Student Reflections

(Part of @teachthought 30-day Reflective Teaching Blogging Challenge) more info here.

Day 19: "Name 3 powerful ways that students can reflect on their learning. Discuss the one you use the most."

When students reflect on their learning, teachers can have a better idea of the level of student understanding that has taken place. Providing time for students to reflect allows them the opportunity to focus on what was learned, how it is important, and what they still might need to know or learn.

It's not enough to just teach a lesson, we must allow students to reflect on their learning.

Here are 3 ways I have students reflect on their learning. I use all of them for different reasons and in different ways:

1) Socrative ~ This allows me to ask students questions, provide them a chance to respond to a prompt or idea, and monitor their thinking and understanding during or after a lesson. I like the different options available and also appreciate the data it can provide. I often download the spreadsheet of student responses to check for understanding.

2) TodaysMeet ~ This allows for online discussion to take place. My students can reflect on their learning while also reading the messages their classmates post. They can go back and forth, add more information, ask questions to one another, and adjust their thinking. I like how I can interact with them as well, and then print off a transcript to analyze later.

3) Exit Tickets ~ (the paper ones) While the two ideas listed above are a form of "exit ticket" in a way, a small slip of paper or an index card can do the trick as well. With little preparation, I can have students make a list of ideas, write questions they still have, or summarize what they learned. I can collect these and sort them in different ways according to what I might be hoping to learn from my students' responses.