Self-evaluation does not happen magically, writes author and literacy consultant Lynne Dorfman. Students need to learn to reflect through practice. Dorfman shares some of her favorite ways to help students see the value of metacognition, goal-setting and assessing progress.
Reflecting on their work gives students an opportunity to look back at what they have done, examine the processes and strategies they used, and think about the importance of their effort and growth. Literacy coach Lynne Dorfman explores ways to cultivate metacognition.
Mary Tedrow shows how to cultivate students’ individual relationships with writing using a low stakes approach called a Daybook – a safe, authentic space for students to write and think that can feed into other disciplines and writing genres. Ariel Sacks calls it her “new top resource.”
Genius Hour is a popular strategy for deepening student learning by promoting passion, creativity and engagement. Paying attention to the do’s and don’ts of effective implementation can help you make it a regular part your instruction, writes author Barbara Blackburn.
Nancy Akhavan encourages teachers to push away from assigned passages with worksheets that require canned responses, and instead promote more freedom in student thinking, and more reflection about their connection to the reading and writing going on in their classroom.
When it comes to student learning, we usually think about how to get information into memory, says expert Marilee Sprenger. But we also have to get the information out. Be sure to use these 7 brain-based steps to strengthen connections and make memories permanent.
The Flexible Classroom / Year End Reflection
by Amber Chandler · Published 06/25/2017 · Last modified 12/02/2019
Amid the mix of emotions and preoccupations that crowd end-of-year school days, Amber Chandler takes time to discover how her 8th graders ranked her five major ELA units this year. What they think will help her prepare for next fall. Once she returns from the lake!
Starr Sackstein shows ways to maximize the benefits of having students reflect on and self-assess their work – for example, by writing actionable goals for later reflection. Reviewer Susan Schwartz likes the ideas but notes activities target older students.
