Self-Reflection for Metacognition
Share on Facebook and Twitter
Self-reflection is one of the most powerful instructional opportunities in our classrooms, yet it is often overlooked.
Its effectiveness is in how it exercises essential future-focused skills such as critical and creative thinking, personal responsibility, useful failure, adaptability, and more.
Reflection is an analysis of our performance. It aids in deeper learning and helps us to perform better in the future because it boosts our sense of self-efficacy- the feeling that we’re capable of achieving our goals. As we reflect on our performance, we gain control over that performance, understanding exactly how certain outcomes came to be.
For student reflection to be meaningful, it must be metacognitive, applicable, and shared with others. If students are metacognitive about inquiry, then they’re thinking about exactly how they are going to phrase their focus question; if they’re metacognitive about collaboration, then they’re considering how their introvert or extrovert personality will affect the group. Metacognition is essentially reflection on the micro level, an awareness of our own thought processes as we complete them.
Metacognitive reflection, however, takes thinking processes to the next level because it is concerned not with assessment, but with self-improvement (Watanabe-Crockett 2018)
“Why the brain actually benefits from reflection is a matter of neurology, but the extensive research is clear: Prediction, reflection, and metacognition are pillars for the thoughtful classroom. The questions below were created to be, as much as possible, useful with most students at most ages and grade levels with a little rewording." (Heick 2018)
Self-evaluation is about not only making progress, but building confidence and independent thinking. With these inspiring self-evaluation tips, students stand to learn more about themselves. They’ll also learn how to bring about improvement in their work and in their lives.
When we debrief a project we reflect on everything including the process, the choices and discoveries we made, and what didn’t go quite as expected. It’s when we piece them all together into a learning experience.
Perhaps most crucially, by shifting reflection from content to thought, students have the chance to put themselves back at the centre of the learning process. When they reflect, students re-imagine what happened in both first and third person – as they were seen, and as they saw through their own eyes.
Since metacognitive self-reflection is so vital to student learning, it must be purposefully embedded into our teaching and learning programs at the planning stage. It should not be merely reduced to the status of an add-on or afterthought. One successful self-assessment strategy is to invite the students to co-construct the success criteria and marking rubric for assessment tasks. Students are usually frank and honest in their own assessment of their own performance and that of their peers. In fact, learners are much harsher in assessing their own work than we as teachers would ever be.
We can also encourage students to use higher-order thinking to reflect using some of the following questions:
Its effectiveness is in how it exercises essential future-focused skills such as critical and creative thinking, personal responsibility, useful failure, adaptability, and more.
Reflection is an analysis of our performance. It aids in deeper learning and helps us to perform better in the future because it boosts our sense of self-efficacy- the feeling that we’re capable of achieving our goals. As we reflect on our performance, we gain control over that performance, understanding exactly how certain outcomes came to be.
For student reflection to be meaningful, it must be metacognitive, applicable, and shared with others. If students are metacognitive about inquiry, then they’re thinking about exactly how they are going to phrase their focus question; if they’re metacognitive about collaboration, then they’re considering how their introvert or extrovert personality will affect the group. Metacognition is essentially reflection on the micro level, an awareness of our own thought processes as we complete them.
Metacognitive reflection, however, takes thinking processes to the next level because it is concerned not with assessment, but with self-improvement (Watanabe-Crockett 2018)
“Why the brain actually benefits from reflection is a matter of neurology, but the extensive research is clear: Prediction, reflection, and metacognition are pillars for the thoughtful classroom. The questions below were created to be, as much as possible, useful with most students at most ages and grade levels with a little rewording." (Heick 2018)
Self-evaluation is about not only making progress, but building confidence and independent thinking. With these inspiring self-evaluation tips, students stand to learn more about themselves. They’ll also learn how to bring about improvement in their work and in their lives.
When we debrief a project we reflect on everything including the process, the choices and discoveries we made, and what didn’t go quite as expected. It’s when we piece them all together into a learning experience.
Perhaps most crucially, by shifting reflection from content to thought, students have the chance to put themselves back at the centre of the learning process. When they reflect, students re-imagine what happened in both first and third person – as they were seen, and as they saw through their own eyes.
