Learning through Reflection

Chapter 5

We have finally gotten to the chapter that I have been quite interested in reading.  Reflection is something I think is extremely important in learning and often forgotten about, at least in my past experiences.  A quote from the book I really like was, “Reflective thinking to be careful thought persisting toward an objective of coming closer to the truth.” P.109.  Reflection is a moment that helps everything come together and stick in your memory.  The book brings up a few skills that should be used in this stage.  First is communication, this is essential to talk things out.  A lot of problem solving can be done by just stating thoughts and opinion and reflecting and communication is needed.  Next, and most important is critical thinking.  This skill is needed in life and I feel that many people don’t develop the critical thinking skills they need.  Teachers need to remember that this is not just for math but to further the learning process.  The book showed some great examples for this and some good information, p.112.  Lastly, is critical literacy.  This is simply, or not so simply, reading between the lines.  This can be very hard for some students to learn and understand but a great way to help reflect.  A great way to reflect is through cooperative learning, if done right, because it is not just group work.  Teachers need to take the time to help students know what to do.  Lastly, I’m going to list and briefly state different strategies and activities for reflection.

1.       Brainstorming- This isn’t like normal brainstorming but more of jotting important topics from the reading as you go.  It can also be a group thing that students think of solutions for something in the text, and as a class all pick the best one and explain why.

2.       Post-Graphic Organizers- One of my favorites, this is a way to jot down, in a visually appealing way, important facts and organizing them.  This helps to trigger the memory of the story.

3.       Making Connections- Making a connection makes the text relatable and easier to remember and understand.

4.       Double-Entry Journals- Students can use these to reflect and think about the story.  What they liked, their favorite part, a quote they liked.  It helps them think about the story more.

5.       Rallytable- Providing an open-ended question and allowing the students, in pairs, think of as many solutions as possible, discussing these afterwards.

6.       Numbered Heads Together- A game, coming up with solutions to open-ended questions.

7.       Paired Reading- Having students pair up, one tells the story from their memory and another listens.  They alternate, can use drawings and such to help retell the story.

8.       Three-Step Interview- Interviewing each other.

9.       Repeated Readings and Text Lookbacks- Rereading the text, I know as a student I did not enjoy this at all.

10.   Group Summarizations- Working together to summarize reading.

11.   Reflection Guides- A guide to help them start a discussion about the reading.

12.   Think-Pair-Share- Have students answer a thought provoking question, pair up to discuss it, come together as a group to discuss.  They can then read to see if the reading answers their questions more.

13.   Extended Anticipation Guide- exactly what it says but after reading.

14.   About/Point- What the story is about and what are the main points.

15.   Self-Generated Questions- making own questions about reading.

16.   Think-Alouds- This can happen anytime through the reading process, during and after.  Students can write down what they are thinking as they read to help develop the understanding of the text.