A continuum for reflection

The creation of this model was inspired partly by reading some of David Perkins work on developing mindfulness and, partly by the desire to help me nurture reflection more effectively with my students (majority ESL learners). I believe reflection is the foundation of all incremental learning, as John Dewey once stated, “we do not learn by experience, but by reflecting on experience” . As a PYP teacher I am in the fortunate position to be able to devote ample time to developing reflection, as it is a philosophical cornerstone of the programme and constructivist learning. This model is definitely a work in progress, I will continue to refine it based on my own reflections, ideas and practices in the classroom. Please let me know if you use it, any feedback very welcome.

Right here… Right now…

What an exciting time to be teaching kids how to think… I love this video by Stephen Heppell because it amplifies the historic changes happening in the world of learning at the moment. Needless to say, the sustainability of this revolution are in the hands of those who act upon their thinking.

Cultivating reflection…

Is metacognition the highest form of thinking?Pondering over this question has made me think about viewing thinking skills through a hierarchical lens. I mean, when we really start to think about metacognition you have to pause and think about what other thinking skills are needed to regulate ones actions… analysis…synthesis…evaluation…
Although thinking is never linear, looking through a hierarchical lens can help us see connections and process our own understanding. Well at least it does for me 🙂

Here are some of my thoughts on moving from G5 to G2 and my attempts at cultivating a culture of mindful learning this year…

“Woh, there a bit more kinesthetic than I’m used to…”
“Maybe I’ll try 5 mins of introductory chat instead of 10mins…”
“OK, kick into next level of behaviour management mode…”
“Phew, glad that journey was short. Routines are starting to kick in, lets try some reflection…”
“Communal dialogue respected and shared by all – petty conflicts diminish”
“Traffic light reflecting working well for affirming instructions and simple reflecting on written work.”
“Thinkers keys introduced through UOI engagements to explore creative thinking – fun for kids, easy to use and great formative assessment”
“Personalities start to unfold…”
“Lets move it on a bit… use post it notes to answer open ended portfolio questions… thinking starts to become more visible… children more secure about their thinking being valued.
“Mmm experimentation… lets try word association strategy and a concentric circles visual to help us reflect on the skills learned in guided reading sessions over the past 5 weeks… ”
“Concentric circles model was valuable and revealed a lot about children’s thinking… has potential, better used on a weekly basis directly after the learning engagement…”

What are your thoughts on cultivating reflection?