Reflection: an essential element of teaching

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action."

Peter F. Drucker

As educators, we spend tremendous amounts of time planning lessons for our students and working through those lessons with them. Too often, when we complete one lesson, we are quick to move on to the next one. However, in doing so, we miss a vital step in the learning process; that is one of reflection.  We can feel so rushed to get through the material we are supposed to cover that we skip over an opportunity for true, deep, and rich learning.

Upon my own reflection, I have reminded myself of the importance of taking the time to include this step with my students. Now, I intentionally include a reflective component in all of my major assignments. Sometimes I offer prompts such as: 

* I believe the strongest parts of my project were:* I believe my project would have been stronger if:
* Am I proud of what I am turning in?  Why?
* What lessons did I learn from this assignment or experience?

These reflections may or may not be graded. If students need a bit of a carrot, I may include the reflection as a percentage of the grade. Any grade is based on the depth of their thoughts, not the length, the depth. I would like them to show me that they truly took the time to learn from the experience of the lesson.  At other times, the reflection is not graded. I simply encourage the students to take a step back, slow down, and process what they have been working on.

 

A colleague of mine likes to say, "we schedule what we value."  If we value reflection, and I do, we need to model it and offer time for it. We learn far less if we blaze forward without paying attention to where we have been.

Are there ever enough questions?

I have always loved questions. At times, I remember people telling me to stop asking so many questions. Sometimes people seem to fear questions because they worry that they are being questioned. Instead, the process or desired product are the subject of my questions. As a mother, I have to admit that hearing "why" for the sixth time in a row from my two year old can have a grating effect. Yet, I do know that my daughter truly wonders. Shouldn't we encourage as much wonder as possible in our students?

How many times have we had a speaker in an assembly ask at the end of a presentation, "any questions?" When no hands go up, one can hear the collective squeaking of faculty seats as they shift while praying someone will ask a question. When students respond to a question I pose in class, I often respond with another question. I want them to see the value of mining further. I hope that by modelling this they will "push" each other. I welcome their efforts to ask questions of each other in class. At that point the discussion becomes vibrant and evolving.

These days it is so easy to access information. It is crucial, then, that we model to students and teach them how to develop questions. Information alone can have limited value. If, and when, students learn to develop questions, they learn to burrow down for deeper meaning, regardless of the topic. A recent article in the Harvard Education Review focused on the importance of Teaching Students how to ask their own questions. The article includes one method for teaching how to develop questions. We can model other methods, too.

Learning how to develop thoughtful questions can help with innovation and more creative problem-solving. Students should not be satisfied simply with answers but, with the creation of new approaches and new experiences.  To create, we must wonder and ask "how", "why", "what if."  As pointed out in Learning in a Digital Age, there is "a need to promote creative approaches to learning. How do we prepare students for work that hasn't been invented yet? .... Our global environmental, economic and social challenges require non-standardized skills such as creativity, problem-solving and collaboration. Accordingly, these are becoming indispensable skills for learners and workers who hope to stay at the innovative edge of today and tomorrow."  Memorization or regurgitation of facts do not move us forward. Questions do. Questions drive possibilities. Don't they?