Step 2: Reflect Pages 37-59
A Time to Be Silent and a Time to Speak
The silence that encourages reflective thinking can eventually lead to long-term memory.
Sprenger breaks down Focus Time, Wait Time, and Time for Reflection as being the keys to success for reflection.
Focus Time:
I found it powerful when the author spoke to us about how difficult it is to sometimes sit still for long periods of time and without hitting a wall. As adults, we can get up and take a break, walk around, or grab a snack. However, we expect our scholars to sit for long periods of time with no talking, no getting out of seats, and no snacking. If we don't read their body language correctly, it could lead to a very disruptive situation. The visual below helps us understand how to plan an incremental lesson where you change your teaching strategy to keep our scholars focused and engaged in their learning based on their age.
Wait Time:
Wait time plays a vital role in the retention process. We must give our scholars time to reflect and then connect new information to prior knowledge. If we don't give them the time to connect, they will lose the new information. I have observed serval classrooms using wait time effectively and increasing scholar participation. It works!! :) Try counting to 5 in your head before calling on a scholar or probing after a scholar answers. (Lower level questions require less wait time and higher-level questions may take 5-10 seconds.) Watch the short video clip below to see wait time in action. Watch how hands keep going up the longer she waits!
Time for Reflection:
We must allow our scholars time to reflect and process new information. Reflection involves the use of feelings and opinions. It leads us to ask questions and think at a more cognitively challenging level. Stop, Think, and Jot is a great strategy to incorporate into your lesson that allows for reflection time.
1. Questioning
2. Visualizing
3. Journaling
4. Using Thinking Directives
5. Thinking Like a PMI (+ - Interesting) Chart
6. Collaboration
7. Four-Corner Reflection
Reflect on the above, The Seven Habits of Highly Reflective Classrooms, by creating your own PMI Chart.
+ List parts from The Seven Habits that were positive (+) for you
- List topics or concepts that you don't like or understand from The Seven Habits
! List the parts that you found most interesting from The Seven Habits
Reflection is so powerful and I love the reminder that we as teachers need to "make time to take time."
ReplyDelete(+):
Questioning- Giving students the tools to reflect by asking questions, such as why or how. I know that teaching my 1st graders to reflect is so important for retention! It also gives them a sense of meaning and purpose.
Visualizing- Using this in order to store a large amount of info. is so helpful. I appreciate the reminder that my young scholars will need to first discover that they have the power to visualize! We as teachers may take this for granted.
Journaling- Another great tool for reflection and giving them a sense of control and ownership.
Collaboration- So important and powerful as students share...giving the teacher the first opportunity to check for understanding. We are all in this together!
(-) I thought that all concepts were valid and could be implemented in the classroom... Some easier that others depending on the ages of the scholars.
Interesting reminders & ideas that made me think:
Using thinking directives.
Thinking like a PMI chart.
Four-corner reflection.
Good afternoon Erica,
DeleteI thought that your comment about implementing ideas was important. For instance, you stated: "some [concepts are] easier than others depending on the ages of the scholars" (Erica, 2018). I think we are helped so much, as teachers, when we also share ideas about implementing strategies and ideas. For instance, we both may try to use collaboration, but the way you may have implemented collaboration could have been more effective, because you know your students, and because you may have set up some roles in advance e.g. scribe, innovator, facilitator, skeptic, etc.
Thinking about how to implement the ideas more effectively is important and, as you mentioned, this can look differently for various age groups. :-)
Thanks for sharing your ideas this week.
Kind regards,
Christine Weatherby
cweatherby@tbla.email
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
Erica Andrews,
ReplyDeleteTimothy L. Johnson Academy
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteGreetings Everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the beautiful rainy, wet, humid weekend!
ReplyDeleteHere is my thinking from this week's reading...
Positives from 7 Habits of Highly Reflective Classrooms
+ Fogarty (1997) Fat and Skinny Questions-Fat requires discussion and explanation(teehee), skinny requires yes/no. Ask why or how you know questions to get them to reflect.
*To keep children thinking ask: What else? or Tell me more.
+Writing about thinking provides a feeling of control (Restak, 2000)
+3 second wait time effects: classroom discipline, fewer/better questions, raised expectations
+Focus time for our students is their age in minutes.
Negatives from the 7 Habits
-We have 5 minutes to reflect before kindergarteners lose interest, according to the above information. Even if it's whole group, is this effective? The challenge is how we can use these strategies, particularly the PMI Chart, at such an early age without teachers spoon feeding ideas?
-Figure 2.2 Collaboration
#2 Specifically states: Discuss the social skills necessary and practice those. We literally do this all year. Appropriate ways to work together etc. Yikes.
-Corner Reflection: I love this idea and have done it as an adult. How can I do it with kinders? Must keep thinking...
Interesting parts from The Seven Habits
*Reflection as Assessment-the Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck compare and contrast was great! Using colors to represent similarities and differences is effective and doable.
*Thinking About Information in Working Memory-As they strive to make new CONNECTIONS they are rehearsing the new learning and finding ways to attach it to prior knowledge. We talk so much about making connections to text via text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world. THIS is doable in kindergarten.
I think my favorite habit of all is collaborate. I have been incorporating more Turn and Talk opportunities as a way for kinders to digest and reflect. It sometimes goes off topic as we practice, but the ability to listen in on what actually was received from a topic is very helpful. I can go back and address misinformation so quickly and easily!
