WRITTEN BY ALICE VIGORS
What is self-reflection?
Self-Reflection is the evaluation or judgement of one’s performance and the identification of one’s strengths and weaknesses with a view to improving one’s learning outcomes (Demore, 2017). In a classroom setting, reflecting 'in' and 'on' learning helps our learners to:
Phases of Thinking Development
Just like we do when we use thinking routines as strategic vehicles in which to scaffold the thinking of our learners, self-reflective practices of both teachers and students move through different developmental phases. From initial introduction of a self-reflective strategy to the development of it as a strategic tool to reflect on learning through to the advanced integration of reflective strategies to evaluate and promote their own learning and growth.
When I first introduce reflective strategies and tools to students, they are formal, deliberate and planned. I explicitly structure them to help scaffold reflection and use think alouds to model my own reflection using the tool or strategy. I repeatedly use them across the curriculum to help build student confidence and competence to move from the initial phase towards using the reflective strategies as a tool and beyond to their seamless and natural use in a variety of situations.
When introducing self-assessment:
To support self-assessment:
Thinking Routines to Support Reflection
There are a number of routines that I utilise in my classroom to support students to become self-reflective learners. One of those routines is the 3, 2, 1 Reflection.
3 2 1 Reflection
Reflecting back on our thinking and growth as a learner is an important skill for all students to develop. It can sometimes feel like a daunting task for educators to build this into their practice but is something that is hugely beneficial for both teacher and student and once routinely undertaken in the classroom, becomes part of the fabric of how things are ‘done’ in that learning space. The 3, 2, 1 Reflection thinking routine is an adaption of the well-known routine 3, 2, 1 Bridge developed by Ritchhart, Church and Morrison in 2011, and is a useful scaffold to support students as they become self-regulated learners. This routine asks learners to think about:
The 3, 2, 1 Bridge thinking routine was something that I used regularly in my classroom and saw the value in identifying initial thinking and wonderings and connecting those to new learning, that I began to adapt the routine to form part of our self-reflective practices on learning. This reflective thinking routine has three components that support students to think about the learning they have engaged with, such as:
Prompt 2: 2 questions I still have
Through this prompt, I asked students to think about two things they are still wondering or are curious about that wasn’t addressed or fully covered in the learning experience. As an educator this helps me to see what students are connecting to the learning experience, any misconceptions that might still be lingering and how to use these questions to support the next phase of learning development. Prompt 3: 1 challenge I faced Through this prompt, I support students to recognise learning challenges (big and small) that they faced during the learning experience and engage in reflective discussions with students about how they overcame these. This supports students as they learn to employ a range of strategies to overcome problems and apply these skills when faced with the same or a similar challenge into the future.
This routine is simple and easy to implement within the classroom with students of any age. Find out more about other self-reflection routines by reading my book The Thinking Classroom and checking out the educational resources section on the Thinking Pathways website.
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AuthorHi, I am Alice. I am a primary teacher and leader in New South Wales, Australia. I have been teaching for the past 14 years in both the Public and Catholic school systems. I am passionate about supporting and mentoring colleagues to think deeply about their efforts to cultivate thinking and learning opportunities for students. Read more Archives
August 2023
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