How+to+Reflect

Good reflection has three elements: recollection, analysis and interpretation, and proposed action. Put another way, reflection involves description, impact, and intent. Description simply involves recalling your experiences such as class activities, textbook readings, and school involvement. These experiences provide the basis for the impact and intent sections. Write the description in paragraph form with all the experiences related to the topic under consideration.

The experiences named in the description are considered and analyzed in the impact portion of your response. You comment on what you learned from each experience (or combination of experiences), what was confirmed or disproved, and how you feel about what you have learned.

You can respond through reaction, elaboration, and contemplation.

When merely reacting, you comment on your feelings (positive or negative) towards a class activity, reading, or school experience. You might, for example, react with a personal concern about an event or with delighted surprise.

When elaborating, you compare your reactions with other classes, classrooms, or experiences. You may for instance, refer to a general principle, a theory, or a moral or philosophical position.

When contemplating, you can focus on constructive personal insights or on problems or difficulties.

The most important aspect of your reflection likely is the intent. It involves interpreting the impact and building the bridge to action. Intent involves planning. It is what you intend to do as a result of what you have learned. Your intent should include how and when you will do what you want to do. This is important because “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Without a good intent, description and impact may go nowhere.

Note: The process of reflection need not move in a rigid description, impact, and intent sequence. You may begin with any of the three components and even go back and forth from one to the other. In the end, however, all three should be written.

Examples at The Three Levels 1. Reacting (limited depth)

Description: We had a guest speaker today who spoke on children's literature.

Impact: I was inspired by our speaker. Her enthusiasm for children's literature is exciting. I share the excitement. I love the idea of incorporating literature and textbooks to give a creative, exciting science curriculum.

Intent: I plan to find books and literature to make my science curriculum more exciting.

2. Reacting and Elaborating (more depth)

Description: We had a guest speaker in today who spoke on children's literature.

Impact: I was inspired by our speaker. Her enthusiasm for children's literature is exciting. I share that excitement. I love the idea of incorporating literature and textbooks to give a creative, exciting science curriculum. I think that we, as teachers, must do a better job of introducing students to good literature. Limiting ourselves to the readers we had as students can be stifling. As we learned in my language methods class, many of the stories in these basal readers were chosen or written specifically for their readability, not for the quality of the writing of the characters. Integrating these good stories into science (and other areas) will also allow me to cover more subjects.

Intent: I plan to search out quality literature I can use in a science context and expose my students to good writing. My students won't be limited to the prescribed readability levels. I want them to read books they love. I plan to begin evaluating books on how well they will work in science an other subjects.

3. Reading, Elaborating, and Contemplating (even more depth)

Description: We had a guest speaker in today who spoke on children's literature.

Impact: I was inspired by our speaker. Her enthusiasm for children's literature is exciting. I share that excitement. I love the idea of incorporating literature and textbooks to give a creative, exciting science curriculum. I think that we, as teachers, must do a better job of introducing students to good literature. Limiting ourselves to the readers we had as students can be stifling. As we learned in my language methods class, many of the stories in these basal readers were chosen or written specifically for their readability, not for the quality of the writing of the characters. Integrating these good stories into science (and other areas) will also allow me to cover more subjects Of course, a problem I might have is finding the money to buy the books. School funding is tight these days. If I end up in a school where the principal wants me to use a basal reader I might have a dilemma. Do I do what I believe right, or do I do what I am told to do?

Intent: I plan to search out quality literature and expose my students to good writing. My students won't be limited to the prescribed readability levels. I want them to read books they love. I plan to begin evaluating books on how well they will work in science an other subjects. If funding is too tight, I'll have to buy some of my own, or have a popcorn sale, or whatever. I will need to speak to my principal about my plans, though. He or she may take some convincing. Maybe I can start slowly and use the basal reader but supplement it with quality literature then begin to move children's literature into science and other subjects.