I have written extensively and done many conference presentations about metacognition and the value of self-reflective journals to help students better understand themselves and what kind of learners they are.
I recently read an article by Allison Kline called “Self Reflection Goes Beyond Self” in which she cites the value of having students reflect not only on themselves, but also on other members of their class. This is similar to the kinds of questions I ask my students to journal about when I have them reflect on their learning environment.
Kline tells about sixth-grade English teacher Lauren Porosoff who “created a self-reflection questionnaire that pushed her students to acknowledge how classmates and peers could provide opportunities to affect personal success.” Porosoff added the following 3 questions to her regular end of year writing assignment:
- Who in our class supported you in an important way?
- Who in our class pushed you to think differently or more deeply?
- Who in our class inspired you by setting an example?
Porosoff said that “identifying peer impact gets students to think critically about everybody’s role within the classroom.” What a marvelous thing to have students reflect on!
Here is the link:
http://smartbrief.com/original/2017/08/self-reflection-goes-beyond-self?utm_source=brief
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Thanks for your summary of my book for Czech readers. I can see that you take a deep interest in the needs of struggling students. It is wonderful to see that teachers in Europe (and particularly in the Czech Republic!) take an interest in my work.
Using Google Translate, I have reproduced your comments in English for those who do not read Czech. While I speak English, Dutch, French, German and enough Spanish to be dangerous (!!), Czech is not part of my repertoire.
By the way, I am a female, not a male. 🙂 Irene
*************************** Translation into English *********************
How to motivate pupils who suffer from dyslexia and have problems not only with their mother tongue, but also with the acquisition of foreign languages? As Konyndyk says, first and foremost, these students need not be underestimated. Secondly, we need to take measures to really address students with dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities.
A foreign language is for everyone, not just for the selected ones
It is stated that 10% of pupils and students suffer from specific learning disabilities. Dyslexia is the most common of these. Dyslexics struggle with the decoding of linguistic characters, both in text and in spoken form. They can’t read, they often have trouble writing, and even listening to the language. But it brings with it a number of other problems. Things are harder for them to remember, they have a problem with organizing their learning activities, with organizing time in general. In addition to recognizing written words, they can also have trouble recognizing sounds. Foreign languages for dyslexics face a number of challenges.
In some countries, these students are exempted from the obligation to complete a foreign language (eg in the USA, they may study international sign language instead). In the Czech Republic, English is compulsory for everyone. In general, however, the question of whether dyslexics belong to a language class or not is no longer discussed among experts across nationalities, but the question of how to organize teaching so that even pupils with special educational needs can benefit from it.
As special educator Irene Konyndyk of the University of Michigan says in the book of the same name: “Foreign languages are for everyone.” According to her, measures are key. In addition to the traditional ones, such as more time for tasks, less text in dictations or oral assignments, it shows a number of others. One that can be easily incorporated into the clock and at the same time the whole class benefits from it.
Undiagnosed people also benefit from the measures
Every child is different and it is certainly not true that there are children with problems and children without problems, and there is a sharp line between them. First, specific learning disabilities are evolving. A child who struggles with dyslexia at an early age may not have a major problem in adolescence. In addition, dyslexics will learn to compensate for a number of limitations. And second, there may be a number of undiagnosed, mild dyslexics among the children in the classroom.
What measures does Konyndyak recommend?
Working with group dynamics and building a team is important, the arrangement of benches in the classroom plays a role, class rituals are important. Illustrations also help dyslexics. Thus, visual aids hung around the classroom can be helpful.
He states that it is very useful for dyslexics to work with a mental map, color coding of certain grammatical phenomena, displaying the material through posters or tables, visibly recorded current words to learn, etc.
He points out that in dyslexics the key role is played by visuality, if possible not only textual, but also visual, sound, but also tactile, physical and experiential. From the point of view of the organization of the lesson, a certain anchoring is essential for the dyslexic. It is necessary to teach explicitly. At the beginning of the lesson, it is advisable to state the goals of the lesson, during the course to repeat what we are discussing, at the end to summarize and outline what will happen next.
In addition, Konyndyk recommends that you do not take up too much material within an hour. Drill and automate through various and interesting activities. Let the child experience success. Then record what has been learned visually, eg through a mental map created by the student himself. And often return to the fabric.
Listen and have confidence
Being a teacher or even a parent of students with specific learning disabilities brings with it extra demands. Konyndyk says that the key is, firstly, to learn to listen to the voice of such students and, secondly, to have enough confidence in them.
From his own experience, he recommends including a so-called self-reflective diary in the teaching routine, in which students regularly record their successes and failures. They are learning to name their learning strategies and dead ends. Through it, they learn to take responsibility for their learning. A self-reflective diary is also a form of personal communication with the teacher.
The second successful strategy is questionnaires. The teacher simply distributes a questionnaire to the students in the class from time to time to find out what the students really need from him and how he can help them. Give students a word, listen to their voice, Konyndyk advises.
{ 1 trackback }