EdTech 542 Week 7: Reflect & Perfect

The debriefing process is critical to any major project or task in the classroom.  A PBL unit offers multiple opportunities for students to reflect on their own work, their team work and their class experience.  What were the highs, lows, and avenues for improvement? In my Lionfish Invasion! unit the following forms of reflection are encouraged (see files from https://sites.google.com/a/u.boisestate.edu/lionfish-invasion/products-performances):

Student:

• Learning Log
• Culminating Self-Reflection (Form from bie.org)

Group:

• Reaction to Expert Groups’ Presentation
• Bi-weekly Group Check-in (Form may be emailed directly to teacher)

Whole Class:

• Daily, if possible, “rose, thorn, bud” discussion (i.e. what’s going well, what’s proving difficult, and what are we looking forward to)
• Culminating fishbowl discussion of responses to Self-Reflection

Teacher:

• Write daily synopsis of personal “rose, thorn, bud” in calendar journal.  (Include photos as documentation.)
• Discussions with colleagues of related subject areas
• Blog about experiences at: http://biepbl.blogspot.com/
• Complete Teacher’s Post-Product Review (from bie.org website) for future reference

The post-project reflections are completed by the students themselves (using the Culminating Self-Reflection form from bie.org) and then discussed as a whole class after the Exhibition Night.  Although there will be a plethora of daily “debriefing” discussions about the process, this will be the final culminating reflection on the overall unit.  In addition, in her own time, the teacher will complete a formal reflection called the Teacher’s Post-Product Review, another useful form from bie.org.  This will be kept in the unit’s files and be revisited each year in preparation for the next PBL unit.

The teacher’s reflection contains the following “project idea, design, and implementation considerations” to be responded to with quick narratives or notes:

1. Student engagement
2. Overall idea for the project
3. Overall results for student learning
4. Authenticity of project tasks and products
5. Quality and use of Driving Question
6. Scope:

• Length of time
• Complexity
• Number of subjects/ people/ organizations involved
• Use of technology

7. Selection of content standards
8. Selection of appropriate 21st century skills
9. Selection of culminating products and performances
10. Effectiveness of entry event
11. Quality of rubrics
12. Quantity and mix of scaffolding and learning activities
13. Ability of students to work well in groups
14. Ability of students to work well independently
15. Ability of students to use inquiry skills and think deeply
16. Personal management of the process, coaching of students, and providing of support
17. Involvement of other adults
18. Adequacy of resources

I would suggest that each teacher keep a binder or e-portfolio, if appropriate, of artifacts and exemplars that will serve to improve the quality of the project design in the future.

The student final reflection asks students to recall the driving question and to summarize the important steps in the process.  It then asks them to consider:

• What is the most important thing you learned in this project?
• What do you wish you had spent more time on or done differently?
• What part of the project did you do your best work on?
• What was the most enjoyable part of this project?
• What was the least enjoyable part of this project?
• How could your teacher(s) change this project to make it better next time?

These questions are excellent launching pads for whole class discussion, and should also facilitate the teacher in conducting her own post-project analysis as common themes arise.