Happy Reflecting!

Like all other aspects of teaching, the use of reflection as a teaching practice – be it the teacher’s or the student’s – is rooted in theory and has become more innovative over time. Teachers are coming up with more and more creative ways for reflective practice to occur. The reasons for reflection are varied, and there is a vast assortment of reflections available, depending on the purpose and the age of the reflectors. Consider the following questions:

Who is doing the reflecting? Students or teacher? Individuals? A group? The whole class?

What type of reflection will you use? Will it be verbal, paper or digital? What kind of format will it be? Will you use a particular theoretical model, such as Dewey’s 5-Step Model, de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, or Pappas’ A Taxonomy of Reflection?

Where will it happen? Will it be on paper, using a specific format? Will it be on a digital platform, as part of a portfolio? (Seesaw is a great app for online portfolios.) Or, think physical space — Will it be in the classroom? On a field trip? In the library? Outside, in a more open space?

When will it happen? Will it happen before, during, or after a task? Will it happen before, during, AND after a task? What time of day will it happen, and how much time will be allotted for it? Will it be a one-time reflection, or will it happen regularly?

What’s the purpose for the reflection? Is it to sort out thoughts about a task? Is it to contemplate how a skill or behaviour could be improved? Is it to work out a solution to a problem? Is it to help improve a lesson or unit for next time?

How will it be presented as a method of learning? Will the teacher model self-reflection or use scaffolding? How will it be presented so that it is authentic and not forced?

Below, I’ve included a link to some posters with student self-reflection prompts. You can use them as verbal reflections, or you can have students write their responses in a journal, perhaps. I’ve also included links to some (free) oral and written reflection activities and templates that I found on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. Have a look, and see if there are some you already use, or would like to try. Remember, there is no one way to use reflection. Use whatever works best for you and your students. Use them individually, or try group or whole class reflections. Some are meant for younger students, some are for older students. Some are more open-ended, while others are more fixed in their design.

One more thing to note: always remind students that their reflections might only be a snapshot in time. They’re not meant to be limiting or conclusive. Remind them (and yourself) that reflections are just a way to help us become better learners. Make it fun and interesting. Maybe you can do your own as they are doing theirs! Help students to become comfortable with their reflections, and yourself as well. When we’re calm and relaxed, that’s often when ‘real’ learning happens and ideas start to flow. Let the reflections inspire Teacher and Learner creativity! Enjoy the process.

Posters

Field Trip Reflection

Field Trip Reflection 2

Reflecting on Learning

Weekly Class Goals Reflection

Behaviour Think Sheet

Learning Behaviours Self-Reflection

Service Learning Journal and Reflection

STEM Lab Reflection

End-of-the-Day/Week Reflection Cards

End-of-the-Day Reflection Cards

End-of-the-Day Reflection Sticks

End-of-the-Year Task Cards

Formative Assessment and Activity Reflection

My Self-Reflection Report Card

Student-Led Conference Organizer

Happy reflecting! 

 

References:

FreshGrade. (2017, February 03). Prompts for Student Self-Reflection [POSTERS]. Retrieved August 7, 2018, from https://www.freshgrade.com/blog/prompts-for-self-reflection/.

Teaching Resources & Lesson Plans. (n.d.). Retrieved August 12, 2018, from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/.

“A Taxonomy of Reflection” (Pappas, 2010)

Bloom’s (1956) Taxonomy consists of 6 key categories of educational objectives (listed in lower to higher order): Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Peter Pappas (2010) has used an updated version of Bloom’s Taxonomy (Anderson and Krathwohl’s Taxonomy, 2001) to develop, “A Taxonomy of Reflection“. The categories include: Remembering (recall of a task or concept), Understanding (determining significance), Applying (making connections), Analyzing (finding patterns), Evaluating (assessing strengths and weaknesses) and Creating (future planning). Have a look at the categories, and see how they are similar, but modified. Imagine how you might use Pappas’ taxonomy with your students. Which model do you find is most useful in promoting learning as a process?

Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956), with revisions by Anderson and Krathwohl (2001)

A Taxonomy of Reflection (Pappas, 2010)

The days of teachers directly telling students how they’re doing is becoming outdated. The teaching practice of today is striving to become much more innovative. Paradigms of pedagogy are shifting. There is a greater focus on process and less emphasis on product. Teachers are asking students to gain knowledge, but to also actively think about how they can become better learners and more critical thinkers. Just as teachers are asked to reflect in their own practice, they are to guide their students to become reflective in their learning. Pappas’ model offers explicit questions to help students think actively about their learning. It is yet one further example of how teachers can promote and develop student reflection within the 21st Century classroom.

