Here are some generic "recipes" for scaffolding reflection, courtesy of Montana State University Northern College of Education.
First Order/Second Order Model
Write about your topic as quickly as you can for ten to fifteen minutes without stopping. Let your thoughts flow uninhibited, and do not censor your writing. Include every thought that comes to mind without prejudging it. Your thoughts do not have to be complete, true, or even logical. Include all of your preconceived notions and biases. Also include all of the personal and emotional aspects of your “self” in this writing. Do not stop to consider spelling, grammar, or punctuation, and do not look back to make corrections. This is “first order” thinking, which is honest, intuitive, and creative. After you complete this exercise, react to what you have just written using “second order” thinking. Analyze the passage using your logic and critical thinking skills. You may also pay attention to organization, style, and mechanics in this section.
Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor (CAP) Model
What do you notice?
What do you feel?
What do you question?
Countdown Model
State three ideas with which you agree.
State two ideas you are pondering.
State one idea that you challenge.
What? So What? Now What? Model
What? Describe the experience; outline what happened that compelled you to think about and change your behavior (i.e. learn). The “what?” component of reflections may include the environmental factors, the conditions or background under which you have learned, the assumptions that you entered the situation with, a description of the experience itself, and the outcomes that occurred through the process. What did you do?
So What? Describe what difference it makes; outline what impact or meaning it has for you (or why it should matter to others). The “so what?” component of reflections may include relevancies to you as an individual, the degree of importance that this knowledge has to practices in the “real world”, how the experience has changed you, and the ways in which this experience relates to you as a professional in the field of education. So What? How is this learning important?
Now What? Describe what’s in store for the future now that you’ve learned from this experience; outline what you are going to do to continue your professional development in light of this learning. The “now what?” component of reflections may include looking for future learning opportunities related to the one under consideration, mistakes that you are now prepared to avoid, situations that you are now prepared to take advantage of, an assessment of things that you as of yet do NOT know how to do but would like to, etc. Ok, now that you've done this, now what would you like to learn?
Self-Assessment: The Reflective Practitioner
Reflection is what allows us to learn from our experiences: it is an assessment of where we have been and where we want to go next.
~ Kenneth Wolf
The reflection that accompanies the evidence a candidate presents in the performance-based product is a critical part of the candidate’s development. Through reflection the candidate begins the ongoing process of blending the art and science of good teaching practice. Reflection requires thoughtful and careful reporting and analysis of teaching practice, philosophy, and experience. Understanding why an activity or practice was productive or nonproductive in the classroom is a key element in the progression from novice to master teacher.
The reflection cycle and the guiding questions included in this packet are designed to assist licensure candidates in the reflection process. They will enable candidates to better understand the reflection process and address the question; "How does this piece of evidence demonstrate my knowledge and skill level in this activity?". The following reflection cycle offers a prescriptive structure while allowing the flexibility necessary for candidates to demonstrate their knowledge, skill, and ability in the unique context of their area and environment.
The reflections of the novice teacher are also vital to the assessors charged with the responsibility for judging whether the teacher has met the required level of performance for each standard based activity. Through their responses to the guiding questions, candidates will better be able to put evidence into perspective for the review team members by explaining how the evidence or artifact addresses the standard through the activity. The process provided a focus with my teaching; it made me constantly question what I was challenging my students with and why I was doing it.
~ Novice Teacher
The Reflection Cycle
Writing a Reflection
Select:
What evidence/artifacts have you included?
Describe:
This step involves a description of the circumstances, situation or issues related to the evidence or artifact. Four "W" questions are usually addressed:
Who was involved?
What were the circumstances, concerns, or issues?
When did the event occur?
Where did the event occur?
Analyze:
This step involves "digging deeper." The "Why" of the evidence or artifact and the "How" of its relationship to your teaching practice should be addressed.
Appraise:
In the previous three steps, you have described and analyzed an experience, a piece of evidence, or an activity. The actual self-assessment occurs at this stage as you interpret the activity or evidence and evaluate its appropriateness and impact.
Transform:
This step holds the greatest opportunity for growth as you use the insights gained from reflection in improving and transforming your practice.
The Reflection Process
Becoming a reflective practitioner requires time, practice, and an environment supportive to the development and organization of the reflection process. This is a highly individualized process and the licensure candidate should find the structure and method of reflection that best suits him or her.
When
● Immediately after the lesson/experience
● At the end of the school day
● During my planning period
● First thing in the morning
● Wednesday during my lunch period
● Tuesday while my students are in
Where
● In my room
● In my office
● In the library
● At home
● In the shower
● In the car as I commute to and from work
How
● On the computer
● Reflective journaling
● Sticky notes on the lesson/artifact
● Reflection sheets attached to the evidence
● Verbal reflection on the video
● Audio tapes
● On a Dictaphone [my spouse can transcribe them tonight!] The reflections helped me to see that I actually was making a difference, even though it didn’t always seem like it.
Processes and Structures that are necessary for PSC - Master Classes/Demo Lessons
1) Lesson Plan format (common/uniform?)
2) Pre/Post course Discussion format/instrument with teachers
3) How/What is school/teachers going to use lesson video/plan? (Evidence of implementation/success? - common KPIs, format for capturing evidence?)
