TL5 Why is it important to reflect at the end of each lesson?
This vignette is written by the author and outlines the value both to the pupil and to the teacher in taking time at the end of each lesson to reflect on what has taken place.
This case has been developed with the specific aim of introducing the pupil, and perhaps the teacher also, to a fresh approach to learning mathematics. This involves the use of open-ended problem-solving Tasks in an engaging practical scenario.
The author, the trailing teachers and the writing team believe that, managed well, this approach can lead to a marked improvement in both interest and confidence in the processes of learning and applying mathematics.
A central and key factor in this approach to learning is to develop in the pupil an awareness of:
For pupils who are accustomed to teacher and/or textbook-centred learning approaches, this will be a challenging and demanding change from the normal. It might be akin, for comparison, to asking teenagers not only to keep their bedrooms tidy, but to remain aware of exactly what is making them untidy in the first place. (Teenagers tend to reflect on such matters fairly infrequently.)
It is thus recommended to teachers that time be set aside at the end of each lesson to reflect on the events in that lesson, as well as the mathematics that has been learnt (or at least used) in the process. This needs only be three or four minutes, and in fact pupils should be encouraged to develop this as an efficient skill – to reflect briefly and personally without the Task becoming laborious.
Teachers are encouraged to conduct this activity with some or all of these questions in mind:
This will have been a successful activity if the pupils leave the classroom knowing what they have done and why. A good way for teacher and pupil to monitor this is through these questions:
“If you go home tonight and mum or dad asks you what you did in maths today, what will you tell them? And if they ask why you did that, what will you say?”
Provision is made in the workbook for pupils to record their reflections. These can be revisited later.