Improving Student Reflection and Documentation Through PLPs
Abstract:
I will research how student reflection on goal setting improves with the use of structured digital tools and intentional instruction around evidence collection and reflection. Students will use personal blogs to record content and transferable skills goals, collect specific evidence on their goals, and reflect thoughtfully upon their learning progress. Students will collaborate with each other through their blogs and the commenting process as well as share work with a wider school and family audience. Student data will be collected using a variety of means to allow for a broader range of student expression and ensure access to the work for all students. Instruments will include student surveys, individual student interviews, and student work analysis.
Introduction and Rationale:
At last year's MGI I created an action research project around goal setting and reflection where I investigated how direct instruction on goal setting improved students' abilities to perform those skills. After reflecting upon the school year and my work on this project, I found that student goal setting skills, and their ability to write using the SMART outline, improved noticeably. What did not get addressed as planned was student reflection and metacognition. This realization has led me to this action research project where I will investigate how direction instruction in reflection and evidence collection improves students' abilities to perform those tasks.
With recent legislation requiring that students demonstrate proficiency in being self directed learners, student reflection is at the forefront of teachers' minds. According to the Performance Indicators, students must be able to, "Identify, manage and assess new opportunities related to learning goals." Student must be able to, "Demonstrate initiative and responsibility for learning." This is the driving force behind why I chose to take on this project. I also feel that with the goal setting work I did with my multi age class last year, one half of my class will be practiced in this area, ready to move into reflection, and be able to mentor and teach my incoming students. I see a greater opportunity for student independence and collaboration as they work with each other, as well as a greater investment in their work with this focused approach to individualizing their school time. Another reason this project is relevant that our school has done a great deal of work around teaching the essential concept of having a Growth Mindset. We employed the phrase "not yet!" as a way of changing our thinking about perceived failure and motivating ourselves to persevere on our goals. The time is right for moving into quality reflection through writing, speaking and documenting work evidence on those goals.
The relevance of this project is supported by previous research and literature written on the topic of reflection. Why should students reflect? Through the process of reflection, how do students gain skills in the area of digital literacies? Finally, what does better reflection mean for students and student learning? I will examine some of that research and continue to define the importance of student reflection and metacognition in the individualized learning process.
There is no doubt that effectively teaching student reflection is an essential part of student learning and individual growth. The readings have helped me realize that better understanding content is only one important part however. As teachers we have the science on our side to help motivate students to engage in this process. Marilyn Price-Mitchell, in her article Metacognition: Nurturing Self Awareness in the Classroom, cited research that states, "Self awareness actually changes the structure of the brain!" It builds neural connections and grows the brain. What student can argue with having a bigger brain? She continued in her article to celebrate student reflection as a way of, "increasing the efficiency of of focusing on what (students) still need to learn." As teachers we work daily to increase student self-reliance, flexibility and productivity in all areas of their school day. Price-Mitchell argues that teaching students how to reflect thoughtfully increases a student's ability, "to weigh choices and evaluate options." It teaches skills that are truly transferable to problem solving in general, moving beyond the classroom walls, building the essential components for a growth mindset towards all learning environments and opportunities. The thinking skills gained through reflection can be applied to more complicated and unstructured tasks that students would previously not be willing, or able, to approach.
While growing your brain and learning how to think so that you can tackle future tasks later on is a vital skill, we as educators do find it necessary to make sure our students learn the desired content. A collection of research on the Reflection4Learning site tackled the question of why should students reflect that extended beyond the brain research. The argument here was summed up with a quote from John Dewey that stated, "We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience." Reflection is a search for connections between concepts and a journey for students to better understand the quality and growth of their thinking. It was widely agreed upon in that article that students need to learn how to self-assess their work, and it is a must that students learn how to do it well. Jon Mueller advocated in his article, Authentic Assessment Toolbox, that teachers have the task of teaching those reflective skills before we expect them to be able to do it well. Teaching the skill of reflection is an act of the reflective process in itself! Developing those skills Mueller states, "requires instruction and modeling, lots of practice, feedback, and reflection." I believe that he was talking not just about the students, but the teachers as well who need to reflect upon their own practice as they roll out their lessons. The skills necessary for quality reflection don't just come with our students, we have the task of intentionally teaching them so that the work can be done by the student.
