I
found chapter 5 to be very informative when looking to understand the “Reflective
Phase” of the PAR lesson plan framework. I enjoyed how the authors started off
the chapter emphasizing the importance of critical thinking. Page 108 says, “To
learn, students need to be in a relaxed atmosphere where they have time to
reflect on the assignment.” I think as classroom teachers, it’s difficult to
give the students an adequate amount of time to reflect on an assignment due to
the pressures of covering all of the SOL objectives laid out on the district
pacing guide for the day. I tend to look at my data and direct my instruction
based on the needs of my students; however, it can be difficult to balance the
extra time spent on a lesson and moving towards the next objective. If a
teacher spends too much time on one aspect of a lesson, the class will fall
behind in meeting the time restraints for the district pacing guides.
It
was helpful for me to read the 3 positive aspects of reflective learning so
that I can truly understand the importance of the reflective phase (pg 109):
1.
Students
think more in depth about what they have learned and yet to learn about a
lesson.
2.
It
helps students retain material they have read (the more students reflect, the
longer they’ll remember the material)
3.
Provides
a demonstration of one’s learning through a system of informal evaluation
On
page 116, the authors explain the benefits of cooperative learning and one of
them was a gain in self-esteem, time on task, attendance, and ability to work
effectively with others. Collaborative learning provides students with life
skills needed in the “real world” and it also gives them something to look
forward to when coming to school! They won’t have to sit through a “boring”
lecture presented by their teacher because they’re actively involved in their
own learning process!
I
was relieved to see that the 16 strategies presented in the Reflection Phase
chapter were much clearer for me to understand than the ones listed in the Assistance
Phase from chapter 4 J.
I think that there are more strategies applicable to my first grade classroom
in the Reflection Phase than those in the Assistance Phase from chapter 4. I
even found that I’m already using some of them in my classroom already due to
the big push at our school to use Kagan strategies.
One
of the ones that I use is similar to the Rallytable described on page 123.
Instead of students writing their responses on a piece of paper, the students
get in pairs and say statements back and forth. This is called Rallyrobin. For
example, if I say “body coverings” the students will take turns going back and
forth saying different body coverings and/or specific animals with that body
covering. Or, if I say “compound words” they must go back and forth naming
different compound words.
Another
strategy that I’ve found extremely helpful is the think-pair-share strategy. We’re
supposed to use this everyday in each of our lessons for each content area. The
students are given a topic and must think about it, then break into pairs, and
take turns sharing what they know about the topic. I’ve used this during the Preparation
Phase of my lessons and also at the conclusion of my lessons (Reflection
Phase). I’ve found that it’s also helpful to use this prior to a test.
I
thought that the About/Point strategy would be very helpful for my students
after reading a difficult passage. Also, the self-generated questions would be
beneficial for my students to create after a lesson because it enables them to
think critically about what they read by creating their own questions and also
it holds them accountable for what they read.
This
chapter was very helpful for me to better understand critical thinking and how
to implement it into my classroom.
Hi Ashley, I agree that this chapter seemed more aligned with the part of PAR they were discussing. The strategies laid out seemed very practical and something I would use in my classroom. Which, if any, of these strategies do you use in your classroom? I also love your graphics this week! great minds :)
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