3 Easy Student Reflection Practices

One goal of education is to develop students into lifelong learners. To be a lifelong learners, we must encourage our students to be reflective. 

Each school year, I set one specific goal for myself. For the year 2021-22, that goal was to implement more student reflection.

Here are 3 easy strategies to implement into your classroom to help students reflect on their own learning.

 

Entrance & Exit Ticket

This particular practice is best used on work days or in the workshop model. When students understand the objectives of the assignment, they must break it down into steps. 

To start the class period, provide students with the Entrance & Exit Ticket. For their Entrance, they should write a specific goal: What do they plan to accomplish during this class period?

Before their Exit, students should respond with a brief reflection of their goal: Did they accomplish it? Why or why not? What's next?

Leaving this open-ended allows them to honestly reflect without a graded expectation and also creates minimal prep work.

Glow-Grow-Goal

This is an excellent reflection at the end of a unit and asks students to do a 3-part reflection:

• Glow: What are you most proud of in this project? Why?
• Grow: In what way did this project challenge you? What skills did you improve?
• Goal: Looking to the future, what do you hope to continue to improve or to learn more about?

This particular reflection is beneficial to help students see that the learning isn't done, but acknowledges that there is more possible in the growth of our skills and/or knowledge.

Self-grading

Allowing students to complete their own grading can be intimidating; however, it helps them focus on their skill level. There are a few ways to allow students to self-grade, so choose the option that is most appropriate for your students and the assignment. Research and my own observations have shown me that this is an effective best practice.

One option is to provide students with a checklist. This has them reflect on the process and completion. Here is an excerpt from an essay checklist.

Another option is to provide a rubric with the objectives on a scale with descriptions for the highest and lowest expectations. Here is an example of a self-grade rubric from a blog assignment.

Another option is to give students your a checklist, have them write a self-reflection such as: What did you learn from this project? Consider the skills learned and practiced throughout this unit. After reviewing their checklist and reflection, ask them what score or grade they have earned on this particular assignment.

These 3 easy student reflection practices can encourage your students to monitor their own learning throughout the school year and hopefully carry the practice into their lifelong habits. 

Additional reading about student reflection:

Culturize by Jimmy Casas

The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros

"Treating Reflection as a Habit, Not an Event" by Andrew Miller

"Joy in School" by Steven Wolk

Writing with My Students

Writing with my students. That's why I've F-I-N-A-L-L-Y returned to my blog. I really do want to write consistently. I miss writing. But I would also miss sleep. And playing with my two girls. And eating healthy meals. All of these things I love, and a few things that I love have been let go. However, returning from maternity leave almost a month ago, I am seizing opportunities of joy with reading and writing with my students. 

Yes, I have papers to grade.

Yes, I have lessons to organize.

Yes, I have paperwork to do.

Many days, it is hard to pull away from those responsibilities to write with my students. Writing with my students feels like cheating because I enjoy it so much. I guess I forgot that it's great for me to love my job. If I don't invest in the parts that I love, I cannot demonstrate and show how literature and writing has enhanced my life or fully encourage my students to do the same.

What have we been writing? Let me share some of my work with you! (In the future, I will maybe see if any students would let me share their work. That would be fantastic.)

In my Young Adult Literature class, we read Sharon Creech's verse novel Hate that Cat so that we can analyze authors craft and emulate poems written by protagonist Jack. Currently my student aid is helping me print and prepare their favorite poems so we have created a class chapbook. Here is my inspired poem that I submitted:

        December Bedtime

            So much depends

                 Upon

                                An open children’s

                                Music book,

        Wrapped in purpley 

                Pink treats

                                Brightly singing the

                                Nutcracker.

            So much depends

                Upon

                                A dancing, grinning

                                           Toddler;

            Swaying, marching,

                Twirling toes

                                 Beside a gleeful

                                Kicking babe.

This blog post is coming from my Creative Writing class, which is my baby. I proposed it. Now I get to "teach" it. Really though, this is a class about self-discovery. My goal is to provide students with opportunities to create and have the freedom to pursue their interests without academic risks.

During our lengthy National Novel Writing Month, rather than pursue a novel, I wrote excerpts inspired by, "Tell me you have a toddler without telling me." These writings may serve only me and bring me joy. And possibly embarrass my daughter at graduation in 16 years.

To finish off this perseverance of writing, we wrote our own pep talks! Here is an excerpt of my unfinished introduction:

Congratulations! You have decided to embark on a grand adventure that may leave you bruised, pulling your hair out, practically in tears with sore finger tips, but...but… you can take pride in participating in a writer’s marathon. That’s what it’s all about: Working through the pain and frustration (physical, mental, and/or emotional) to achieve something that you didn’t believe you could. And just like a marathon, it’s about completing it that’s the accomplishment.

Finishing a marathon is often not pretty. You’ll finish with salt crystals dried to your forehead, sweat in places you didn’t know could sweat, your legs feeling like you must drag them one painful foot after another. But. You. Did. It.

That’s what NaNoWriMo is all about. It’s fighting through the writer’s block. It’s fighting through the unhelpful muse in your head saying you don’t know what you’re doing. Or reminding you that it was a good idea a couple of weeks ago even though now it doesn’t seem like it. It’s pushing through that terrible, terrible, and I mean TERRIBLE dialogue to finally get what your character really wanted to say. Then you take a deep breath and remind yourself that you’ll go revise that later.

We must take pride in doing hard things. Hard things allow us to: Build our own perseverance. Discover how to problem solve. Give permission to not be perfect. 

Right now, our class is working on writing projects that we consider "nontraditional." Take a look at the choice board my students helped me create!

I may be a teacher you know nothing about. This may be the first (but hopefully not the last) time you have come across my blog. But here's your reminder to keep demonstrating the joy and excitement that your content brings to you. Our students are watching.

As I like to tell my students:

Stay safe. Make smart choices. Read a book. 📚

COVID-19 Pandemic Journaling

I am back to share with you the journaling that I have asked of my students during their own time of uncertainty: the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.

Continuing to be inspired by the work and tweets of Kelly Gallagher, I assigned my students to begin a journal during our distance learning experience as their warm-up on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 

What was assigned?

As their directions, I posted my own COVID-19 journal and continued throughout too. Here's a screenshot of my opening:

I had several students returning to my journal as an example, as "seeds" to begin their own thoughts, and just to see what I was up to. However, just like many of them, I wasn't always consistent, and that's ok.

Why do this? What objectives exist?

This is a piece of my students' personal history. One day, it could even be a primary source!

Journaling is a social-emotional tool. Many students (and adults) benefit being encouraged to share their thoughts through writing.

And if need be, there are writing standards that call for a variety of writing styles, length of writing, and different voices.

How will this be assessed?

We still have instruction this week and will wrap up distance learning next, so I haven't completed this stage yet. However, I did quick "checks" by having students share their journals to show they've started, once counted the number of entries, and done periodic video reminders. I have not read any journal entries unless my students have requested it.

In the end, I have planned a self-assessment through a Google Form that allows them to reflect on their thought, effort, and usefulness of their journaling. This will also be feedback for me as I reflect on how to continue the use of journaling with next year's teaching, whether back in our classroom or distantly.

If you're interested in the feedback I plan to receive, here's the link to a copy of the form: COVID-19 Self-Assessment

What might I change?

In the future, I may intentionally post "seed" prompts for students to help them get started. These could be articles, video clips of speakers or the news, or personal interest prompts.

I'll leave you with what I've been ending posts and conversations with my students:

Stay healthy. Make smart choices. Read a book. 📚