Once the instruction has begun it is important to understand that it's in the process part of reflection where the real learning happens. It's one thing to teach the skills, but students need to regularly engage in the practice of reflection to grow. This is where student engagement and buy in comes into play. In order to consistently practice the reflection skills, students need to have investment in what it is they are reflecting on. In a blog post by Life Legeros titled, R is for Real Reflection, he asserted that teachers should strive for "the holy grail of classroom juju: student engagement", and student driven reflection can go a long ways towards attaining that goal. I do know as an educator that students do not fit one mold, and the reflection process needs to take that into account. Giving students the ability to set and work on their own goals inherently diversifies the field, and the variety of learning styles students bring with them does that even more! So while it is clear reflection can lead to important brain changes and increase engagement, Legeros continued to write in his post that brain research, "has taught us that we should allow students multiple means of expression."
In her journal article titled, What is Literacy? A Critical Overview of Sociocultural Perspectives, Kristen Perry discusses the idea of multiliteracies and the importance of understanding this point of view. Citing the work of others, she summaries the idea of multiliteracies, or multimodalities, and supports the critique of how, "So-called literate Western societies have for too long insisted on the priority of a particular form of engagement." (p. 58). That kind of engagement has been solely focused on print and written word. She highlights the call for a new kind of approach to literacy, one that does not limit itself to the written word, and embraces the rapidly developing digital world. The article primarily addresses how students can be taught literacy skills through a variety of mediums, and I suggest taking this into the work of student reflection. If the research asserts that students learn literacy through multiple forms of media, then why not express themselves that way? I believe that students need to have a variety of means to express themselves because they learn in different ways. I also believe that in order to effectively communicate to a wider audience, students have to be able to communicate in more than one way, or at least be give the freedom to approach reflection that way.
I feel confident that my research plan builds effectively upon my goal setting work from last year. I believe that I have justified why reflection matters for student learning, and how increasing student engagement is paramount in this work. I also believe that allowing for, and expecting, a multiliteracy approach to student expression, is key for teaching effective communication and for finding additional ways to get student to buy into the work asked of them.
Project Description and Implementation
The focus of my action plan will be to teach students specific reflection skills and evidence collection procedures. This work will build upon the work I did last year on goal setting in my multiage 3rd and 4th grade classroom. I will have 8 returning 4th graders and 9 new 3rd graders participating in this work. Students will use a standardized goal setting sheet which is part of the weekly schedule of learning that each student uses. This work will be done in the classroom on a weekly basis with students setting personal goals on a Monday, conferring with me throughout the week, and engaging in reflection on Friday. I have learned from last year's work that students would benefit from keeping the same goals for a number of weeks in an effort to be able to modify goals as needed, and effectively engage in the evolving process of reflection.
Student Blogs and Evidence of Work
Here is a 4th grade student who used Explain Everything and their Chromebook camera to document goals and their reflection thoughts:
Claire
Here is another 4th graders who used Explain Everything and their Chromebook camera to document goals and their reflection thinking
Maggie
Both of these students are strong in literacy. They were quick to understand how to write SMART goals and be able to find specific evidence to document their work on them. I want to further pursue the use of voice/video, trying out web based video instead of the Explain Everything app as it would require only one device. Maggie worked with me to take the next step in her reflection to think about not just what she did to work on her goal, but to why she has felt that she is making process on her goal. I want to pursue more of that line of thinking as this work goes on.
Here is a 4th grader who only used her Chromebook to document her goals and work on them. She used screen capture tools and the camera to document papers and digital work.
Zoey
A next step that I would have for her is to take her thinking beyond just documenting the work she did and explain more about the processes and the habits of mind that she used. That happened more in the first reflection than it did in the second one.
I also had students write more general goals about life and school and the beginning of the year. I had them do some reflecting this week as part of the new year and prior to launching their next set of larger goals. I encouraged them to think about if they met their goal, and why, taking time to explain how they worked on it. I also encouraged them to think of using the phrase of Not Yet if they did not meet their goal. They were to explain why that was the case and how they would keep working on it.
Here is a 4th graders post about their Dream Project
Rory
I noticed that he was not very thorough in explaining his thinking around the reflections. The last one about handwriting was stronger as it has more specific details of his evidence. I would celebrate that and encourage him to use that same kind of thinking to revise his ideas from above.
Here is a 3rd grader who reflected on his Dream project. I appreciated how he chose a skill that he is personally very invested in, then how he gave some evidence about how he has been working on getting faster.
Brendan
I gave a survey in January to see how comfortable the students were with goal setting and reflection and what their feelings were about its usefulness in their academic lives.
Survey Link
The relevance of this project is supported by previous research and literature written on the topic of reflection. Why should students reflect? Through the process of reflection, how do students gain skills in the area of digital literacies? Finally, what does better reflection mean for students and student learning? I will examine some of that research and continue to define the importance of student reflection and metacognition in the individualized learning process.
