Reflection - improving student's metacognition

This term my focus has been on thinking as a key competency, in particular - metacognition and thinking about learning.

How have I achieved this so far?

- Student writing self-assessments of strengths/weaknesses and next steps
- Peer feedback
- Weekly reflections (general)
- Numeracy assessment data analysed by students to determine next steps.
- Numeracy 'What have I learned' posters.
- Maths strategy sharing

Perusing TKI on an unrelated matter, I stumbled across the following power point presentation produced by the Ministry pertaining to the Reflection process and development for teachers.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/114656721/Reflection

Overview

Reflection assess the 'why' and 'how' of the learning and what to do as a result.

Prior to reflection, students must self-assess against criteria. This addresses the 'what' of the learning and learning process.

Good learners are able to step back and take stock of the process.

Good learners are self aware, able to contemplate their actions to continually 'grow' their learning power.

Reflection provides information for teacher and students about the quality of teaching and learning

Reflection is what enables teacher and students to co-construct learning.

Students need to reflect in order to 'own' or make decisions about their learning.

Students who can reflect are more likely to be engaged in their learning.

Teachers need to: make time for reflection, plan opportunities for reflection and train ourselves and students on reflective techniques.

Reflection of students works best at the end of a lesson to consolidate learning, recap on the 'why' of the learning, to give students the opportunity to discuss strategies for learning, and possible 'tricky' bits and to establish a where from here.

Some possible reflective questions:
What were you learning? why?
How did the learning go?
What were the tricky bits? why?
What new learning can we celebrate?
What helped the learning to happen?
Who needs more help and what needs to be re-taught?

Students need to be taught how to reflect
If it's a new process in the classroom, tell students what's happening and why.

Model the type of answers you expect

Possible process for active reflection
- re-cap the learning intention and success criteria
- ask a reflective question
- Give students 15-30 secs thinking time to
- Model appropriate responses (at first)
- Give students opportunities to respond - whole class, in groups, in pairs.

Self-evaluation involves learning how to learn, whereas self-assessment is what we learn. To train pupils in self-evaluation, use questions such as:
- Think about what has happened when the learning has taken place
- What really made you think?
- What did you find difficult?
- What do you need more help with?
- What are you please about?
- What have you learned abot 'x'?
- How would you change the learning activity to suit another class?

Next steps for my teaching:

One of the things I need to get better at is planning time for reflection. More often than not I plan to incorporate a time for refection, but this drops off due to poor time management.

reflection is just as important as the teaching and learning - It needs to be included!

Model what I expect from the students during the reflection process. Do this early on in the year so that they know the expectations.

Explicitly teach students the difference between self evaluation and self assessment