‘We don’t learn by experience, we learn by reflecting on our experiences’ -John Dewey
One of the best learning experiences we can give our students is the experience of self-reflecting on their learning.
I like to keep this very simple for my students – it’s not a detailed self-evaluation, or time to set new goals, however, it is specific.
Self-reflection in my classroom is simply, ‘How have I grown?’ It’s a celebration of everything they have learned and is intended to boost their confidence.
Here is a freebie that I have created for student reflection. You can use it as a general exercise and let students choose their own statements, or you can use it to complete the teaching and assessment cycle.
You will need:
- This freebie
- Student assessment pieces (let’s reflect on math and English)
- Student access to pre-tests and check-ins with completed student checklists*
How to use it:
- Complete this activity after students have received your feedback from the assessment.
- Students should view their pre-tests and check-in pieces to find success criteria (I can statements) that they missed at the time.
- Students then check if they achieved that success criteria later (either in check-in or final assessment)
- If they have shown growth in that SC, they write that success criteria on their sheet.
To ensure that this activity is successful:
If students are not familiar with self-reflection, you could complete this activity as a class. Print on poster-size paper and review success criteria that were explicitly taught during the teaching and assessment cycle. Add the poster to your learning wall as a celebration.
When completing individually, support students who may struggle. Help them to identify success criteria and individual growth areas if needed. The goal here is for students to reflect and feel successful.
* When completing pre-tests and check-ins always attach a student checklist that details the success criteria to be achieved. Highlight achieved SC green, and yet-to-be achieved SC orange. This helps students identify learning goals and will aid them in completing this reflection activity. You can read more about using student checklists with Bump It Up Wall and Learning Walls here.