There is no doubt that effectively teaching student reflection is an essential part of student learning and individual growth. The readings have helped me realize that better understanding content is only one important part however. As teachers we have the science on our side to help motivate students to engage in this process. Marilyn Price-Mitchell, in her article Metacognition: Nurturing Self Awareness in the Classroom, cited research that states, "Self awareness actually changes the structure of the brain!" It builds neural connections and grows the brain. What student can argue with having a bigger brain? She continued in her article to celebrate student reflection as a way of, "increasing the efficiency of of focusing on what (students) still need to learn." As teachers we work daily to increase student self-reliance, flexibility and productivity in all areas of their school day. Price-Mitchell argues that teaching students how to reflect thoughtfully increases a student's ability, "to weigh choices and evaluate options." It teaches skills that are truly transferable to problem solving in general, moving beyond the classroom walls, building the essential components for a growth mindset towards all learning environments and opportunities. The thinking skills gained through reflection can be applied to more complicated and unstructured tasks that students would previously not be willing, or able, to approach.
While growing your brain and learning how to think so that you can tackle future tasks later on is a vital skill, we as educators do find it necessary to make sure our students learn the desired content. A collection of research on the Reflection4Learning site tackled the question of why should students reflect that extended beyond the brain research. The argument here was summed up with a quote from John Dewey that stated, "We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience." Reflection is a search for connections between concepts and a journey for students to better understand the quality and growth of their thinking. It was widely agreed upon in that article that students need to learn how to self-assess their work, and it is a must that students learn how to do it well. Jon Mueller advocated in his article, Authentic Assessment Toolbox, that teachers have the task of teaching those reflective skills before we expect them to be able to do it well. Teaching the skill of reflection is an act of the reflective process in itself! Developing those skills Mueller states, "requires instruction and modeling, lots of practice, feedback, and reflection." I believe that he was talking not just about the students, but the teachers as well who need to reflect upon their own practice as they roll out their lessons. The skills necessary for quality reflection don't just come with our students, we have the task of intentionally teaching them so that the work can be done by the student.
Once the instruction has begun it is important to understand that it's in the process part of reflection where the real learning happens. It's one thing to teach the skills, but students need to regularly engage in the practice of reflection to grow. This is where student engagement and buy in comes into play. In order to consistently practice the reflection skills, students need to have investment in what it is they are reflecting on. In a blog post by Life Legeros titled, R is for Real Reflection, he asserted that teachers should strive for "the holy grail of classroom juju: student engagement", and student driven reflection can go a long ways towards attaining that goal. I do know as an educator that students do not fit one mold, and the reflection process needs to take that into account. Giving students the ability to set and work on their own goals inherently diversifies the field, and the variety of learning styles students bring with them does that even more! So while it is clear reflection can lead to important brain changes and increase engagement, Legeros continued to write in his post that brain research, "has taught us that we should allow students multiple means of expression."
In her journal article titled, What is Literacy? A Critical Overview of Sociocultural Perspectives, Kristen Perry discusses the idea of multiliteracies and the importance of understanding this point of view. Citing the work of others, she summaries the idea of multiliteracies, or multimodalities, and supports the critique of how, "So-called literate Western societies have for too long insisted on the priority of a particular form of engagement." (p. 58). That kind of engagement has been solely focused on print and written word. She highlights the call for a new kind of approach to literacy, one that does not limit itself to the written word, and embraces the rapidly developing digital world. The article primarily addresses how students can be taught literacy skills through a variety of mediums, and I suggest taking this into the work of student reflection. If the research asserts that students learn literacy through multiple forms of media, then why not express themselves that way? I believe that students need to have a variety of means to express themselves because they learn in different ways. I also believe that in order to effectively communicate to a wider audience, students have to be able to communicate in more than one way, or at least be give the freedom to approach reflection that way.
I feel confident that my research plan builds effectively upon my goal setting work from last year. I believe that I have justified why reflection matters for student learning, and how increasing student engagement is paramount in this work. I also believe that allowing for, and expecting, a multiliteracy approach to student expression, is key for teaching effective communication and for finding additional ways to get student to buy into the work asked of them.