In my next post, I will include various resources that can be used for student reflections. Do you have any student reflection templates or files that you would like to share?

References:

Armstrong, P. (2018, July 12). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Retrieved August 6, 2018, from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/.

Pappas, P. (2012, August 01). The Reflective Student: A Taxonomy of Reflection (Part 2). Retrieved August 6, 2018, from https://peterpappas.com/2010/01/reflective-student-taxonomy-reflection-.html.

Promoting Student Reflection

As I mentioned in my last post, there is no one specific way to use reflection with students. The type of reflection the teachers use will depend on the reason for the reflection. (Is it to reflect on knowledge or skills? Is it to reflect on their emotions, attitudes or behaviour? Is it to reflect on their response to an activity?) The format of the reflection will also depend on the age of the student. (For example, younger students who are still developing their literacy skills might benefit more from colouring in sad or happy faces, rather than having to read or write words on a self-reflection.) How will the reflection happen? (Will it be a whole group, small group or individual reflection? Will the students write down their thoughts, or will they respond orally?) When will the students be asked to reflect? (Will it happen prior to an activity? During an activity? After an activity? Or, will the reflection happen throughout, as a means of documenting their progress throughout the beginning, middle and end of an activity?) Reflection is meant to inform the learning process.

Here are some ways to help students reflect:

Modelling

• The teacher works through his or her own challenges, speaking out loud, for the students to witness and observe. Students learn a lot by watching their teachers, and they keenly observe how they react and handle difficulties. Let them observe effective self-improvement techniques by working through your own (minor and solvable) problems.

Dewey’s 5-Step Model

• Help students think through a problem. 1. Identify the problem; 2. Look closely at the problem to gain a better understanding of it; 3. Consider the root of the problem and find possible resolutions; 4. think logically about the problem; 5. Give the solution to the problem a try.

Scaffolding (Alrubail, 2015)

• Before learning: students build their knowledge base by thinking about what they already know, and what they want to find out; teachers find out the students’ feelings, thoughts and prior knowledge about a problem or topic
• While learning: the students learn more about how they are learning, including specific strategies; teachers can use the information to navigate their teaching or use alternate techniques
• After learning: students make connections with what they learned and why they learned it (relevance = motivation)
• Furthering learning: students strengthen their critical thinking skills by synthesizing their knowledge and applying it elsewhere

Use a model that emphasizes the process of reflection, such as de Bon’s “Six Thinking Hats“

• Use the coloured hats as a springboard for questions about the problem, lesson or topic, such as…

white hat (information): What did you learn?

red hat (feelings): What are your feelings about the problem, lesson or topic?

blue hat (thinking about thought): What resources do you need to help you expand your knowledge and strategies for learning?

green hat (creative): What improvements could you make for next time?

black hat (challenges): What were areas of weakness or areas needing improvement?

yellow hat (constructive): What did you do well? What did you like?

• For more details about this model and how it can be used for reflection, click here: A model of reflection using De Bono’s six hats.

Here are some tips for fostering student reflection:

• not every reflection needs to be written on paper – let students talk about it, sketch it, act it out, or even use a computer app to reflect
• help students to understand the value of reflection – help them to develop good questions that will carry them through to a deeper understanding as to why the process is important
• promote authentic reflection – inserting a fixed ‘reflection’ time into the schedule makes thoughts forced and superficial; deep, genuine reflection can happen at any time
• model self-reflection for your students – let it happen at any given time of the day; use different means (written in a journal or blog, verbal talk-alouds, talking to other teachers for different perspectives, etc.), and let it be authentic

Question: What other tips might you share for fostering student reflection?

As I was researching and writing this post, I came across “A Taxonomy of Reflection“, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy and restructured by Peter Pappas (2012). I’ll explore this more in my next post.

References:

Alrubail, R. (2015, January 03). Scaffolding Student Reflections Sample Questions. Retrieved July 31, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/scaffolding-student-reflections-sample-questions.

Mawson, K. (n.d.). Welcome to MyPortfolio at the University of Warwick. Retrieved August 6, 2018, from https://mahara.warwick.ac.uk/view/view.php?t=IJx2vYdbewiqN7rQz5s9.

