Reflection, The Key to Perfect Lesson
Design
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #130 –
March 1, 2015
Most
teachers are well prepared with the basic elements of lesson design.
However,
from personal observation as a school principal, I noticed the last element,
“Summary/Reflection,” was often missing from the lesson.
This
routinely neglected element could be considered the most critical to making the
lesson a real success for both students and teachers alike.
Here
is a brief review of basic lesson design taken from Madeline Hunter (Using What We Know About Teaching).
1.
Objective
(Learning
Target,
Goals and
Purpose)
What, specifically, should
the
student
be
able
to
do,
understand,
and
care
about as
a
result
of
learning?
Not
only
do
students
learn more
effectively
when
they
know
what
they’re
supposed
to
be
learning,
how
their
learning
will
be
measured,
and
why
that learning
is
important
to
them,
but
teachers
teach more
effectively
when
they
have
that
same
information.
2.
Anticipatory
Set
or
Orientation
The
Anticipatory Set
or
Orientation serves to
put
students
into
a
receptive
frame
of
mind.
An
introduction, model, example,
question,
key
vocabulary
term
or
activity engages
students
and
their focus
on
the
objective/learning
target. The
“set”
may
be
motivational
or
pique
curiosity
about
what
is
coming
next
in the
learning.
3.
Input
or
Presentation
Students must
acquire
new
information
about
the
knowledge, process, or
skill
they
are
to
achieve.
New learning
must
be
chunked
into
“digestible
bits”
or
small
portions
tailored
to
students’ level
of
understanding.
4.Modeling
During
modeling, the
skill, strategy,
or
task
is
named
and
given
a
purpose as
students
see and hear when
and
how
it
is
used
or
applied.
This is
followed by:
5.Guided Practice and 6.Independent Practice
7. Reflection/Summary/Closure
The
teacher
takes
action
to
bring
the
lesson
presentation
to
an
appropriate
conclusion.
*Review
and
clarify
key
points
*Involve
students
in
securing
key
ideas
in
their
own
minds
Closure
is
used
to
cue
students
to
the
fact
that
they
have
arrived
at
an
important
point
in
the
lesson
or
the
end
of
a
lesson.
Closure
is
the
act
of
reviewing
and
clarifying
key
points
of
a
lesson, tying
them
together
into
a
coherent
whole
and
securing
them
to
the
student’s
conceptual
network.
Students
may
be
prompted
to
bring
things
together
in
their
own
minds,
to
make
sense
out
of
what
has
just
been
taught.
“Any
questions?
No.
OK,
let’s move
on,” is
not
closure.
Closure
can
help
students
organize
and
take
stock
of
their
own
progress
and
learning.
Exit
slips, sharing
a
summary
with
a
peer
or
writing
one
are
examples
of
closure
strategies.
More on
Reflection – Dr. Wendy Ghiora
After observing several classrooms where this
part of lesson design was being neglected, I brought it up when conferencing
with the teachers after my observation.
All of them had the same two responses for not including reflection:
1. I forgot about it.
2. I ran out of time.
This is why it is imperative to
actually write this down as part of the lesson plan, so it will be included. It is an excellent idea to have an outline
that includes a timeline of sorts. All
one has to do is leave about 2-4 minutes for this at the end of each
lesson. Believe me, it is well worth it.
When students become reflective
about the teaching and learning process, they are strengthening their own
capacity to learn. Central to this is the principal of reflection as meta-cognition, where students are aware of, and can describe their thinking in
a way that allows them to ‘close the gap’ between what they know and what they
need to learn.
Reflection compels the student to
think about and then put into words what new skill, knowledge or ability they
have gained from the lesson. In this way, they are self-affirming an accomplishment.
At the end of each lesson, for
example, students can pair up and describe to each other, what they can
specifically do now as a result of the lesson they have just completed. Then the teacher asks for volunteers to share
with the group what they told their partner or what their partner told
them.
As the teacher listens, it is the
perfect assessment, for she now knows exactly what the students really
understood and how they can use their new knowledge.
As a bonus, this is excellent PR for
both the teacher and the school. When
the student goes home and the mother asks,
“So what did you learn in school
today?”
Instead of the usual answer: “Nothing…”
The student will recall what he
learned in your class.
Why?
Because he was forced to:
1.Think about it.
2.Say it out loud to a classmate.
3.Listen to others (or maybe even
himself or his partner) state what they learned.
4. Recognize his accomplishment and
feel good about it.
The mother will then think,
“Wow, at least he is learning
something in that class. What a great teacher that must be!”
This small, but important part of
the lesson allows students to practice and develop explaining, rephrasing and
clarifying skills. By listening to all of the student responses, the teacher
can summarize by repeating the common elements or ideas presented and thank
the students for their individual and team contributions toward understanding
the topic more deeply. This practice
also engages students in learning to focus on the “big ideas,” and how to
summarize those ideas.
The most significant outcome of this
simple step is the knowledge the teacher obtains of what the students actually
“got” from the lesson, and the certainty the students either have or don’t have
when they leave the classroom. Now, the teacher can accurately plan the next
day’s lesson.
Wouldn’t you agree, this is the key
to perfect lesson design?