Jene' Rethlake
Kindergarten Teacher
Timothy L Johnson Academy
Good afternoon Jene,
DeleteI liked that you shared ways that you have been effective with implementing collaboration in your classroom. For instance, you mentioned "turn and talk" (Jene, 2018). I liked how you used this get them to reflect. I also like that you used this as assessment to reteach if needed. This is something I want to try more in my classroom. :-) Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards,
Christine Weatherby
cweatherby@tbla.email
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
Good afternoon everyone,
ReplyDeleteThe following contains my blog post this week- the PMI responses:
Two things that I found positive (+), or really liked, from “The Seven Habits of Highly Reflective Classrooms” were:
Habit 3: Journaling (p. 51) – and,
Habit 7: Four-Corner Reflection (p. 55).
Two things that continue to spark questions for me (-) from “The Seven Habits of Highly Reflective Classrooms” were:
Habit 6: Perhaps how to more effective navigate times of collaboration (p. 53)- and,
Perhaps discerning timing more effectively e.g. “As in comedy, one secret of good teaching is time” (Sprenger, 2018, p. 39).
Two things that I found interesting (!) from “The Seven Habits of Highly Reflective Classrooms” were:
I liked that they mentioned Leonardo da Vinci. He seemed to be someone that synthesized information well and was able to effectively navigate a variety of disciplines e.g. art, military, science, anatomy, etc. Sprenger (2018) notes that “seven thousand notebook pages belong[ed] to Leonardo da Vinci still exist” (p. 51). This is important, because, we still have an opportunity to learn from him. I think that if we can get our students to journal then they might have greater opportunities to make connections that are interdisciplinary and creative. They will think about how to use what they are learning to solve problems. They will think about the deeper meaning of theoretical concepts. So, I really liked this.
I also liked the rubrics that were included.
Kind regards,
Christine Weatherby
cweatherby@tbla.email
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy
Goodmorning! I was excited to see all the different reflection strategies, and cannot wait to start using them effectively.
ReplyDelete(+)
I had a number of positives this chapter. I think the PMI chart will be fun to use in different subjects. I also really liked the visualizing strategy. I hope to use that very often in math as well as reading classes. I also liked the idea of journalling. The intro to the chapter had the students journaling using So What? and What Now?, which I think is a great idea and I am trying to get myself into the habit of using it after I read each chapter so I will be ready to apply it when I am teaching.
(-)
For me there is no strategy that I didn’t like, but overall I am nervious about making sure I use them and modeling them correctly. I want to do more partner or group reflecting than last year, but I am not positive how to get all of the strategies off the ground effectively.
(!)
I found the rubric and collaboration procedure very helpful and interesting and I am really interested in using the Four-Cornerr Reflection strategy. I think I might use that as a review lesson of a concept we have already learned and reflected on using another strategy.
Respectfully,
Emily Mooney
GVPLA
The "So what? What now?" journal writing stood out to me as well. I was introduced to that questioning pattern in college during an excellent humanities course I took. It changed my thinking for life. I was previously content to only answer the question "what?" and move on. Since my professor established that thinking pattern, I have continued the habit of pushing my thinking with the questions "So what?" and "What now?" Further evidence of the effectiveness of teaching picking a questioning strategy and teaching it so that reflection becomes habitual for our students.
DeleteThe positive parts of The Seven Habits were collaboration, questioning, journaling, and visualizing. Many of these techniques were used during reading. For instance, my fifth graders would collaborate when they used reader’s theater in their small groups. Also, questioning occurred during and after their small group reading. They would be assigned reading questions to be cognizant of while they were reading. Then, the answers would be discussed during whole group, using reciprocal teaching. Educating them on QAR questions also helped them find the answers. Furthermore, they would journal after finishing their small group reading. It was a great way to occupy them while waiting for other groups to finish. The journal topic would require them to voice their opinion about how they would handle a conflict in the novel, or what their response would be if they were a specific character. Moreover, one student would be assigned the role of the illustrator, during reciprocal teaching. They would draw a picture that summarized the chapter. Needless to say, combining a few of The Seven Habits with reciprocal teaching helped improve my students’ comprehension during reading.
ReplyDeleteI don’t have any minuses. However, the four-corner reflection is interesting and seems like a lot of fun. I’m sure students will enjoy the movement and music. Also, having them list what they’ve learned is a way to administer a formative assessment and reinforce their learning. Furthermore, this technique caters to multiple learning styles. It’s a great idea.
PLA #103
DeletePLA at 103!!!!!
DeleteI also thought the reflection strategies were often in line with reading strategies. One of the best teachers I've worked with (Mrs. Posey--She's a 3rd grade TA at 103) always says "reading is thinking." It's neat to see these thinking strategies now and their similarities to reading strategies.
Hello-
ReplyDeleteI love the 7 Habits and have used the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Students in an 8th grade classroom at a previous school. I loved it and the students really got into it too. So I really enjoyed reading this version of the 7 Habits. I found all of them very worthwhile.
(+) The habit I liked the most was Collaboration. This is a skill that 7th graders really struggle with. They are in a funny time of their life where they don't want to stand out so they don't say anything or they make fun of everything other students say.