Pappas, P. (2012, August 01). The Reflective Student: A Taxonomy of Reflection (Part 2). Retrieved August 6, 2018, from https://peterpappas.com/2010/01/reflective-student-taxonomy-reflection-.html.

Whenham, T. (2015, September 24). Four things that won’t spark student reflection – and one that will. Retrieved August 6, 2018, from https://www.nureva.com/blog/four-things-that-won-t-spark-student-reflection-and-one-that-will.

Reflection for Teaching and Learning

When teachers reflect, they often think about the strengths and weaknesses of their lessons or units. While self-reflection is valuable, as we know, it can also be subjective to the point that we might deny that anything needs to be changed at all. One way to make reflections less biased (or to a lesser degree, perhaps), is to ask the students how they felt about the lessons or units. This is an example of just one of the reasons why teachers ask students to reflect. Following, are additional reasons for getting students to reflect in their own learning.

Why Do Teachers Ask Students to Reflect? (based on Alrubail, 2015)

• Significance: Reflection helps to give the learning process more meaning and value.
• Process Recognition: Reflection assists students with identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and what they can change.
• Solutions/Strategies: Reflection offers students prospective solutions or plans for problem-solving, and it helps them strategize their learning.
• Motivation: As students are encouraged to reflect on their thoughts and emotions, they are more inclined to enjoy learning and become more motivated to learn.
• Analysis: Reflection provides the opportunity for students to recognize why learning certain concepts and material is important.
• Metacognition: Reflection helps students learn how to learn.

“Critical thinking stems from pausing, reflecting, and knowing “how” and “why” learning should be happening at that moment” (Alrubail, 2015).

Reflecting is a way of exercising the mind. It is a recommended daily practice, and the more students are asked to do it, the more habitual it can become. Reflecting can be done anywhere, at any time, and it can look, sound and feel differently from one classroom to another. One size does not fit everyone, and there is no one, right way to do it.

Question: What does student reflection look like, sound like and feel like in your classroom?

References:

Alrubail, R. (2015, January 03). Scaffolding Student Reflections Sample Questions. Retrieved July 31, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/scaffolding-student-reflections-sample-questions.

Self reflection. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2018, from http://www.open.ac.uk/choose/unison/develop/my-skills/self-reflection#.

Putting Reflection into Action

I took some more time to reflect on Dewey’s 5-Step Model, and I decided that it’s better to put it in into action, than just write about it. I wasn’t quite sure where to begin at first, then I went to my teacher-inspiration-happy-place…Teachers Pay Teachers (you thought I was going to say Pinterest, right?). I found a FREE resource that applies to the 5-Step Model. I’ll include the link here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Gut-Level-Teacher-Reflection-1429271.

The freebie is a 4-page PDF of specific aspects of teaching, including your classroom, planning, students, co-workers and professional practice. As Dewey’s first step states, you identify areas in which you have either positive or negative feelings. Then, you observe and write notes about your feelings (Dewey’s second, third and fourth steps). Dewey’s fifth step, “test the hypothesis or understanding in practice” (Dewey, 1938) is echoed in the final page of the resource, where you’re asked to think of a plan of action for the areas you want to improve.  A word of warning, though: If you choose to reflect on your students or co-workers, be sure to keep your notes private!

Note: There’s a link to the webpage where the resource came from on TPT. The webpage is called “Cult of Pedagogy”, and there is a podcast that includes helpful instructions for filling out the reflection. I’ve included the link below, in the “Challenge“.

I’d like to connect the practice of reflection to innovation in teaching. I define innovation as the pursuit and success of altering or creating something novel out of a pre-existing idea, task, system or product. When we reflect, we can alter pre-existing ideas and create new perceptions from them. Reflection offers the opportunity for broadening our views and working out our feelings. When teachers are able to work out their own thoughts, they can be more receptive and attentive, I believe, to their students.

Challenge: Choose an aspect of teaching (e.g. classroom, planning, students, co-workers or professional practice, as The Gut Level Teacher Reflection suggests) that leads to negative feelings. Write it on a piece of paper (or, use the free resource!), and include the main concerns you have about that aspect. Write a of action for changing it.

Resources:

Dewey, J. (1938) Logic: The theory of Inquiry. Troy. MN: Rinehart & Winston.

