Tonight I watched Stephanie Foote’s (Gardner Institute) Lilly Conference presentation on metacognition and reflecting on our teaching practice. Building on the work of Tanner and others, Foote provided a framework for reflecting on our impressions of student engagement after our lesson and obtaining student feedback. Several classroom assessment techniques including think-pair-share, minute papers, good fors, and lecture wrappers were listed. I did not know about ‘good fors’, a way of asking students to write or express how the technique or concept can be applied to their lives. The lecture wrappers are described in the K. Patricia Cross Academy website resources. Foote explained how they approach planning, performing, and reflecting and the self-regulation cycle (forethought/planning/goal setting, acting/monitoring, regulation/control, reflection/reaction). Foote 2020 has specific questions used to be intentional about metacognition in teaching practice. Humanizing the syllabus and being transparent in assignment expectations (using TILT and transparent assignments) as well as modeling metacognition were emphasized. Foote mentioned sharing resources using Wakelet, asking students what they know before a unit and what they learned after, and using ways to promote reflection. What resonated with me too was the systematic analysts as a teacher of what worked and what can be improved using both our perceptions and student feedback. I want to become a more reflective teacher and will use this blog as one tool. In the courses I teach, I need to not only ask students for feedback at the end, but throughout the course in a way that helps them become aware of their growth and challenges and assists me in designing more effective learning experiences.
