Reflection

Good morning to all,

We hope that each of you enjoyed a Thanksgiving break that gave an opportunity to be with family and recharge for the next 4 weeks.  We both have started formal observations and have a few more before break.  Don't forget that you may schedule at any time.

Today's MMM is going to continue the highlighting of the elements under Design Question 2.  They are steps that help students interact with new knowledge.  Again, not all of these elements are part of the CCPS evaluation process, but each are proven to help students' learning.  It needs to be constantly reiterated that these elements are not just something that should be used for a teacher evaluation, but research based methods that show how students learn.  The elements are a "road map" to show directions on how students' brains will absorb new information.



Helping Students Reflect on Learning is Element 13.  Strategies for reflecting on learning not only focus students' attention on the content but also on themselves as learners. (Marzano 2017)

Some strategies for this element appear in the table below.

The essential focus of reflection is to help students understand their role in the learning process.  Students must understand that this process must involve their attention and effort. 

Teachers should be able to see the following behaviors in their students.

• Students can describe what they are clear about and what they are confused about.
• Students can describe their levels of effort and the relationship of their effort to their learning.
• Students can describe what they might do to improve their learning.  

The elements in Design Question 2 lead to student learning, instructor introduces new information and alerts students to what is critical (Element #6), instructor organizes students, previews content and presents material in "digestible bites", which leads to students organizing and representing the knowledge (Element #12) and finally (Element #13) where a student reflects on their role in the process of learning.  Once again we will close by stating that these elements must not be thought of as strategies that are used for formal evaluations, but as a blueprint on how the brain operates and student learning.

Thank you for reading.  Candy Cane Lane is this Thursday evening at 5:30PM.  Be sure to check the Master Calendar for upcoming events.

Have a great week,

James & Adrienne