Since metacognitive self-reflection is so vital to student learning, it must be purposefully embedded into our teaching and learning programs at the planning stage. It should not be merely reduced to the status of an add-on or afterthought. One successful self-assessment strategy is to invite the students to co-construct the success criteria and marking rubric for assessment tasks. Students are usually frank and honest in their own assessment of their own performance and that of their peers. In fact, learners are much harsher in assessing their own work than we as teachers would ever be.
We can also encourage students to use higher-order thinking to reflect using some of the following questions:
- Now that it’s over, what are my first thoughts about this overall project? Are they mostly positive or negative?
- If positive, what comes to mind specifically? Negative?
- What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made while working on this project? About the problem? About myself? About others?
- What were some of my most challenging moments and what made them so?
- What were some of my most powerful learning moments and what made them so?
- What is the most important thing I learned personally?
- What most got in the way of my progress, if anything?
- How well did I and my team communicate overall?
- When did my collaborative communications fall short of the group’s expectations, if ever?
- What were some things my teammates did that helped me to learn or overcome obstacles?
- How did I help others during this process? How do I feel I may have hindered others?
- What did I learn were my greatest strengths? My biggest areas for improvement?
- What would I do differently if I were to approach the same problem again?
- What moments was I most proud of my efforts?
- What could I do differently from a personal standpoint the next time I work with the same group or a different one?
- What’s the one thing about myself above all others I would like to work to improve?
- How can I better support and encourage my teammates on future projects?
- How will I use what I’ve learned in the future?
Reflective Classroom Strategies
- Think, Pair, Share
- Exit slips - on paper or by using apps such as Socrative
- Peer-assessment
- Student led conferences
- Students collaboratively create the marking rubric
- Peer editing and marking
- Tweet - Student sums up the learning that in the class in 140 characters or less
- Reflective learning journey journal
- Portfolios
- Video journal
- Peer observation
- Sentence starters such as: This is important because... , I can use this in another class/outside school to ... , I was surprised when… or I’m still wondering about….
- 3,2,1 - A pre and post assessment strategy where students record: 3 things they think they know. 2 things they need to work on. 1 thing they are certain of.
- Group and class discussions
- Surveys
- Think, Pair, Share
- Exit slips - on paper or by using apps such as Socrative
- Peer-assessment
- Student led conferences
- Students collaboratively create the marking rubric
- Peer editing and marking
- Tweet - Student sums up the learning that in the class in 140 characters or less
- Reflective learning journey journal
- Portfolios
- Video journal
- Peer observation
- Sentence starters such as: This is important because... , I can use this in another class/outside school to ... , I was surprised when… or I’m still wondering about….
- 3,2,1 - A pre and post assessment strategy where students record: 3 things they think they know. 2 things they need to work on. 1 thing they are certain of.
- Group and class discussions
- Surveys
Growth Mindset: Personal Accountability and Reflection
References
Durfee, A. (2018). Frameworks for Reflection. [online] Edutopia. Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/article/frameworks-reflection.
Edudemic (2014). A Guide to Student-Led Conferences | Edudemic. [online] Edudemic.com. Available at: http://www.edudemic.com/guide-to-student-led-conferences/.
Gerstein, J. (2014). Growth Mindset: Personal Accountability and Reflection. [online] User Generated Education. Available at: https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/growth-mindset-personal-accountability-and-reflection/.
Heick, T. (2018). 8 Reflective Questions To Help Any Student Think About Their Learning -. [online] TeachThought. Available at: https://www.teachthought.com/learning/use-twitter-exit-slip-teaching/.
Heick, T. (2018). 15 Reflection Strategies To Help Students Retain What You Just Taught Them -. [online] TeachThought. Available at: https://www.teachthought.com/learning/15-reflection-strategies-help-students-retain-just-taught/.
The Learning Exchange (2018). Student-Led Conferencing. [online] The Learning Exchange. Available at: https://thelearningexchange.ca/projects/student-led-conferences/.