(-) Although I liked all of the habits, I'm not sure habit 7: 4 Corner Reflection Chart would work in my environment. I am afraid students would not feel comfortable reflecting in a group setting where they could then comment on work from other students. Just because of the goofy age of 7th graders, I don't think this would be a success in my classroom.
(!) I really like the idea of reflecting in habits 3,4, and 5. I think many of my students would get a lot out of journaling.
Hi, all! It's so fabulous to have a much needed break from school and be able to focus on and reflect on my teaching and how I can improve my craft.
ReplyDelete(+) I realize after reading Step 2 that I have tapped into most of the 7 habits but, need to get more involved in each one. Questioning is crucial for our scholars to learn to be able to reflect in academics, but also in their emotional lives. Problem solving cannot be achieved without questioning. Journaling is another area that I need to assist scholars in using on a deeper level.
(-) PMI chart is something I've not used, but will begin to use. For second graders, I think the PMI is an excellent graphic organizer. I will be adding it to my other organizers! Also, the four corner reflection. I have done something similar, but will also be adding it to reading and math whole group time.
(i) Visualizing, using directives, and collaboration are all habits that I will still be using, but in a more purposeful way after reading Step 2. Sometimes I get so involved in what I want to teach that I forget about wait time and reflecting. I have kind of left scholars' puzzles with a missing piece. This chapter is a big eye opener for me. I am so thankful for the opportunity to refresh and add to my teaching. Thank you, Andrea for doing this!!
Lauri Krober
PLA@103
Second Grade Teacher
I am interested in using the PMI chart and bringing in more visual (outside of the box) aides/cues to my classroom as well!
DeleteThis is a test because my first post came up with error.
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Sohn'a. This was my first year teaching technology at PLA@103. I have taught technology prior to PLA@103. I teach grades K-6th, therefore, I see all of the students each week.
ReplyDeleteThe two items I do from the book include 1) relationship with the students. I try to build a relationship with most of my students. After a couple of years I usually have a relationship with all of my students. I try to build this relationship by getting to know the students using ice breakers at the beginning of year and using projects throughout the year. I also try to attend my students activities. I attend school activities and also outside activities. Students are so excited when teachers support them. Over the years this has allowed me to become a better teacher to this student.
I would like to work on becoming a better greeter at my classroom door. I try to be at the door most of the time and I would "hi" or "come on in". I want to greet each student by name as they enter into my room. I plan to work on this during the upcoming year, once I learn all the names again. I also would like to work on relevancy. I want students to know why they are working on a website or project. I want them to know how a particular website can be of importance to their current life or future. I feel that if they understood the relevancy or connection then they would work a little more. Both of these items will take me out of my comfort zone, however, I am willing to push myself a little harder so that my students can reap the benefits. Sohn'a Duff
The positives of the 7 Habits: I encourage my scholars to question. I teach them that just because I say something, doesn't make it a fact. I encourage them to question things I (or others) say and speak their own mind, not agree without thinking about it. So I've been having them reflect without realizing what we were doing. Often we go in other directions from what I'd planned. But, they're thinking. If they question they have to explain why they think it is not correct and offer proof. They enjoy this interaction. I also ask scholars many questions that are fat not skinny questions. When I ask a question they try to just give me a skinny answer. When I probe for more they think I'm telling them they're wrong. I have to reassure them that the answer is good, I just want them to tell me more.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to do more Journaling but have such a short time with my students that I'm afraid I won't have time. Maybe we could just do Journaling one day a week. It seems we never have enough time for writing.
The Four-Corner Reflection is interesting. In many of my groups I would not be able to do this for lack of participants. But I like the idea.
Hi, I hope everyone is doing well. As a reflective teacher, it has been exciting to ponder into how I can transfer this ability to my students. The task of completing a PMI has helped me understand this useful tool at a deeper level. I look forward in implementing what I have learned in this chapter.
ReplyDeleteThe Seven Habits of HIghly Reflective Classrooms:
Positive: We worry so much about using our time effectively, this chapter has helped me focus on including more time for students to reflect on the learned objective so they can apply it more successfully in the future. Wait time is a technique that I learned from “Teaching Like a
Champion”, also it reinforced the importance of allowing all students to participate in a discussion. Visualizing is a powerful habit for my classroom, I use different types of methods to help my students understand the lesson, and I look forward to include different charts and organizers to support students learning.
Negative: Habit 4: Using Thinking Directives, was a little confusing for me to understand how to apply this habit correctly.
Interesting: I’m excited to be able to find a way of including at the end of the day some type of PMI journaling for my class next year to summarize what they learned that day. Starting with Reading and Math, then moving to other areas of their day. I would like to include some four corner reflection activities, as I am unfamiliar with how to apply to the different subjects I will do some more research, so I can apply correctly. Habit 7 helps students move around and be able to talk, therefore I think if well managed it will support engagement in the lesson. My most important takeaway is that I have to be able to model my ability to reflect, so that my students can become lifelong learners.
Everyone enjoy your weekend and I look forward to reading your blogs next week.
Hey Luna!
DeleteI was hesitant about the PMI chart at first too. I was unsure what was meant by "positive." I agree that trying it was very helpful in understanding it more deeply, but I definitely would need to see more examples of it in practice before I could use it successfully with students.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading The Seven Habits of Highly Reflective Classrooms, the first thing that stood out to me was the first mental note: "Reflection fosters a disposition toward discovery and connection-making." It made me stop and think about my instruction. Are my scholars getting what they need from me to be successful in there education journey?