Gonzalez, J. (2017, June 18). The Gut-Level Teacher Reflection. Retrieved July 29, 2018, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/gut-level-reflection-questions/.

The Gut-Level Teacher Reflection. (n.d.). Retrieved July 29, 2018, from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Gut-Level-Teacher-Reflection-1429271.

John Dewey and Reflective Teaching

“We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.”  ~John Dewey

I recently read a review of the book, “John Dewey and the Art of Teaching: Toward Reflective and Imaginative Practice” (Simpson, Jackson, & Aycock, 2005). The book is meant to help new or experienced teachers navigate the challenges of teaching and become reflective practitioners, through the perspectives of John Dewey. It uses metaphors (apparently formed by Dewey in his various works) to frame teaching within its many capacities: teacher as artist, lover, wise mother, navigator, gardener, educational pioneer, servant, social engineer, composer, wise physician, builder, leader, and finally, teacher as classroom teacher. Prior to my research into how reflection leads to innovation in teaching and learning, I didn’t realize that John Dewey was one of the first advocates and writers of reflective practices. I’d come across his name and work numerous times, of course, but I hadn’t had the opportunity to research him in detail.

We can think of reflection as an innovative practice, meant to work through past or present thoughts of information or circumstance. We know what reflection is and why we should do it; but how do we develop ourselves as reflective practitioners? One way to become a reflective practitioner is by using pedagogical tools, such as questioning. The reviewer of the book I mentioned at the start of this post argues that Dewey’s metaphor of the teacher as inquirer is missing from its pages. As part of Dewey’s theory of inquiry, Dewey presented a 5-Stage Model of Reflection.

Dewey’s (1938) 5-Stage Model of Reflection

1. We identify a problem that is perplexing & ‘felt’
2. We observe & refine the identified problem to create a fuller understanding
3. We develop a hypothesis or an understanding about the problem, its origins & possible solutions
4. We subject the hypothesis to scrutiny & reasoning
5. We test the hypothesis or understanding in practice

I need more time to consider each of the 5 stages, so I’ll continue with this topic in my next post. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this challenge: Reflect on how you could use Dewey’s 5-Stage Model of Reflection as a means for innovating your own (or someone else’s?) teaching practice.

If you have 6 minutes and 31 seconds to spare, I recommend having a look at the following YouTube video: John Dewey. It’s an interesting and concise summary of John Dewey’s philosophy of life and education.

References:

Dewey, J. (1938) Logic: The theory of Inquiry. Troy. MN: Rinehart & Winston

Dewey, J. (1998). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Essays, UK. (November 2013). The history of reflection theory. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/nursing/the-history-of-reflection-theory-nursing-essay.php?vref=1.

Johnston, J. S. (2007). Review of John Dewey and the Art of Teaching: Toward Reflective and Imaginative Practice [PDF file]. Paideusis,16, 69-71.

Simpson, D. J., Jackson, M. J., & Aycock, J. C. (2005). John Dewey and the art of teaching: Toward reflexive and imaginative practice. Thousand Oaks (Calif.): Sage.

Yordanka, D., & Kamarska, K. (2015). Rediscovering John Dewey’s model of learning through reflective inquiry,63. doi:10.18411/d-2016-154.

Characteristics of a Reflective Teacher

I had meant to shift my focus this week from teacher to student reflection, but I feel like I have more to…well, reflect on, as a teacher.

Thinking back to whenever I was asked to reflect during my teacher education courses or during professional development workshops, I realize that even the mere thought of ‘reflection’ as a practice immediately made me uneasy. I didn’t quite understand why. Perhaps I thought that reflection would lead to discovering things about myself that I didn’t like, or it would uncover insecurities or mistakes I might have made that I felt embarrassed about (I never particularly enjoyed making mistakes – I didn’t realize the value of making mistakes until I started teaching my students that it’s okay to make mistakes!)

It seems that reflection’ has become a buzz word in the teaching practices of the 21st century. The Merriam-Webster definition for reflection (as it pertains to teaching and learning) is:

reflection: (n.) 1. a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation; 2. consideration of some subject matter, idea, or purpose

Reflection has become part and parcel of teaching. When I think of the attributes of a reflective teacher, I think of open-minded, tolerant, empathetic, pensive, and analytical. Can you think of more?

What are some other characteristics of a reflective educator?

