Depths of Reflection: Fostering Critical Thinking Through Reflection

John Hattie's research makes it clear: Reflection is a powerful strategy that has the potential to "considerably accelerate student achievement."¹ In fact, it has a an effect size of .75, which puts it squarely in the Zone of Desired Effect (see Hattie's Barometer of Influence below).

John Hattie's Barometer of Influence.

The idea of reflection sounds awesome but I sometimes get lost in the implementation part of the process. To be painfully honest, I never felt like I was doing "reflection" right.

(Is there a "right" way to do it? Who knows. Not the point here.)

The other day I was scrolling through the Internet and stumbled upon Peter Pappas' "Taxonomy of Reflection." Keep reading, this gets really good.

I like what Peter writes in his post about his work: "But reflection can be a challenging endeavor. It’s not something that’s fostered in school – typically someone else tells you how you’re doing! At best, students can narrate what they did, but have trouble thinking abstractly about their learning – patterns, connections and progress. Likewise teachers and principals need encouragement and opportunities to think more reflectively about their craft."² 

So how do we move students deeper into the depths of reflection? Use Peter's handy dandy "Taxonomy of Reflection" tool.

The taxonomy is modeled after Bloom's Taxonomy and the prompts run parallel to the cognitive work represented in each layer.

Note: you don't have to lead students through every level after every assignment, but pick and choose what works when.

The practice of reflection could be especially powerful during a PBL unit where students are learning bits and pieces as they go. For example, students might finish an assignment and reflect on "What was the assignment?" While they continue work on the project, they might reflect on, "Do I see where this fits in with what we are studying?"

The opportunity to embed the Taxonomy of Reflection into daily practice is endless.

For More:

A Taxonomy of Reflection: Critical Thinking For Students, Teachers, and Principals (Part 1)

The Reflective Student: A Taxonomy of Reflection (Part 2)