Student Self and Peer Reflection
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The reflection process is an essential element in my classroom. Reflection is incorporated in a myriad of classroom activities/assignments. For example, students are asked to reflect on the writing process and teacher feedback after each writing assignment is completed. When we are discussing specific aspects of the given work of literature that we are reading, students are often asked to reflect upon the internal and external conflicts characters are facing or ways in which the author conveys his intended effect. They constantly reflect upon the use of specific literary techniques and rhetorical devices authors choose to use, and evaluate how each writing strategy helps to convey the author's purpose.
The students' first writing assignment, "The Soundtrack of My Life" asks students to reflect on their personal experiences that have shaped them into the individuals that they are today. Once they reflect on their experiences, they are asked to analyze song lyrics and choose lyrics to intertwine into their own writing to further emphasize how each experience shaped them. This is a reflective piece that sets the tone for the remainder of the year by establishing high expectations for ourselves and each other, and emphasizing the the importance of the writing process. When students are placed in groups, they are usually given a reflection sheet at the end of the class period in which they respond to specific questions regarding what they learned while working with their peers, what they see in a different manner after listening to their classmates' ideas/opinions, and they are also asked to share if their group members were accountable for their specific role. The Odyssey Peer Teaching Assignment (attached below) exposed students to the different means of self and peer reflection. In this assignment, students are heterogeneously grouped and are given the role of the teacher. Students are asked to create a lesson based on a specific episode from Homer's Odyssey using their 21st Century Skills, researched materials, and high-level questioning. At the end of each lesson, five minutes remain for reflection. Students who were in charge of teaching the material answer three reflective questions (designed from Danielson). The students who participated in the lesson were asked three different reflective questions. This practice of taking ownership, self-assessing, and peer assessing helps prepare students as they grow as individuals and students. It was an eye-opening experience for some of the students when they taught the class and learned that they have to "manage" the class and keep them "on task." Although I helped the students pace their lesson and coached them as they taught, the students shared that they "really captured the feeling of being a teacher for the first time." |