Chapter 5: Learning Through Reflection

The final phase of PAR, reflection, focuses on improving comprehension and retention. Research shows that reflection is essential for promoting learning because it helps students organize their thinking and focus their understanding. Reflection promotes communication, reflective thinking, comprehension monitoring, and critical thinking. Research shows that many elementary school teachers are not promoting critical thinking because it is hard to assess and teachers are not well-equipped with effective strategies to promote it. This is a shame because the development of critical thinking skills is essential for student success in higher grades.  The definition for critical thinking can be rather vague which poses a problem but the book explains it as connecting newly introduced information to prior knowledge and experiences in order to construct a more complex mental schema. Two important qualities that stem from critical thinking include problem solving and decision making. Guided prompts can be used to promote these skills by helping students structure their thinking.

Reflection can be effectively promoted through cooperative learning if individual accountability and group goals are present. Cooperative learning encourages learning through social interaction and allows students to take ownership of their learning. I like the fact that this chapter reflects on the flaws of cooperative learning and offers potential solutions to fix these flaws. For example, cooperative learning is extremely beneficial for students but sometimes student participation is not equal within groups because a student is dominating the group or a student is not putting any effort into the activity. This can be addressed by using role-playing strategies to make students aware of dysfunctional groups or group roles can be written on flashcards and students can be assigned (or pick) what they are responsible for contributing to the group. I also enjoyed the different reflection strategies included in this chapter, particularly the “Numbered Heads Together” strategy. This activity appeared to be engaging for students and it promoted collaboration and participation.