Project Description and Implementation
The focus of my action plan will be to teach students specific reflection skills and evidence collection procedures. This work will build upon the work I did last year on goal setting in my multiage 3rd and 4th grade classroom. I will have 8 returning 4th graders and 9 new 3rd graders participating in this work. Students will use a standardized goal setting sheet which is part of the weekly schedule of learning that each student uses. This work will be done in the classroom on a weekly basis with students setting personal goals on a Monday, conferring with me throughout the week, and engaging in reflection on Friday. I have learned from last year's work that students would benefit from keeping the same goals for a number of weeks in an effort to be able to modify goals as needed, and effectively engage in the evolving process of reflection.
Proposed calendar for implementation:
September 2015
- I will use the linked Pinterest site to reteach the skills of quality goal setting for goal creation: Goal Setting Tools
- I will use Using Writing Prompts to Improve Reflection to initiate reflection. While the focus of the site is math, I believe that the prompts can be effective for what students set.
- Another site for introduced using basic written question prompts taken from the REAL Dimensions, found in the Student Engagement and Student Self-assessment: The REAL Framework, article that proposed this tool, starting on page 9.
October 2015
- Students will move into more specific collection of work evidence to support their reflections on goals.
- Student conferring on the evidence they collect will be the main tool used to collect data.
- Students will begin using their personal Kidblog blogs to document their reflective writing and photographs of the evidence they collect. This work will be public for classmates and families to view and comment on
- Parent-teacher conferences will be the first opportunity for face to face sharing of student reflection
November 2015
- Goal setting and reflection continues
- Reflection takes on digital tools to document learning. Student blogs, Explain Everything videos, Adobe Voice recording app, and Seesaw are choice options for documenting work and thinking
December 2015
- Students will have completed a term of goal setting and reflection work, and will collect their periodic goals and reflections with the intent of conducting a final reflection on their work
- Student reflections, interviews and digital records will help me determine the evidence of growth over time
Data Collection Chart
| Research Question | Data Source | Method/Instrument | Date of Collection |
| How does the use of formal instruction on goal reflection affect students' abilities to effectively reflect and document that work? | 20 3rd and 4th grade students | Pre-Assessment of reflection writing skills | September 2015 |
| 20 3rd and 4th grader students | Goal writing using the SMART framework | September 2015 | |
| 20 3rd and 4th grade students | Written Reflection on personal goals | September 2015 | |
| 20 3rd and 4th grade students | Blogs for digital documentation of reflections and evidence | October 2015 | |
| 5 randomly selected 3rd and 4th grade students | Student reflection on goals interviews | October 2015 | |
| 20 3rd and 4th grade students | Digital reflection choice | November 2015 | |
| 5 randomly selected 3rd and 4th grade students | Digital reflection tool - student blogs, Voice Thread, Explain Everything, Adobe Voice | November/December 2015 | |
| 20 3rd and 4th grade students | Final assessment/reflection of reflection skills and growth using digital blog posts | December 2015 |
Student Blogs and Evidence of Work
Here is a 4th grade student who used Explain Everything and their Chromebook camera to document goals and their reflection thoughts:
Claire
Here is another 4th graders who used Explain Everything and their Chromebook camera to document goals and their reflection thinking
Maggie
Both of these students are strong in literacy. They were quick to understand how to write SMART goals and be able to find specific evidence to document their work on them. I want to further pursue the use of voice/video, trying out web based video instead of the Explain Everything app as it would require only one device. Maggie worked with me to take the next step in her reflection to think about not just what she did to work on her goal, but to why she has felt that she is making process on her goal. I want to pursue more of that line of thinking as this work goes on.
Here is a 4th grader who only used her Chromebook to document her goals and work on them. She used screen capture tools and the camera to document papers and digital work.
Zoey
A next step that I would have for her is to take her thinking beyond just documenting the work she did and explain more about the processes and the habits of mind that she used. That happened more in the first reflection than it did in the second one.
I also had students write more general goals about life and school and the beginning of the year. I had them do some reflecting this week as part of the new year and prior to launching their next set of larger goals. I encouraged them to think about if they met their goal, and why, taking time to explain how they worked on it. I also encouraged them to think of using the phrase of Not Yet if they did not meet their goal. They were to explain why that was the case and how they would keep working on it.
Here is a 4th graders post about their Dream Project
Rory
I noticed that he was not very thorough in explaining his thinking around the reflections. The last one about handwriting was stronger as it has more specific details of his evidence. I would celebrate that and encourage him to use that same kind of thinking to revise his ideas from above.
Here is a 3rd grader who reflected on his Dream project. I appreciated how he chose a skill that he is personally very invested in, then how he gave some evidence about how he has been working on getting faster.
Brendan
I gave a survey in January to see how comfortable the students were with goal setting and reflection and what their feelings were about its usefulness in their academic lives.
Survey Link
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