Reflecting

Theses teaching strategies will help students to:

• reflect on understandings, skills, attitudes and values
• process and consolidate concepts covered
• reflect on how learning experiences can be applied to their lives
• generalise skills and knowledge to other situations
• monitor and evaluate a decision-making process
• understand and manage emotions
• generate ideas.

Reflective questions

• Use these 4 questions to reflect on learnings:
  • Description: What did I do?
  • Objective: What did I learn?
  • Values: Why did I feel like that?
  • Application: How will I use the skill or information?
• Questions can be answered verbally or in a journal. 
• These can be displayed permanently for reference.

Thought shapes

• Shapes relate to different question prompts:
  • Triangle = The most important thing I have learnt is....
  • Square = What I have 'all squared away' in my head is... OR The thing I have really understood well is...
  • Star = What I enjoyed/What I was really good at...
  • Heart = How I feel about using the skills and ideas I have learnt is...OR The thing I enjoyed most is...
  • Circle = The thoughts still going around in my head are...
• Display shapes and questions in classroom to refer to. 
• Students can volunteer to share one answer verbally.
• A set of cards can be made and picked randomly (or given out selectively by the teacher).
• Students write down their answers next to each of the shapes on paper or in a journal.

3-2-1 Reflect

• Number relate to 3 prompts:
  • 3 recalls: Three facts I can recall from (the video/website/book/fact sheet/etc)
  • 2 so what's: Two reasons why this is relevant to me.
  • 1 question: Why is it that...? In the future, what will...? How does this affect...?
• Can be completed verbally with a partner.
• Can be written down in a journal or workbook.

Sentence stems...

• Sentence stems for writing:
  • I learnt that...
  • I was surprised that...
  • I felt today was....  because...
  • I intend to...
  • I think it is important to...
  • I still want to know...
• Can be written on board or displayed in room and answered individually or in pairs.
• Can be written on pop sticks and students select one randomly to answer.

Q & A

• Students can answer the following questions given by the teacher or write questions for other students to answers:

  • What is the best way to (e.g. get consent)?
  • What have you learnt about (e.g. condoms)?
  • What are the most important facts that people need to know about (e.g. preventing pregnancy)?
  • What messages did you get from this activity on how to (e.g. seek help)?

   

Sharing circle

• Form a small group or whole class circle. 
• Use any of the reflection teaching strategies to generate discussion/reflection.
• Reinforce the 'right to pass'.

• Rather than going around in a circle, use a ball or soft toy for students to pass to the next volunteer.

   

Bowl of spaghetti

• In a circle, pass a ball of wool around by holding on to the wool before throwing the ball of wool to the next person so that it creates a web of wool (that looks like a bowl of spaghetti).
• This strategy can be used for retelling a story, video, scenario or creating a new story as a class.

Journal writing

• As many of the RSE lessons involve discussions and hands-on learning activities, journals can be a way to record lessons at the end of each session.
• Use any of the reflection teaching strategies as stimuli for journal writing.
• Journals can be a special book that is decorated and individualised by the students.
• Pictures and writing can be used to capture ideas - the focus does not need to be on literacy and grammar.