Ask students to reflect.On the surface, this might appear to be an obvious strategy. Unfortunately, it’s one of the most overlooked, yet best, practices any classroom teacher can use. Consider the elements of a typical lesson: Direct instruction, interaction, practice, observation/assessment, closure. While teachers have many variations on this format, what is typically left out (mainly due to lack of time) is reflection and self-evaluation. The best way to overcome the issue of time is to plan daily reflection into your lesson. How can this be done in a class period that might last 40 minutes? Give your students a space to write — a blog, a social network or even a spiral notebook, and plan as little as five minutes at the end of class for process writing. Build these journal entries around questions such as, What did I learn? Why is it important? What is unclear? How can I explain this in under a minute? Experts such as Thomas Guskey, Dylan William and Alfie Kohn have touted the effect of this kind of reflection and feedback for decades. When you consider that time involved — roughly five minutes — and the value of encouraging independent, self-evaluative learning, reflective writing must be a part of your daily routine.
Read about five right-now strategies that you can put into effect today.
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