ReplyDelete+
The positives for me from the reading was the video that Andrea supplied on questioning. Early in my career, I thought it was more important to supply the answer to my scholars instead of waiting on them to verbalize what they were learning. Every day I am getting better at my questioning. As my questions get deeper and richer my scholars are becoming better at having and supplying what they are learning verbally and in their writing.
I also find habit 6: Collaboration to be very effective in my teaching. I like how Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec (2007) identified five essential elements of effective cooperative learning. I am thinking about making this an anchor chart to hang up in my classroom at the beginning of the year so that my scholars see the importance of collaboration and that it is important.
-
The habit that I am not sure how would work in the classroom is journaling. I like the concept but I am not sure how to use it so that it would be effective for the students to use.
!
The part that I found most interesting to me is the second habit: Visualizing. If you think about it as adults we use this every minute of our lives. But I don't know why I never thought about it for my scholars. I know see why anchor charts should be the focus of every lesson. I am excited to begin using anchor charts in a more precise and quick way to hang up and leave up for my scholars to be able to visualize their learning and have that map if you will filed away for them to use when it is test taking time.
Testing my reply
DeleteAfter reading this second chapter, it made me start reflecting on this past school year on how much time did I allow my scholars to reflect? Sad to say, I wish I did it more! It is true that one of the biggest enemies of a teacher is....TIME!
Delete(+) I had a major positive reaction when reading about how much visual cues or allowing scholars time to visualize the problem ahead of them. Another take away I have from this chapter is how the first habit questioning is the foundation for reflection and building upon scholars learning.
(-) There were two habits that I am going to need to research a little bit more. I was a little unclear about what the difference was between journaling and teach directives. It seems as though both would be used in a journal format. Another habit was collaboration and how it can become reflective collaboration rather than just collaboration.
(Interesting) I am interested in applying the reflective practices of PMI chart with my new scholars next year as well as four corner reflection time. I will be moving from Kindergarten to 5th grade so I am excited to see how these concepts will translate to the new grade level.
I wrote "AGREE" in huge letters in the margins next to the paragraph on time being our biggest enemy.
DeleteI also thought that Habits 1, 3, and 4 were all similar and wasn't sure how they would look different in implementation. My thought was writing vs. responding verbally.
Reflection is so important for both educators and students. This year, more than years in the past, I found myself reflecting on the day analyzing what worked well and what needed to be changed. I found myself having to constantly change thing up and tweak things to make them work for this particular group of kiddos. I was forced out of my comfort zone and had to look at new ways of doing things. I'm excited for the upcoming year to bring some of those changes back into my classroom.
ReplyDeleteOf the 7 Reflective Habits of Highly Reflective Classrooms -
(+): Questioning - Out of all of the habits, I think I've worked on this one the most. I've become more aware of the types of questions that I ask - always trying to get to those higher order thinking questions. Also, it is so easy to fall into the habit of guiding students to give the correct answer or calling on someone else if the first student doesn't have the answer right away. As a result, I've become more aware of "wait time".
Collaboration - I think it is so important for students to be able to collaborate on ideas. Students are able to bounce ideas off of each other and come up with the most effective solution. In the classroom setting, they can hopefully learn to respectfully share ideas and work together with others.
Journaling - Journals are a great tool for students to reflect on ideas and concepts when they might not want to share their thoughts with others.
(-) I really liked each of the reflection habits. Each could easily be implemented in the classroom.
(!) PMI Chart and Four-Corner Reflection
Both of these would be habits that I would be interested in incorporating into my classroom next year.
Deb Daniel
Timothy L. Johnson Academy
Greetings all,
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone enjoyed reading Springer (2018) somewhere lovely. Personally, I found this section insightful as it offered opportunity for us to reflect a bit ourselves about how to balance the competing needs we face in our classrooms daily. Reflection is powerful for both our students as well as us as we also need to also take a moment a reflect on the learning acquisition process in real time. One of the best pieces of advice I received about teaching came to me in a throw away comment from my professor in a graduate school. I was apologizing for having hijacked a lecture and turning it into a discussion that took the entire meeting. My professor said he had learned early on his career to come in prepared with a goal of what he wanted to accomplish but to be flexible about how that knowledge/learning transfer occurred. Anytime I find myself stressing out about planning a session and having it seem to go off-track, I think about that comment and focus on how I can nurture the scholars’ interest and help them build those personal relationships with the material. This allows scholars to make meaningful connections to the material and also allows me to assess the amount of internalization or misunderstandings that may be occurring. This process, like the section on wait time, seems counterintuitive in that spending a little time on something actually saves more time in the end.
Another task that uses time but ultimately saves time is the PMI chart. I haven’t used it in this format but will certainly implement them into the learning process this coming school year. I recognize the prompts etc… are just an example and these charts would need to be adapted for the particular grade level to be age appropriate. I have incorporated reflective journaling at the college level for the past several years. The prompts I recommended the students use (they were free to use any process they connected to) were: what’s the most informative or challenging/interesting/confusing idea or belief you gained (from any sources), how did you think or feel about this topic prior to reading about the topic? What was your “pre-existing” viewpoint on this topic, how do you think about this topic now? What questions or ideas emerged from this new learning and/or affirmation that challenged your former belief, how have your thoughts or beliefs changed or “moved forward” regarding this topic, how can you potentially incorporate your new view on this topic into your developing understanding. It is not really that different from the sample that Sprenger (2018) provided in the appendix but I feel it keeps the scholar focused on learning rather than just an account of what happened. I personally found that many scholars are unprepared to truly engage in meaningful reflective and believe Sprenger (2018) is correct that “reflection can and must be taught (p. 46).”
