Student Reflection

An Action Research Project by

Megan Graham and Viv Osborne
2008
 Our Research Aim:
 To teach students to use Reflective
Journals to record things they have learnt
and how they have learnt them.
 What is Reflection?
 Reflection involves getting people to talk about
their experiences.
(Christopher Koliba, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor, John Dewey Project on Progressive
Education)

Rules for Reflection.

 Each person has the right and opportunity for
Reflection.
 Every idea has value and can contribute to
learning.
 Individual contribution are recognised.
 Students are responsible for their own learning.
 What is the Purpose of Reflection?
 To find out what students have learnt about
a topic.
 To reflect on current learning:
- how did you learn best?
- What is that?
- How will you learn next time?
 To understand how students learn best.
 Reflection Activities used with
Students:
 Reflection Circle
 Reflection Questions
 Role Playing
 Pair and Share
 Reflection Strips – Kath Murdoch
 Reflection Cube
 Reflection Jigsaw
 Photographs of students
 Sentence Starters for individual reflective journals
 Reflection Cards
 Discussion with groups and individuals
 Room 7 Reflection Dairy
 What do we think of the Reflection
Activities?
 REFLECTION STRIPS
 “The reflection strips help ‘tune’ our thinking into our reflections.” Josie
 “They help us begin our reflections.” Angus
 “They make saying our reflections fun and easy.” Liam
 “They encourage us to be reflective.” Heath
 “They allow us to share our thinking to a group or partner, or the teacher.” Emma

 REFLECTION CUBE
 “The reflection cube is fun to make and decorate.” Taylor
 “It is easy to use and helps us to say our reflections clearly.” Finlay
 “We can use the reflection cube by ourselves or with a group.” Charlie

 JIGSAW REFLECTIONS
 “The jigsaw reflection is a neat partner activity.” Dylan
 “It is fun matching up the puzzle pieces and saying our reflections.” Claudia
 Photo’s of classroom Reflection

 Writing in an individual or class Reflection

Journal.  Sharing reflections with the
class.

 Taking part in a reflection circle

activity.
  Writing individual reflections to share on a
classroom poster or display.

 Participating in a reflection game –

reflection strips, reflection cube or reflection
jigsaw.
 How have the Reflection Activities
helped with our Reflections?

 The reflection activities are lots of fun.

 They are easy to use and help make sharing our reflections
enjoyable.
 The activities have given us more confidence and helped us to
see what we are actually learning at school and how we are
learning.
 We think everyone should reflect on their learning!

(Shared writing activity with Room 7 24/10/08)

 What the Students Think…
 Saying and writing reflections were hard at
the beginning of the year, but go easier as
they practiced.
 The activities that were hands-on were
easier and more fun than those where
writing was needed.
 What the Teachers Think…
 The reflection activities where students got
to do something other than writing proved
most popular, and therefore got the best
results.
 In the future students will be encouraged to
use reflection activities at a given time in the
day to help them reflect on their learning
and think about their next steps.
 Conclusion
 We have really enjoyed taking part in this
Action Research Project.
 The children have responded well to all
aspects of reflection, and as teachers we
have been able to explore different ways of
using it in our classroom programme.
 We will continue using various elements of
reflection with our students.