The Power of Reflection

This year, I dedicated a portion of each lesson to student reflection. This took discipline and commitment to ensure it didn't get squeezed out by time and content pressures, but it didn't take long before both students and I saw changes in test results, attention to lesson content, and student agency. This process began with lessons explicitly explaining the process of reflection and the benefits shown (in peer reviewed research) to exist for memory and deeper understanding. We then learned and practiced several verbal, physical, and written reflection routines using low stakes topics of both academic and social interest. Eight months later, I see students pause to use one of the routines as they are working without prompting or whole class direction to do so. Seeing my students develop as self-directing learners and members of a positive learning community, able to measure their own progress and self-manage their social interactions over time, is enormously rewarding and will fuel my on-going commitment to reflection as a valuable component of transformative pedagogy.