4) MT reflection - format for use in future courses etc (training/research)
First Order/Second Order Model
Write about your topic as quickly as you can for ten to fifteen minutes without stopping. Let your thoughts flow uninhibited, and do not censor your writing. Include every thought that comes to mind without prejudging it. Your thoughts do not have to be complete, true, or even logical. Include all of your preconceived notions and biases. Also include all of the personal and emotional aspects of your “self” in this writing. Do not stop to consider spelling, grammar, or punctuation, and do not look back to make corrections. This is “first order” thinking, which is honest, intuitive, and creative. After you complete this exercise, react to what you have just written using “second order” thinking. Analyze the passage using your logic and critical thinking skills. You may also pay attention to organization, style, and mechanics in this section.
Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor (CAP) Model
What do you notice?
What do you feel?
What do you question?
Countdown Model
State three ideas with which you agree.
State two ideas you are pondering.
State one idea that you challenge.
What? So What? Now What? Model
What? Describe the experience; outline what happened that compelled you to think about and change your behavior (i.e. learn). The “what?” component of reflections may include the environmental factors, the conditions or background under which you have learned, the assumptions that you entered the situation with, a description of the experience itself, and the outcomes that occurred through the process. What did you do?
So What? Describe what difference it makes; outline what impact or meaning it has for you (or why it should matter to others). The “so what?” component of reflections may include relevancies to you as an individual, the degree of importance that this knowledge has to practices in the “real world”, how the experience has changed you, and the ways in which this experience relates to you as a professional in the field of education. So What? How is this learning important?
Now What? Describe what’s in store for the future now that you’ve learned from this experience; outline what you are going to do to continue your professional development in light of this learning. The “now what?” component of reflections may include looking for future learning opportunities related to the one under consideration, mistakes that you are now prepared to avoid, situations that you are now prepared to take advantage of, an assessment of things that you as of yet do NOT know how to do but would like to, etc. Ok, now that you've done this, now what would you like to learn?
Self-Assessment: The Reflective Practitioner
Reflection is what allows us to learn from our experiences: it is an assessment of where we have been and where we want to go next.~ Kenneth Wolf
The reflection that accompanies the evidence a candidate presents in the performance-based product is a critical part of the candidate’s development. Through reflection the candidate begins the ongoing process of blending the art and science of good teaching practice. Reflection requires thoughtful and careful reporting and analysis of teaching practice, philosophy, and experience. Understanding why an activity or practice was productive or nonproductive in the classroom is a key element in the progression from novice to master teacher.
The reflection cycle and the guiding questions included in this packet are designed to assist licensure candidates in the reflection process. They will enable candidates to better understand the reflection process and address the question; "How does this piece of evidence demonstrate my knowledge and skill level in this activity?". The following reflection cycle offers a prescriptive structure while allowing the flexibility necessary for candidates to demonstrate their knowledge, skill, and ability in the unique context of their area and environment.
The reflections of the novice teacher are also vital to the assessors charged with the responsibility for judging whether the teacher has met the required level of performance for each standard based activity. Through their responses to the guiding questions, candidates will better be able to put evidence into perspective for the review team members by explaining how the evidence or artifact addresses the standard through the activity.
The process provided a focus with my teaching; it made me constantly question what I was challenging my students with and why I was doing it.
~ Novice Teacher
The Reflection Cycle
Writing a Reflection
Select:What evidence/artifacts have you included?
Describe:
This step involves a description of the circumstances, situation or issues related to the evidence or artifact. Four "W" questions are usually addressed:
- Who was involved?
- What were the circumstances, concerns, or issues?
- When did the event occur?
- Where did the event occur?
Analyze:This step involves "digging deeper." The "Why" of the evidence or artifact and the "How" of its relationship to your teaching practice should be addressed.
Appraise:
In the previous three steps, you have described and analyzed an experience, a piece of evidence, or an activity. The actual self-assessment occurs at this stage as you interpret the activity or evidence and evaluate its appropriateness and impact.
Transform:
This step holds the greatest opportunity for growth as you use the insights gained from reflection in improving and transforming your practice.
The Reflection Process
Becoming a reflective practitioner requires time, practice, and an environment supportive to the development and organization of the reflection process. This is a highly individualized process and the licensure candidate should find the structure and method of reflection that best suits him or her.When
● Immediately after the lesson/experience
● At the end of the school day
● During my planning period
● First thing in the morning
● Wednesday during my lunch period
● Tuesday while my students are in
Where
● In my room
● In my office
● In the library
● At home
● In the shower
● In the car as I commute to and from work
How
● On the computer
● Reflective journaling
● Sticky notes on the lesson/artifact
● Reflection sheets attached to the evidence
● Verbal reflection on the video
● Audio tapes
● On a Dictaphone [my spouse can transcribe them tonight!]
The reflections helped me to see that I actually was making a difference, even though it didn’t always seem like it.
~ Novice Teacher
Source: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/pbl/pblreflect.htm [1/27/2002]
PBL - Self-Assessment: The Reflective Practitioner
Processes and Structures that are necessary for PSC - Master Classes/Demo Lessons
1) Lesson Plan format (common/uniform?)
2) Pre/Post course Discussion format/instrument with teachers
3) How/What is school/teachers going to use lesson video/plan? (Evidence of implementation/success? - common KPIs, format for capturing evidence?)
4) MT reflection - format for use in future courses etc (training/research)