Reflective Practice
Student Reflective Practice
Building Deeper Connections to Concepts
Kathleen R. Murphy
My classroom is quiet except for the light sounds of tapping keys on keyboards. There is an occasional rustle of papers as students pour through their labs searching for data and information. I move slowly through the rows of tables, looking over shoulders, commenting quietly on work, and answering a question here and there.
Suddenly a student calls out, "Oh, I get it, Ms. Murphy! I just had an aha moment." The other students stop and look up at her.
"What do you mean by that?" I ask.
"This lab makes so much more sense now. Now I get what it was all about," she responds. "Writing this reflection made me realize why planets go faster when they are closer to the sun. It all has to do with more gravity! I mean, I know you told us that before, but I didn 't really get it."
The students are in my 9th grade earth science class, and they are typing structured lab reflections for a laboratory experience they conducted earlier in the period. The student is referring to the connections she has just made from the lab data she gathered to the objective and conceptual knowledge in the exercise. What I am searching for with this activity is the "aha moment." I see it as the proof that the students have a deeper understanding of what they have just learned.
From their reflections, I can see that this was not just another lab where students simply followed steps to a procedure and submitted it for a grade without truly understanding what they were doing. By taking the time to reflect on the lab, they are building deeper connections to the concepts.
Defining Reflection
The term reflection has many different definitions, depending on context. Most commonly, reflection is defined as a thought occurring in consideration or meditation. When related to learning, Rowntree (1988) says that "reflection is studying one 's own study methods as seriously as one studies the subject" (p.
Building Deeper Connections to Concepts
Kathleen R. Murphy
My classroom is quiet except for the light sounds of tapping keys on keyboards. There is an occasional rustle of papers as students pour through their labs searching for data and information. I move slowly through the rows of tables, looking over shoulders, commenting quietly on work, and answering a question here and there.
Suddenly a student calls out, "Oh, I get it, Ms. Murphy! I just had an aha moment." The other students stop and look up at her.
"What do you mean by that?" I ask.
"This lab makes so much more sense now. Now I get what it was all about," she responds. "Writing this reflection made me realize why planets go faster when they are closer to the sun. It all has to do with more gravity! I mean, I know you told us that before, but I didn 't really get it."
The students are in my 9th grade earth science class, and they are typing structured lab reflections for a laboratory experience they conducted earlier in the period. The student is referring to the connections she has just made from the lab data she gathered to the objective and conceptual knowledge in the exercise. What I am searching for with this activity is the "aha moment." I see it as the proof that the students have a deeper understanding of what they have just learned.
From their reflections, I can see that this was not just another lab where students simply followed steps to a procedure and submitted it for a grade without truly understanding what they were doing. By taking the time to reflect on the lab, they are building deeper connections to the concepts.
Defining Reflection
The term reflection has many different definitions, depending on context. Most commonly, reflection is defined as a thought occurring in consideration or meditation. When related to learning, Rowntree (1988) says that "reflection is studying one 's own study methods as seriously as one studies the subject" (p.
References: Amulya, J. (2003). What is reflective practice? Retrieved from Learning for Innovation website: http://www.learningforinnovation.com Fade, S. (2005). Learning and assessing through reflection: A practical guide. Retrieved from University of Ulster website: http://www.science.ulster.ac.uk/nursing/mentorship/docs/learning/RoyalBromptonV3.pdf Herod, L. (2002). Glossary of Terms. Retrieved from Adult Learning: From Theory to Practice at http://www.nald.ca/adultlearningcourse/glossary.htm Lerch, C., Bilics, A., & Colley, B. (2006). Using reflection to develop higher order processes. Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association San Francisco, CA. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED491643.pdf Roffey-Barentson, J., & Malthouse, R. (2009). Reflective practice in the lifelong learning sector. Exeter, UK: Learning Matters Ltd. Rowntree, D. (1988). Learn how to study: A realistic approach (3rd ed.). London: Macdonald and Co. Ltd. Schön, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. The UK Centre for Legal Education. (2010). What is reflective practice? Retrieved from the UK Centre for Legal Education website: http://www.ukcle.ac.uk/resources/personal-development-planning/what York-Barr, J., Sommers, W. A., Ghere, G. S., & Monti, J. (2006). Reflective practice to improve schools: An action guide for educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. SOURCE: http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol6/625-murphy.aspx