The concepts that I found very positive and that I will incorporate immediately is collaboration, four corner reflection, and teacher reflection. I feel these three concepts work particularly well together and serve as a checks and balance system for our scholars with themselves, each other, and with me. It also gives them the foundation they will need to work with others as they grow academically and professionally. Too many students are uncomfortable communicating with others and tend to work alone even in group settings. It is important to provide these opportunities for growth as often as possible in low risk environments. Collaboration and four corners provides just these opportunities. This practice as also beneficial to teacher reflections as tallows us to identify individual misunderstanding or collective misunderstanding and reframe, reconnect, or reconsider as required.
ReplyDeleteI also found questioning to be very interesting as this concept can serve as the foundation for many other productive learning processes such as journaling or reflective writing. The consistent use of questioning technique can be helpful but I worry about it becoming too limiting in that scholars begin to only consider new knowledge within their comfortable framework rather than fully exploring the information from multiple perspective. Adding an element of relevance (Sprenger, 2018. P. 49) helps overcome this but I think use of questioning should be used with appropriate care and consideration and reconsideration.
While I don’t dislike the idea of using PMI charts I think the need to be used a tool for something more details and in-depth rather than as and end. So, I guess I need to think more about how to use them effectively to be sure their use doesn’t become a shortcut or cop-out. I would use them as a starting point for more thorough reflective writing or as an end product depicting the summary of reflective writing like an abstract where it comes first but is written last.
To wrap up, I enjoyed reading this section and all of your viewpoints. Thank you to everyone collaborating on these postings as your insight is as helpful to me as the book itself. Seeing the critical analysis that you professionals provide is both humbling and encouraging. I will post earlier next week as I had an out of town graduation ceremony, a wedding rehearsal, and the actual wedding and time just got away from me.
Mikael Badgett
TLJA
So when you say so much that it gets rejected for too many characters and you have to break it into two posting then you've said too much. My apologies.
ReplyDelete(+):
ReplyDeleteQuestioning- I know this is super important when teaching students with special needs. It is important for them to have meaning behind what they are learning. I found the reflection taxonomy interesting and something that I need to reflect on when developing lesson plans and teaching students.
Journaling- As middle schoolers my students find it important to be able to journal. We have done this with ELA and I find it important to move from ELA to Math next year to help my students reflect on their learning and what I can do better to help them learn.
Collaboration- We collaborate as adults on a daily basis with teaching and learning. I found this section important to help students grow!
(-):
Thinking like a PMI chart. This might be difficult to implement in a short period of time with my students. I am thinking of ways in which this could benefit students and make them more engaged with their learning.
Overall, I felt as though the seven strategies were beneficial and could be used in the classroom throughout the course of the year to help improve student learning and strategies. It does show a bit of concern considering I haven’t implemented some of the strategies in the classroom. As an educator, I would have to think of ways in my lesson plan to model, teach, and reteach these tools to students.
(!)
Four-Corner Reflection
I found this process not only helpful but also a way to engage all students and make sure they are participating. I feel as though when teaching to a small group, this strategy will help engage the students and hold them accountable for not only participating but also making sure they are understanding of the material that is being presented.
Using Thinking Directives
This is something that I already do with my students. I feel as though I can do this better. Maybe post a chart in the room to give students a reminder when I want them to think. Even adding to the chart throughout the year. I love this concept.
Visualizing
I feel that this often goes to the way side when teaching. It is important to hit every sensory when you are teaching to a group of students. I need to plan this more in my lesson plans. These mental pictures in students head can help them reflect different and grasp the information in a new, fun way.
Overall, I loved the seven habits of a reflective classroom and can not wait to incorporate in my classroom next year. I have already started planning how these will benefit my students in their daily learning and help them improve on their learning process.
Courtney Singleton
JRPLA Special Education
Practice post! Having difficulties posting.
ReplyDeleteWhew, thank goodness I finally got my technical difficulties out of the way and now I can finally reflect on this weeks reading that included the highly effective habits for a reflective classroom.
DeleteThis weeks reading allowed me to reflect on the time that we, as teachers, are given to teach a block and engage all students to understand the topic and then, BAM, time to move on to a different subject or course of direction. This chapter reminded be how important it is to stop and smell the freshly, sharpened pencils and allow students to recall prior knowledge and connect it with working knowledge and to be able to give each student the chance to process and answer.
