Reflective Writing

Reflective Writing as a Tool to Guide our Teaching

I have really tried to incorporate student reflection in my classes this semester. I read that it really helps students (and teachers) bring closure to a lesson. They get a chance to process what was done that day. My history classes have a History Journal and my Phys. Ed. Class has a Phys. Ed. Journal. I collect them regularly and often write back to the kids.

This reflective writing is also great for doing some informal action research. For example, after completing a jigsaw activity in my American History class, I asked the kids to explain whether they would have preferred that I do a lecture on the same content. Most preferred the group activity, but some really wanted me to tell them everything. Still others wanted some combination of the two. That feedback guided my planning for a subsequent lesson.

The journals can also be used to explore student background knowledge before studying a topic. For example, before studying the characteristics of a good relationship, I had my phys ed students write down “Over 50% of marriages fail,” and then had them individually brainstorm why that number is so high.

Reflection takes time and the kids are often reluctant to do it at first; however, the journals help both the students, an me, process and evaluate classroom practice.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it

I think too often, those of us who have experienced Barry Bennett and his collection of instructional strategies, try to covert our entire teaching process over to fit one or another instructional technique. In doing this I think we defeat the purpose of much of what Bennett or other instructional intelligence gurus reveal to us. The purpose of introducing us to all of these strategies is not so that we will exclusively convert all of our lessons to include a strategy from "Beyond Monet," but to arm us with a wide variety of tools that can be used to reach more students more often. It is not always necessary to change what we are doing to achieve that goal. Though not always the most entertaining method of teaching, sometimes the Socratic method is the best choice, or having students take a note off of an overhead or the chalk board. Group work is not always the best choice to ensure students are engaged in a lesson.

As teachers I think we struggle with the balance between including variety in our lessons to spark the lust for learning, and incorporating routine into the classroom so that students are comfortable with the learning environment.

Yes, variety is the spice of life but we should also consider the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

The Exploratory Phase

Something that I have really tried to improve upon over the past week or so is using the "exploratory phase" of the lesson more consistently. Instead of jumping into the content, we need to access and assess the learners' prior knowledge in addition to engaging them. That phase should be followed by some sort of authentic task. Why use this model? It increases the likelihood of real learning.

For example, before explaining the concept of a Mind Map, I asked the kids to write down the purpose of a road map, then identify common features of a road map. Tomorrow, we will review the aspects of the road map and the kids will have their first opportunity to draw a Mind Map. Both types of maps have shared attributes, and it's easier for the kids to see the rationale behind using the Mind Map. They often complain about having to use colour and symbols, but you will rarely find an effective road map that lacks colour and symbols.

I hope to be able to comment on the success of the maps later in the week.