue working on the standard(s) in question to find deeper understanding and become more proficient? Well, of course it would! I want that of my learners and for my learners. But it wasn’t until I began really reflecting on my teaching and my practices that I became proficient enough to help my learners with the process.
I recommend that teachers wanting to increase learner reflection in their classes begin reflecting individually in a more formal way. All of us walk out of class or the building at the end of each day and think about how everything went and how we may do it different next time. Beit a lesson, a project, a conversation or an entire unit, we are doing some sort of reflection on how an experience transpired. However, it is less common for us to write down our thoughts. I am not implying you do not make a note and leave it in a file that you’ll find next year when planning that particular unit, but I will guess that most teachers do not make an effort to ask ourselves any deeper questions beyond: “How did that go?” and “What would I do differently?” Both are beginner questions so let’s go deeper.
Here are some questions to answer out loud or in writing: (modified from Julie Tice – Writing a Teaching Diary, 2004)
- Was there a clear outcome for the students?
- Did the students understand what we did in the lesson?
- Was what we did too easy or too difficult?
- What problems did the students have (if any)? How did I address the problems?
- Were all the students on task (i.e. doing what they were supposed to be doing)?
- If not, when was that and why did it happen?
- Which parts of the lesson did the students seem to enjoy most? And least?
- Did activities last the right length of time? Was the pace of the lesson right?
- Did I use whole class work, group work, partner work or individual work? Why did I choose that arrangement and was it the best for student learning?
- Were my instructions clear?
- Did I provide opportunities for all the students to participate?
- Was I aware of how all of the students were progressing?
- What are my next steps? What will I do the next time I see my students?
Give it a try. It will take around 10 minutes in the beginning and may even feel unnatural, but so did putting on skis for the first time. Keep trying and before you know it, you’ll be reflecting without making a conscious decision to. After you’ve done it for a few weeks, you can help your learners make the transition and see the benefits.
Share you comments and thoughts below, email Aric and Megan at stemflowerlc@gmail.com or visit stemandflowerlearning.com.
STEM and Flower Learning Consultants
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