My mentor teacher was astonishing at implementing the habits of a reflective classroom. She allowed students time to process and write in their journals and she demonstrated how to ask fat questions (as Fogarty (2003) would say) by asking, "tell me more", "how do you know", "can you draw or talk us through your process." I've learned that by asking these questions, it forces students to dig deeper and search for details and to show that they know the answer. I also like this method of asking fat questions because it allows peers to learn from their classmates and find new methods and ,possibly, a different way of thinking. This school year, I want to be more aware of my wait times so students can process and reflect on prior knowledge. I know that it can be challenging to fit everything into one lesson; but, by increasing my wait times, as Fogarty (2003) said that the wait time for verbal responses can be beneficial for retention and synthesize of new information. I found that incorporating collaboration into my classroom as a reflective habit to be challenging. I know that encouraging students to work together to accomplish a common goal is crucial, but how they could reflect on the experience would be a strategy that I would need help improving on. I found the overall reading passage to be extremely informative even if I have already fostered the idea of how I want my students to reflect. The PMI chart is a great organizer that I have not YET used in my teaching. It reminded me of two pluses and a wish where students proved feedback to students by giving two compliments and a wish on how they could improve. The chart could allow students to take the time to reflect on a lesson or experience and organize their thoughts.
Note to self,
Pause. Think. Reflect.
Jacqulyn Ison, K
PLA 103
Hello! I loved this chapter, and I am excited to implement these new strategies in the classroom this coming year.
ReplyDelete+ For me, the most positive parts of the 7 habits are, visualizing, four corner reflection, and thinking like a PMI chart. I love having my scholars take time to visualize the connections they are making while learning. I feel as if it is extremely important to give them time to use their schema to make connections while learning something new. I also loved how the author suggested having younger scholars draw what they are visualizing. This is also a a great exit ticket idea! I think the PMI chart, and the four corner thinking strategies are also great. I really like how the four corner activity is a multimodal approach. As a kindergarten teacher, I would probably have the scholars draw out their thinking for the PMI chart, but it would still be a great way to get the scholars reflecting early in the year.
- The one habit that I am unsure about is, using thinking directives. As a kindergarten teacher, I feel like this would have to be something we would work up to. I love how the questions spark higher order thinking, but I am afraid that some of the questions would stump some of the scholars.
! I found collaboration and journaling to be the most interesting habits. Collaboration is something I started to use more frequently towards the end of the year. I would use think, pair, share. I would give scholars 15 seconds to think, 60 to pair and share, and then we would discuss what their partners had to say. I found that this was extremely beneficial for me and the scholars. I got to see which scholars got the information, and which scholars might need a little more help. For this upcoming year, I pan on using the collaboration procedure on p. 54 at the beginning of the year, and start having the scholars collaborate everyday! Journaling is also something I want to start at the beginning of the year. I loved how the author gave reflection stems. I plan on using journaling as an exit ticket, and as a way for the scholars to reflect on what they are learning.
Maddy Hinesley -GVPLA
Each Saxon Math lesson ends with asking the students to reflect on their learning for the day. I would see that and know, this is too vague and open ended. I thought students don’t have any idea what I’m asking for, and frankly I don’t really know either. I always ran so tight on time when teaching Saxon that this was a part of the lesson I typically cut out. Habit 1-Questioning and Habit 3-Journaling both had more specific questions and sentence stems that I think would help guide students in reflecting on their learning more effectively than what Saxon provides. I’m really excited to be able to have a tool to use that makes that part of the lessons more effective. I also liked the assessment rubric for reflection. That takes the reflection practices to the next level for me as a teacher. Now I know not only how to encourage memory formation via reflection, but also how to use reflection as assessments for how to move forward in instruction.
ReplyDeleteSome of the strategies in this section didn’t seem to be age appropriate for my third graders either in terms of their developmental level and abilities or in terms of the types of content we’re focused on at that grade level. Thinking directives and the PMI chart seem difficult to incorporate into reading and math instruction at a third grade level.
! Habit 1-Questioning was the most interesting section for me. She suggests choosing a questioning technique and getting into the habit of using it. Some of the questioning techniques sounded familiar to me, but I would like to explore those different frameworks more deeply. I’m also wondering about the most effective way to use the questioning techniques. I often see materials aimed at teaching students to identify the types of questions that they’re being asked. I don’t see the reasoning behind that task, so I would want to be sure that I’m not just choosing a questioning technique, but I’m really understanding how to implement the technique.
Greetings everyone,
ReplyDeleteThis week’s reading offered many helpful tips for inventing and/or continuing a reflective classroom. Several of these habits have been very helpful for my students over the years. I have witness many student’s success from journaling alone. While I once thought this practice would be more embraced by female students. I have found many male students becoming very engaged in their journal writings.
Positive
All of the 7 habits provide positive takeaways. While I have not used all in the same time frame/unit, I have found my students to really enjoy journaling, and collaboration. The beginning sentence starters for journaling are helpful in keeping the students on track with a purposeful end, and goal at the completion of their writing. The same can be said for collaborating.
Don’t like or Understand
#2. Visualizing. While I would not say that I don’t like or understand this habit of reflection, I’m just needing more insight on how to use it successful with my students. In the pass, I have encountered my fair share of young artist. With that being said, time management accompanied by a clear expectation when using this habit with older student would likely be helpful. Issues that I have had encountered with this approach are: students are more focus on creating art and less focus in pulling and tying in information.
! Interesting
While I have been apart of PDs that have used the reflection habit of Four-Corner, I have not used this idea with my older scholars. I’m excited to implement this habit in the fall for many lesson ideas.
Reflection makes learning more meaningful for students. One of my first experiments with reflection was each day I had the students to choose a subject and write what they learned that day and what was difficult for them. I could tell from their written responses what their understanding was for that subject. This became almost like a mini assessment. I also noticed that the reflection enabled the students to absorb and remember what they were learning.
