I have greatly underused the power of reflection in my teaching. Typically I would write comments on a rubric, let them read it, and then we move on, thinking that was sufficient. I was SOOO wrong. Now I’m incorporating reflection as a nice chunk of time, usually one class period, for them to reflect using the following strategies, forms and activities.
My (BAD) Excuses:
- No extra time to “waste” on that
- I HAVE to cover a certain amount of units
- They can’t give good feedback like I can
- I have too many students with different needs
- They don’t care
All bad excuses. SMH…
What I’ve Learned:
- No extra time to “waste” on that -> It’s NOT a waste!
- I HAVE to cover a certain amount of units -> I’m only using 4-6 days on this out of 185 days. I need to PLAN for it.
- They can’t give good feedback like I can -> They can IF they get to learn/practice it.
- I have too many students with different needs -> Stations and some creative grouping can solve this.
- They don’t care -> They really do, especially when it’s focused on growth more than perfection.
If they know what is expected BEFORE they do an assessment, they generally do a better job. And if they are the ones that come up with what is expected, they perform even better!
I prefer to have THEM create what is required to complete the task before I suggest it. Example: If they are creating a movie review vlog, it should include… info about the actors, story line, don’t give away ending, a rating, etc. This is where lots of authentic resources during the learning process models what they should do and don’t do. I let them brainstorm alone first, then with partners/small group, and then as a class. I used to think I had to do all this for them, but I’m finding there’s more value in them doing this. Real world connection: Bosses expect good employees to figure out how to complete tasks and goals.
On a second list, again I like for them to think about those other skills and details that would improve the task, but I do not grade them on this. So if it is a movie review vlog, it’s nice if it has… pictures of the movie poster and/or actors, a movie trailer or clip, speak in a slow voice, add inflection, eye contact, emotion (funny/dramatic), etc. They only get a grade on the language proficiency, but I want to encourage them to improve these skills for the real world.
This following quote came from a faculty meeting and I’ll never forget it.
So now here’s what a one-class period feedback/reflection lesson can look like after assessing an assessment.
- I keep the rubrics with my marks and comments to use later.
- I return the assessments to the students (usually they have it already on Edmodo to reference).
- I let them self-assess on their own proficiency rubric and self-reflection sheet (like pic above). Sometimes I have them self-assess on the proficiency rubric before they turn in the assessment to save paper. I like to let them identify their own strengths and weakness before I make a suggestion. Think about yourself, are you more likely to improve if you pick the goal or someone tells you to do it? I especially like for them to think about what actions they will take to improve.
- Then they peer-assess and have a conversation. I prefer for them to have at least two different partners to go over the checklist details they made before the assessment with one and to go over how they are doing with the language with another. It doesn’t hurt to go over this with more partners, especially if each partner is evaluating something new. I ask them to take notes on all of this while they are chatting. Additional idea: At an ACTFL session by Jane Shea and Greg Shields, they suggested that one partner read aloud the writer’s paper so the writer can hear it to make their own reflections.
- Once they finish these prior steps, they can start on their own suggestions of how they want to improve. If they are consistently making the same mistake, then they need more INPUT. I have given them activity ideas before to help them out.
- While they are working on the peer reviews and self-assessments, I pull them into small groups. I usually make the group by choosing students that are at a similar proficiency level or making similar errors. This is where I may give some 5-minute grammar lessons or suggest that they find a youtube video about it. I’ve found grammar lessons help more AFTER they have tried to communicate.
- To finalize, they graph their progress on graph paper. They color-code it based on the mode/skill and put the assessment/topic at the bottom (this is a really generic example above). They get so excited to see how they are growing! There are some other versions here if you want another option: JCPS Proficiency Progress Documents
Let them reflect and grow… It’s worth the time!
How do your students reflect on their progress?
So true! i need to do this too. The hard part is that I teach so many different levels.
Hi Kelly! I used the SAME setup for every level (and I had some classes that had level 1 to native speakers mixed together). Would that help make it easier?
Hola! My department developed a two packets for their assessments this year (written and oral). They both contain copies of the rubrics so all their feedback is in one place for them to refer to throughout the year. On the front of each packet is a graph for them to chart their progress after each assessment. They like the visual of seeing how they’ve done. It’s really similar to your progress graph!
I also always have them reflect after a chapter assessment with the following prompts:
Something I am proud of is…
Something I improved on is…
Something I want to keep working on is…
Something that helped me was…
Something I want you to know about this unit is…
It not only gives them a chance to reflect, but it gives me great feedback to inform my teaching.
Thanks for the important post on reflection!
I like your reflection prompts. Thanks Laura for sharing those! I remember on the teacher evaluations how it asked “how does data impact your lessons”. Reflections, from students and teachers, are great “data.”
Kara,
As always, you’ve written an insightful and visionary post. These glimpses into your classroom are the veritable “shot in the arm.” They give world language professionals the concrete scenarios they need to help the parents, administrators and students themselves see what effective language learning entails. I would love to talk with you, Thomas Sauer, and others about partnering with Swivl (www.swivl.com) to film our classroom interactions that show students using the language to solve simple and complex problems; learners that share their opinions on issues or trivia important to THEM; and learners reflecting on this process. Maybe the TELL Project could help arrange.
Language professionals, parents, administrators, officials and students are pressed for time and highly visual. Quick, illustrative, highly contextual, videos of these ideas in action would transform the language learning landscape in schools or at least start a healthy dialogue. Even YouTube offers a way to blur student faces if there are concerns about student identities or we could create PowToon style animations/re-dramatizations of the scenarios using the actual audio as “voice over.”
With this low-cost technology and distribution, we can pick up where the video series by WGBH/Annenberg/ACTFL ( Teaching Foreign Languages: K-12 ) left off. The videos could be produced in departments, filmed with Swivl or GoPro and hosted on a Youtube channel.
Your thoughts?
@strykerstennis on Twitter
Thanks Adam! I’ll email you.
This site has kept me focused, inspired and sane as my school system is now moving toward customization. The world language office has not developed the great rubrics that you have generously shared here. Are students using the TL when reflecting or generating their rubrics? Does the teacher use the TL when provide small group instruction and/or feedback? Thank you!
So glad to hear we’ve helped! I mostly do this in English since they don’t have the language skills yet to do this in the TL.
I have a question about the order that you present their assessment, graded rubric, and personal reflection. Do you fix errors in student work, hand it back, but keep the rubric with you while they do the reflection? Or do they get to see your graded rubric and then reflect?
I rarely fix their errors, but instead I’ll make a broad suggestion like “Take a second look at your verbs. Sometimes I can’t understand whom you are talking about.” Also I’ve done it both ways with the rubric. If they are new to proficiency, I
I give them my feedback on rubric first. Once they are familiar, I prefer to wait to give the rubric back until after they reflect because I want them to set their own growth goals. I think this works both ways, just depends on your students.
I really love the idea of students using their rubrics to assess themselves. In Ohio, we have to set goals for our “Resident Educator” (first 4 year of teaching program) and I am using rubrics for students to set goals from.. like, “I will improve 1 point in the Language Function area by…” and I see using the rubrics for their own use as being a really good addition to this! Thanks!