Reflection is something I have seldom used in my instruction. Aside from a once-per-concert reflection, I never used it. The reflection I used was something like this:
1. What was your favorite part of the concert last night?
2. What do you think went very well?
3. What do you think could have gone better?
4. What did you learn that will help you for the next concert?
I would leave a good deal of space for the students to write, and was often very surprised by their answers. My purpose was to help them remember the experience, and to draw attention to the idea that a concert is, in addition to a performance, a learning experience.
Another tool I considered using was a practice journal. I don't know if it would benefit the students or not, but I imagine that it would, mainly because it creates another pathway to a memory. Like the 'think sheets' used in R541 and Dr. Pisoni's undergrad memory class, it could create one more 'cue' to remember things.
One thing this week's readings point out to me is that the kind of reflection you do must match your pourpose. While that seems rather intuitive, having a pre-established idea of what kind of reflections are best for certain tasks can certainly instructional designers make more intentional decisions.
In the reading, I found the ideas of meta-cofnitive reflections rather interesting. Davis states: "I characterize reflection as “poor” or “unproductive” when it seems unlikely to promote these knowledge integration processes, and as “more productive” when it is more likely to foster knowledge integration processes. For instance, the student who plans for the day’s work and who considers ways in which his or her ideas are or are not well understood is likely to be more successful at knowledge integration than the student who merely forges full-speed ahead without engaging in these metacognitive activities.
In particular, students who, when they reflect, recognize
weaknesses in their current understanding are more apt to engage in the other
knowledge integration processes of linking and distinguishing ideas."
I find this fascinating because I find myself going through a similar process, where suddenly I'm having to think in a meta-cognitive fashion in many respects, and I'm thinking that it will be very productive to direct students to begin thinking about how they engage their intelligence with the world around them.
Do you ever ask them how prepared they felt for the concert? If they indicate that they were not as prepared as they wished they were, it would be interesting to note if they feel that it was something that was within their control (i.e. practice) or they felt that they needed additional support, tools, etc from the director or the school (better music,etc.).
ReplyDeleteAnother area where I hear teachers talk about using reflection is in classroom management. With top students and student leaders (unit leaders for marching band) the use it to enrich their experience. With students at the other end they use it to help them process how their actions impact on their own experiences and those of their classmates. My sister is very much in to personal and leadership development through music, so relfection is a strategy that she uses on a fairly regular basis.
I agree with Davis' statement -- if it isn't purposeful and connected to the learning objectives in some way, it is just busy work and will not contribute to learning in a meaningful way.
I hope that the IST conference went well!