ReplyDeletePMI
+ Questioning is a very important part of reflection and instruction. It is very important to plan purposeful questioning. Using a variety of questions such as fat and skinny questions are very necessary. Questions that require students to provide evidence to justify their thinking helps to develop students’ critical thinking. Using Depth of Knowledge questions and referring to Bloom’s Taxonomy will help with development of questions.
+Journaling – I know in the classroom we are very much concerned about staying on schedule. Journaling is very productive. The students are able to think about their thinking. (Metacognition) Journaling will provide information about the students’ understanding of a content area.
+ Collaboration- I have used collaboration in the classroom in a variety of ways. Think, Pair, and Share and working in groups on a specific task. When used correctly, these strategies promotes learning in a non-threatening way. One of the key things the author said in the book is to monitor the students closely in order to keep students on task.
Visualization- I would like to learn more about how to use visualization in a more effective way. Exploring different activities on visualization to be able to get the desired outcome would be helpful.
An idea that was helpful is that students need time limits for reflection. Too much time can cause off task behaviors.
Angela Posey
PLA @103
Hello! All of the strategies listed in this chapter have been added to my list of things to try out next year in the classroom!
ReplyDelete+ For me the journaling and questioning are a positive for me. I find the idea of journaling as mentioned in the book to be a great idea. I plan to incorporate something very similar to this in my classroom. I think that it is a great way to get the scholars' brains going and to keep them connected in an educational way. I believe that this has the potential to work great as an exit ticket for a lesson taught. I also agreed with the questioning. It is important to guide scholars' towards thinking about certain topics and to get them thinking about what they know.
- Something that is a bit more challenging for me would be the thinking directives. I feel as though this may be a bit more difficult for my scholars to be able to understand and apply but through a lot of trial and error I could see it being effective in the classroom.
! Something that was interesting to me was the collaboration aspect. I always steered myself away from anything that would get my classroom loud or rowdy from the outsider walking past. However, I found that allowing my scholars to collaborate actually kept them more focused on the task at hand. More work was getting done and more scholars were excited to complete an assignment. My scholars really enjoyed reading our Journeys text to a partner of my choice. It allowed the scholars to feel a sense of pride in their reading skills.
Brianna Cosgrove
GVPLA
Hi Everyone!
ReplyDeleteGoing to introduce myself again since I am playing a bit of catch up here. I am Lara Phelps and will be the Data Coach at PLA 103 this coming school year. I am enjoying reading your comments and am inspired by the passion for teaching and learning. It's very refreshing!
I mentioned in post for Week 1 that I am fascinated with how the brain works and it's connection to emotions and learning. I have incorporated teaching my students about the brain and plasticity, Multiple Intelligences, Maslow as well as other related topics. How our brain works is MY HOOK!
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1. Questioning
2. Visualizing
3. Journaling
4. Using Thinking Directives
5. Thinking Like a PMI (+ - Interesting) Chart
6. Collaboration
7. Four-Corner Reflection
Over the years I have found effective ways to implement all of these habits in a variety of grade levels, even if I didn't quite refer to them with the same names or if they looked exactly the same. PMI being the #1 on that list. This is something I learned early on in my career. At the end of a lesson we would reflect and share what went well, what didn't, what stuck out-yep, that's totall PMI!
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Clearly some of these are easy to implement than others, especially if you find time is limited or are concerned with how to incorporate 4 Corners with 1st graders. It can be done, definitely modified, but can be done! Over time, I have learned that reflecting can happen in the middle of a lesson too and should not be cut out of certain subject areas, typically Math. This past school year I focused on using reflective habits during Math and followed the method for this provided in EngageNY lessons (4th grade), modifying along the way to better suit my students. It was VERY effective! I then worked collaboratively a 1st grade teacher to do the same with her students. It was a challenge to find the best procedure to allow for the most engagement and time for deep reflection, but we were successful.
(i)
In 2006 I learned the Cornell Note Method, if you know this you know where I am going! The bottom of each note taking page is for a summary-A REFLECTION! I worked with a couple of 5th/6th grade teachers this past year to incorporate Cornell Notes. The Summary was the first part they wanted to cut out, use the space for notes. NO! WAIT! After some hits and misses, the teachers began finding the best ways to have interactive reflection using this summary and they saw an increase in retention. BRILLIANT!
(+) I like and value all the seven habits listed. I am glad Marilee Sprenger added the overlooked collaboration habit. Supplying the rubric and a procedure instead of describing its importance helped me see how to make collaboration activities.
ReplyDelete(-) I support the “Four-Corner Reflection” as long as it brings confidence. I hated writing in front of people. My hand writing was bad, and I was a horrible speller. Forcing students in this activity might veer them away from writing. However, with a supportive environment and side activities to better their writing skills, this activity might be exactly what I needed growing up.
(!) The PMI chart is a great assessment tool after or during a lesson. I have used the KWL chart to gather data before a topic to help me know what to teach. The PMI is handy to know what stood out for the students, clarify what might be confusing, and use what is interesting in the lesson for future activities. It is a quick 10-minute morning activity to get a glimpse on what is working.
Hello, this is Sohn'a Duff from PLA@103. I apologize for running behind on my posts but I will get them completed.