Madison Metropolitan School District (2018). Self-Reflection and Assessment. [online] Jefferson.kyschools.us. Available at: https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/sites/default/files/MTSS%20Toolkit%205%20Self-Assessment%20and%20Reflection.pdf.
Pahomov (2014). ASCD Book: Authentic Learning in the Digital Age: Engaging Students Through Inquiry. [online] Ascd.org. Available at: http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Books/Overview/Authentic-Learning-in-the-Digital-Age.aspx.
Te Kete Ipurangi (2018). Student self assessment and reflection / Examples and templates / Reporting to parents & whānau / Home - Assessment. [online] Assessment.tki.org.nz. Available at: http://assessment.tki.org.nz/Reporting-to-parents-whanau/Examples-and-templates/Student-self-assessment-and-reflection.
Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2018). The Best Self-Assessment Questions for Encouraging a Growth Mindset. [online] Global Digital Citizen Foundation. Available at: https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/self-assessment-questions-growth-mindset.
Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2017). 5 Ways to Encourage Best Self-Assessment Practices Among Learners. [online] Global Digital Citizen Foundation. Available at: https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/5-best-self-assessment-practices.
Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2017). 25 Self-Reflection Questions to Get Students Thinking About Their Learning. [online] Global Digital Citizen Foundation. Available at: https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/25-self-reflection-questions.
Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2018). 10 Top Self-Evaluation Tips for Every Learner's Success. [online] Global Digital Citizen Foundation. Available at: https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/10-self-evaluation-tips.
Durfee, A. (2018). Frameworks for Reflection. [online] Edutopia. Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/article/frameworks-reflection.
Edudemic (2014). A Guide to Student-Led Conferences | Edudemic. [online] Edudemic.com. Available at: http://www.edudemic.com/guide-to-student-led-conferences/.
Gerstein, J. (2014). Growth Mindset: Personal Accountability and Reflection. [online] User Generated Education. Available at: https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2014/09/13/growth-mindset-personal-accountability-and-reflection/.
Heick, T. (2018). 8 Reflective Questions To Help Any Student Think About Their Learning -. [online] TeachThought. Available at: https://www.teachthought.com/learning/use-twitter-exit-slip-teaching/.
Heick, T. (2018). 15 Reflection Strategies To Help Students Retain What You Just Taught Them -. [online] TeachThought. Available at: https://www.teachthought.com/learning/15-reflection-strategies-help-students-retain-just-taught/.
The Learning Exchange (2018). Student-Led Conferencing. [online] The Learning Exchange. Available at: https://thelearningexchange.ca/projects/student-led-conferences/.
Madison Metropolitan School District (2018). Self-Reflection and Assessment. [online] Jefferson.kyschools.us. Available at: https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/sites/default/files/MTSS%20Toolkit%205%20Self-Assessment%20and%20Reflection.pdf.
Pahomov (2014). ASCD Book: Authentic Learning in the Digital Age: Engaging Students Through Inquiry. [online] Ascd.org. Available at: http://www.ascd.org/Publications/Books/Overview/Authentic-Learning-in-the-Digital-Age.aspx.
Te Kete Ipurangi (2018). Student self assessment and reflection / Examples and templates / Reporting to parents & whānau / Home - Assessment. [online] Assessment.tki.org.nz. Available at: http://assessment.tki.org.nz/Reporting-to-parents-whanau/Examples-and-templates/Student-self-assessment-and-reflection.
Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2018). The Best Self-Assessment Questions for Encouraging a Growth Mindset. [online] Global Digital Citizen Foundation. Available at: https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/self-assessment-questions-growth-mindset.
Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2017). 5 Ways to Encourage Best Self-Assessment Practices Among Learners. [online] Global Digital Citizen Foundation. Available at: https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/5-best-self-assessment-practices.
Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2017). 25 Self-Reflection Questions to Get Students Thinking About Their Learning. [online] Global Digital Citizen Foundation. Available at: https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/25-self-reflection-questions.
Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2018). 10 Top Self-Evaluation Tips for Every Learner's Success. [online] Global Digital Citizen Foundation. Available at: https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/10-self-evaluation-tips.
