What is reflection? Was I successful? What would I do differently? New questions? What have I learned from this? Did I answer my inquiry question? How did my understanding change or transform throughout this process? Did I ensure I did all the things I needed to? Did I manage my time well? How have my skills improved? Which parts did I do really well? Which parts would I change if I did the assignment again? Which parts do I need support with in the future?
Embedded Reflection Ideas Metacognition and reflection are essential components of the Common Core Research Standards. Reflection should be embedded in every stage of the research model. Student reflection is likely to be a key component of assessment. Students should be encouraged to reflect throughout on the progress they have made; challenges they have faced; changes they have made to their original plans; and skills they feel they have gained. Reflection is likely to be one of the most difficult elements to engage students in. The following are some suggestions for more motivating reflection activities you might wish to try.
Graffiti wall: A piece of flipchart paper is pinned to the wall and at any point during the session, students can go to the wall and write a word or phrase to indicate how they are feeling about the activity at that moment (all students have to write at least once during the session).
Thumbs up/Thumbs Down/Thumbs to the Side: Students are asked to give immediate feedback about how they are feeling about an activity (eg are they confident about using a resource; have they enjoyed the activity) by indicating with thumbs up, down or sideways (if unsure).
Headlines: Students are tasked with coming up with a headline (within a minute) which sums up the session/activity for them. These should be eye-catching/sensational.
Drawing/modelling: Students create a drawing or model which represents the session/activity for them – these can be abstract! Alternatively, students can create a drawing or model of themselves before and after the activity to show what has changed for them.
Using learner response systems: If you school has learner response systems, these can be used to get immediate feedback from students. For example, students could be asked to respond about how they are feeling about the activity; what they think should be done next; what they feel they have learnt etc. If a number of your students have mobile devices (eg at least one per team), you could use a system such as Socrative (http://www.socrative.com/) as an alternative.
Video diary: Students record a Big Brother-style video diary. One student records their thoughts and another student acts as Big Brother, prompting and asking questions.
Chat show interview: One student plays the role of chat show host and interviews the ‘guest’ student about their experiences of the project/activity. (For less able or younger students, prepare a script for the host).
Thinking Hats: Based on Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats approach, students analyse their project from different perspectives (positive, negative, creative, emotion, thinking). You can make use of technology1 to support this.
Stand on the line: Students have to stand along a line (eg the library wall) to indicate their response to a question. For example, ‘How much have you learnt during the session?’ ‘Did you prefer working in a group or own your own?’.
If your group was...: Ask the teams of students to imagine they are an object (eg a car). Each team member has to say what part of that object their role represents for the success of the team (eg the engine--driving force; horn- indicating danger/ problems; seatbelt- making sure everything is safe/ on track).
Group poem: The group composes a poem about their experiences during an activity; each group member adds one line.
Group sketch: At the end of a longer project, the group write and perform a sketch condensing their experiences of the project into 5 minutes.
Further ideas for assessment Peer assessment is an important component. Students should be encouraged to give constructive feedback on each other’s work. One method of structuring this would be to introduce the notion of awarding ‘stars’ (things you like) and ‘wishes’ (things you would change). ‘Expert’ feedback could also be introduced as those with expertise in a particular area (usually the people students are designing their final output for) are asked to provide feedback on students’ work (experts might include other staff, community members or younger students who are the intended audience for an output). Librarian/teacher assessment is likely to be based on a number of sources, including reading/listening to students’ reflections; observation; and discussions with groups/individual students. If students are involved in determining the sequence of elements undertaken this discussion is also likely to provide valuable assessment information about students’ understanding of the learning process. All these can help to identify where students are struggling and need additional support, as well as highlighting progress.
Reflecting
Reflective products should be included at every stage
Identifies own strengths and sets goals for improvement
Assess the product
- Evaluate using previously established criteria
- share and record feedback on project progress, challenges, future steps
Assess the processreflect
conference
criteria
metacognition
Was I successful?
What would I do differently?
New questions?
What have I learned from this?
Did I answer my inquiry question?
How did my understanding change or transform throughout this process?
Did I ensure I did all the things I needed to?
Did I manage my time well?
How have my skills improved?
Which parts did I do really well? Which parts would I change if I did the assignment again?
Which parts do I need support with in the future?
Metacognition and reflection are essential components of the Common Core Research Standards. Reflection should be embedded in every stage of the research model. Student reflection is likely to be a key component of assessment. Students should be encouraged to reflect throughout on the progress they have made; challenges they have faced; changes they have made to their original plans; and skills they feel they have gained. Reflection is likely to be one of the most difficult elements to engage students in. The following are some suggestions for more motivating reflection activities you might wish to try.
Further ideas for assessment
Peer assessment is an important component. Students should be encouraged to give constructive feedback on each other’s work. One method of structuring this would be to introduce the notion of awarding ‘stars’ (things you like) and ‘wishes’ (things you would change).
‘Expert’ feedback could also be introduced as those with expertise in a particular area (usually the people students are designing their final output for) are asked to provide feedback on students’ work (experts might include other staff, community members or younger students who are the intended audience for an output).
Librarian/teacher assessment is likely to be based on a number of sources, including reading/listening to students’ reflections; observation; and discussions with groups/individual students. If students are involved in determining the sequence of elements undertaken this discussion is also likely to provide valuable assessment information about students’ understanding of the learning process. All these can help to identify where students are struggling and need additional support, as well as highlighting progress.
Adapted from: http://www.esri.mmu.ac.uk/resstaff/inflowmodel.pdf