ReplyDelete(+) I like the Journal Habit. This seems like it will work nicely in a regular classroom setting. The students would start off being told to do this and then hopefully will develop the habit of doing this on their own. In my classroom, I have a project where I use journaling. I have the students create a journal notebook and they have to use it each day during this particular project. I think this allows my students to think about what they are working on and helps them to plan or reflect.
(-) Visualizing I am sure this can work with some subjects, but I might need some clarification on how this can work with all subjects. I am not sure if when I show my students how to do something if this counts as visualization or is it when they visualize how something is done or can be done.
(!) The PMI chart is interesting. I think this would be good to incorporate into some of my projects. This would allow the students to reflect on what we did and another way for me to understand what they understood. I think I will try to use this more often in the upcoming year. For my younger students I may try to use this as a whole group on the board.
Sohn'a Duff, Computer Teacher
(+)What I found most interesting was the Habit #5: Thinking like a PMI Chart. This could really be beneficial to me personally by giving myself a frame of reference to think about what I understand, what I need to learn more about, and what I find I enjoy the most. This would also work really well as a teacher having students use because it will show exactly where the students are struggling, and it gives students time to reflect on their own ideas. This is one idea that I had not seen before and I think it could be really helpful.
ReplyDelete(-)I found it hard to find a habit that I do not like or understand. I would say the one that I may struggle the most with in the classroom would be Habit # 4: Using Thinking Directives. I know I need to pause more often and allow time for students to reflect on what they are learning. I liked getting a list of possible ways to improve on this.
(!) What I found most interesting was Habit #7: Four Corner Reflection. I have used this a few times in my own classroom. It works fairly well. Students always seem engaged. They are able to be up moving around the room and discussing with classmates their ideas. I like using the 4 corners as a way to reflect and as a way to get students discussing their opinions.
(+) What I found to be a big positive was the collaboration habit. Student collaboration was something I tried to steer clear from in the beginning of this past school year, because I simply thought my students would not be able to stay on task through doing so. However, once I began to enforce more and more collaboration tasks in my classroom I was blown away by the focus and engagement from my students.
ReplyDelete(-) A habit I think I need a better understanding of is the visualizing. When I think of instruction, I am not sure when the appropriate time to visualize is or how to convey to my students why it is beneficial to visualize, as it is not a clear cut concept.
The habit I found most interesting was journaling. This is something I wish I enforced more in my classroom this past school year. I think journaling is a great way to further learning because it helps students connect a learning concept to something that may be going on in their life, or something they have experienced in the past. In addition, I think it would make information easier for students to recall because they have now connected it to a real life event they have gone through.
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ReplyDeleteVisualizing
Thinking Directives
Collaborations
I love making students think outside of the box and stretching their skills a little more than they expect me to. Asking students to visualize or draw a picture of something is a fun way to get their minds thinking, I've had students really struggle with this and they come up wiith something amazing to help them understand or process a concept. You could even use thinking directives and visulization together to give them a little guidance on where to start.
Collaboration is the center of education. The saying that two heads are better than one is so true in the classroom. I love to see two students working together to understand. One activity during my student teaching the students had to work in groups of 4 to complete tasks and be the first group to complete all tasks. One issue in my class because there were 38 students who all had very big personalities was bullying and cliques. THe amazing thing about this activity was that they all had a common goal and the students were able to put their differences aside and work together to finsih the challenge.
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Questioning
Journaling
I have never been a fan of questioning, which I know sounds crazy! I feel like it puts one answer in students mind and they focus on that only instead of exapnding the topic. Also I feel like it puts students on the spot who may not understand a topic just to be the one who answers the qusetion. It's a skill I struggle with when writing lesson plans, to make sure I'm asking the right questions!
With journaling, I feel like this is a skill you have to really teach students, because a lot of students don't know how to write until their thought is completed. They will write one or two sentences and be done. I like journaling, but it is definitely a skill that needs to be well taught before it is effective
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Four Corner Reflection
PMI chart
Four Corner is an awesome way to get an informal assessment on students knowledge, see group norms, and get students thinking and moving. I have played four corners with Kindergarteners and even when I was in college my professors used four corners. I love how simple it is, but can really be useful. Using the PMI chart is a fun twist on KWL and you cna individulize it a little more, because sometimes students get caught up on the wording of "know, want to know, and learned.
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ReplyDeleteQuestioning
Journaling
Collaboration
Questioning is a big reflection in the classroom that I enjoy because I love to hear a scholar’s reasoning behind their answer. It also gives them a chance to rethink their answer and give it life to the other students. I also enjoy seeing the ‘ah-ha’ moments in scholars learning.
Journaling is my favorite to implement because it is giving the scholar process time in which they think before they write. Sprenger mentions that if a student really knows how to explain something they will be able to write it which I have also found true.
Collaboration has always been an amazing tool that gets scholars thinking together. I love observing each group and listening to the conversations that arise. This gets them to listen to their peers and consider others knowledge as well as their own.
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Visualizing
Four corner reflection
I really have never been able to master either of these so I haven’t seen them be successful for myself.
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-PMI chart
This is a quick and easy way to get the information you need about a topic! Getting feedback from the students as well kind of like a KWL chart as far as what did you like and learn, what didn’t you like and why, and what excited you and why.