I’m a big believer in getting my students to think about their learning at the end of a lesson, and reflect on how they think they went. Before moving on, I want my students to really consider what they did, why they did this and also take note of their strengths and weaknesses.
I have found that by providing a focus (objective, criteria) for students before starting a lesson it enables them to have more success at identifying their strengths and weaknesses and then being able to reflect. Students then don’t feel too overwhelmed when considering how they went.
The students’ reflection ties in with my teaching tip: WILF (What I’m Looking For) and TIB (This Is Because…). I explain more about this strategy in my article: How I Use WILF and TIB To Let My Students Know What I’m Looking For. You’ll also find a link to the WILF and TIB posters there.
One Way To Encourage Student Reflection
In the video I explain one strategy that you can use to begin your students with reflecting. If this is not something you have done a lot with your students, then this is a great visual way to begin the process.
I hope you enjoy the video!
Can’t see the video, watch it here.
Tips To Remember When Using This Strategy
1. You may need to have a discussion with your students about the words used in the poster to describe their effort. So what does ‘some, most or all’ look like? I have done this with younger students and we have jointly developed a chart that shows some examples of each of the 3 categories.
2. Make sure you get your kiddos to stick their post it note on the piece of work they reflected on! This becomes a reminder as to how they think they went during the lesson.
3. Rather than getting your students to stick the post it notes on their work, you could have a class chart divided into the 3 sections. Students stick their post it notes into either the ‘some, most or all’ category. You can then have a class discussion about why some people may have placed their post it notes into the section they did. It’s also a great visual for a teacher to see if the students understood the lesson. If most of the students only had one side of the triangle, then this may be a topic that needs revisiting!
Reflection Poster Freebie
Make sure you pick up your freebie poster, click on the image below to download as a PDF.
Thanks for stopping by 😀
Mel
Mel,
This is a fantastic tip and you’re right – simple but it seems like it would be very effective creating a visual to connect to their reflections. Love it to even use with kindergarten. I could see even students showing this making triangle portion hand signals to show silently at a glance while on the carpet or something… quick and effective. Love it!
– Leslie
Hey Leslie,
Thanks so much for swinging by. As you say…simple but effective! I like your adaptation with using your body to make the part of the triangle while on the mat. Quick and easy to see at a glance those kids that ‘got it’ and those that didn’t.
Cheers
Mel
Thanks heaps! A lovely simple idea that can be so easily transferred to all curriculum areas. As a team leader it is great to have things to share at team meetings and your blog is definitely up there for my team. Thanks again.
Hi Louise,
Thanks so much for dropping by and leaving a comment! Yes I do love this idea and the simplicity of it, great for all ages.
Cheers
Mel
Thanks so much for sharing this idea! I enjoyed reading your post today. Just found you through the summer bloggin’ linky and am glad I did!
Smiles,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
I’m glad you found your way here. I’ve really been enjoying the summer bloggin linky too, it’s been great finding some new blogs to follow.
Cheers
Mel
Thanks for sharing! I agree that the metacognition part of teaching is the most important! I love the poster.