Reflection

Reporting vs. Reflection
A report is a list of events, and a reflection is about your thoughts and feelings.  You are using the paper as a "mirror" to reflect what is happening inside your brain and your heart.

Scaffolding Thoughtful Reflection
Ask a specific question that you know students will react to.  For example, if you just did a launch, ask students what the launch made them think and feel.  If there is a particular issue with the classroom culture, ask about their opinions and feelings around that issue.

Provide sentence starters.

• Today, I felt proud when _________ because ________.
  
• I would like to celebrate ___________ because _______.
  
• The hardest thing for me today was _______ because ________.

Practice reflection questions as a whole group and celebrate thoughtful responses before students sit down to write.

• What was one new thing that you tried today?  What was hard about trying something new?  What did you like about trying something new?
  
• What is one thing that you struggle with?  How would you like to grow this year in that area?
  
• Think about one moment today when you felt your brain really working.  Why was that a good learning moment for you?

Integrate reflection authentically into specific tasks.   It's easier for students to reflect on a task when they are in the moment.

•  Example after engineering task: Evaluate yourself as a team member.  How well did you do following our group norms?  What is one thing you would like to celebrate? What is one thing you would like to improve?
• Example after a book club: As a group, write two new things you thought about the book, two things that went well in your discussion and two things you would like to improve for next time.

Student-Led Conferences

In this short clip from a 5th Grade Student-Led Conference, you can see how Adrian explains his strengths, challenges and goals to his teacher and parents.

Student-Led Conferences (SLCs) are a forum for students to reflect on their learning and share their progress with their parents and teachers.  Unlike traditional parent-teacher conferences, SLCs are led by the student. 

What is the purpose of a Student-Led Conference?
Notes from HTe faculty meeting discussion

• The purpose of SLC’s are for parent, child and teacher (and not in that order necessarily) to spend time talking about where the child is at academically, socially and emotionally, to celebrate progress made, accomplishments and set new goals with the support of teacher and parent. 
• Empower students to speak about their own learning
• Develop skills to reflect and articulate
• It also builds on the relationship with parents.
• To give a chance to celebrate and support students
• Opportunity to look at specific examples of work that show progression of learning
  
• Student voice- they are their own vessel, they know their strengths/needs, they are reflective, they are their most important advocate
  
• Parents see what their child is capable of, and the conversation is more personal
  
• In the long run, what students start during Elementary SLCs will deepen their self-reflection and thought as they move to higher grade levels that use SLCs and POLs
  
• It can help quieter students share their learning when they won’t share a lot in class
• Can share their deeper thinking that maybe you don’t hear with the whole group
• Gives the teacher and opportunity to really focus with one student at a time about their learning.