Self-Reflection
Image source: matthewemay.com
During my M.Ed program I have become very fond of self-reflection because I now know the importance and implications of reflecting. According to Suskie (2009), self-reflections aid students learning through metacognition (thinking about one's thinking process) and synthesis. Reflection balances quantitative information with qualitative information. Qualitative assessments provide fresh insight to the learning process. In addition, student's self-reflections help teachers understand how students learn which will intern help them re-think and re-design classroom activities and lessons. There are two main types of reflections that students may complete. The first is "before and after reflection" and the second is "self-ratings" (Suskie, 2009). Before and after reflections ask students to reflect at the beginning and end of the course or unit. This allows students to compare their responses in order to assess their growth and development in a certain subject area. An example of this would be in my Research Methods course, we were to come up with an initial definition of what we thought implementation was. After completing a class on implementation, we then went back to our initial definition and reflected upon our definition with the one we read about in an article (Artifact 1). The second type of self-reflection refers to rating yourself based on various criteria such as knowledge, skills, attitudes, contributions etc. For this form of self-reflection, the teacher must create a questionnaire or chart with a list of course learning outcomes and objectives. Then the students are asked to rate themselves based on a numerical value determined by the teacher. The teacher can then use the self-reflection of the student and compare it to what the teacher perceives as their actual performance during class. An example of this would be Artifact 2. During my Learning tools class, mid-way though the course I was asked to provide a rated self-reflection based on my performance in the course so far.
Artifact 1
The first artifact was completed for my Curriculum Planning and Implementation course and looks at a reflection of what implementation is. The paper starts by reflecting on an article that was a part of the course readings as well as using my personal experiences such as practicums and workplace experiences to analyze various implementation scenarios. I chose to include this artifact in the reflection section because this was the first reflection that I had to complete based on an article. In addition, the paper also discusses how the article I read changed my view on what implementation is. Thus, this shows a growth in learning as I was able to take in new information and form/change my understanding of implementation.
curriculum_implementation_reflection.docx | |
File Size: | 18 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Artifact 2
This artifact is a self-reflection that I had to complete for my learning tools class. The self-reflection focuses on reflecting upon my own contributions to the collective learning experience. I was given specific criteria that I had to rate myself based on a numerical value and provide a rationale as to why I gave myself that score. In addition, I had to consider what other things I would focus on during the remainder of the course. I chose to include this artifact because this is the first and only self-reflection that I have completed that is in chart form. In addition, it is also the first and only self-reflection where I had to rate myself. This artifact was important to my learning because it allowed me to reflect on myself as a student and my contributions in class.
selfreflection.doc.docx | |
File Size: | 18 kb |
File Type: | docx |
References
Suskie, L. (2009). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA, US: Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.