References:

Reflection. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2018, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reflection.

Reflection in Practice – Reflecting on Innovative Teaching Practices

I’ve never thought of myself as ‘creative’ or ‘innovative’. Even still, upon reflection, I’ve come to realize that I’ve probably been more innovative in my teaching practices than I thought. When I think about how I teach, I realize that I’m not stagnant in my approaches. For example, I talk to other teachers and try to get ideas from them, I attend workshops and PD’s to try to enhance my skills and collect new ways to teach material, and I try to learn about new apps and interactive online activities that will interest my students. It’s time to reflect on innovation in our teaching practices.

Innovation means different things to different people, but I think we can agree that innovation in teaching practices today includes a strong focus on student-centered learning. Following, is a list of just a few (arguably) innovative teaching practices/techniques suggested from the article, “10 Ways to Teach Innovation” by Thom Markham. If we teach innovatively, our students will become more innovative. Makes sense, right? Have a look through the list below. You likely use – or have used – some of these methods already. Some of the items might not seem too innovative, but rather just common sense or good teaching.

1. Use project-based learning.
2. Focus on teaching concepts, rather than facts.
3. Teach skills as well as knowledge.
4. Create teams, instead of groups.
5. Use various tools and resources.
6. Reward student discovery.
7. Reflect as part of each lesson. “Reflection is necessary to anchor learning and stimulate deeper thinking and understanding. There is no innovation without rumination” (Markham, 2013).

Challenge: Take a moment to reflect on the innovative practices or techniques you use regularly, and the ones you have used in the past. Are there any that you would recommend as ‘tried, tested and true’? If so, why? Are there any that you would not recommend? If so, why not? What other techniques for innovative teaching would you add to the list?

Reference:

Markham, T. (2014, January 26). 10 ways to teach innovation. Retrieved July 18, 2018, from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/27765/10-ways-to-teach-innovation.

Reflection as a Teaching Practice

Last week, I posted about reasons why reflection is important and ways to turn it into a daily habit. This week, I’d like to focus on reflection as a teaching practice. Why is reflecting important in the teaching profession? “Reflection is deliberate and structured thinking about choices. It is an integral step to improving our practice. Through reflection, we as educators can look clearly at our successes and struggles and consider options for change” (Sanders, n.d.). Think of reflection as an important teaching tool. Reflection can help if…

• you have ever felt a lesson didn’t quite go the way you had planned
• your method of instruction is not getting a desired response/behaviour from your students
• your students did not understand the material that was taught
• your students seem disinterested in the lessons

Teachers are always encouraged to look for ways to make their teaching practice more innovative and creative. One way to do this, is to reflect on your teaching pedagogy and think of ways to improve it. Reflection helps with metacognition (generally, thinking about your thinking). When we practice metacognition through reflection, our teaching practice can improve, which can in turn nourish our innovation and creativity in teaching.

Challenge:  Reflect on a past lesson or method of teaching that you would like (or would have liked) to improve. What could you do (or have done) to improve it?

Reference:

Sanders, T. (n.d.). The importance of reflection. Retrieved July 17, 2018, from http://www.uft.org/teaching/pip-importance-reflection.

Reflection as a Way of Life, Part 2

In my previous blog, I listed Leo Babauta’s, 5 reasons for making time to reflect. The second part of his blog explains “how  to make reflection a daily habit.” Following, are his suggestions:

1. Start a one-sentence journal. (The link the author uses opens to another blog, where I believe there are examples of these one-sentence journals, but the link is broken. I can only guess that a one-sentence journal looks something like this: “Today I taught a student how to tie his shoelace, and afterward, he said he already knew how to tie it — he just wanted to see how I did it!” Or, maybe something more interesting or significant than that.)
2. Focus on doing it at the same time, everyday. No exceptions.
3. Exercise (reflect while exercising)
4. Think about your day, your work, your life.
5. Write about it publicly. (The author claims that publishing your reflections on a blog – as I am doing here – you will feel “positive public pressure to keep it up”.)

Question:  How do you promote daily reflection for students in your classroom? Which of the above advice do you find most inspiring or manageable to use in the classroom or with your students? If you could add to this list, what suggestion might you offer?

Babauta, L. (2007, December 30). Zen habits : Breathe [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://zenhabits.net/5-powerful-reasons-to-make-reflection-a-daily-habit-and-how-to-do-it/.