Reflecting on Learning

Overview

Reflection is important because it helps students make sense of their experiences, set goals, and consider the real-life implications of their experiences in the classroom. This activity challenges students to reflect on their learning and, based on this assessment, give themselves a grade.

The activity itself takes place in two parts. First, students are introduced to “ungrading” – an alternative approach to grading designed to help students feel a greater sense of control of their learning, reduce grade anxiety, and create more space for students to follow their passions.

During the last week of the semester, students review all the work they completed over the course of the semester: journal entries, project proposals, lab notebooks, etc. Then, guided by a set of prompts, they craft a reflection on their learning. They have the choice of presenting their reflection through a letter, a short video, or an informal conversation with the teacher.

Useful for

Analysing personal growth over the course of the semester
Considering what experiences in the classroom mean for life outside the classroom
Developing a growth mindset by using challenges and mistakes as an opportunity for learning
Promoting divergent thinking

Materials

Procedure

Day 1

This mini-activity is designed to be carried out a few weeks before the reflection activity, when you are explaining how students will be evaluated.

Engage students by showing them Tyler Rablin’s tweet about grades.
Explain some of the problems with grades:
- Grades are not a good incentive - Grades force students to focus on what someone else deems important instead of following their passion and exploring the questions they're genuinely curious about. We all perform better when we're really excited about something!
- Grades are not good feedback - The learning process is complex and cannot be reduced to a single number.
- Grades are not objective - If you take the same essay and give it to two different teachers, the essay will get two different grades. Even multiple-choice tests with one right answer are not objective because the questions on the exam reflect the teacher’s biases about what is (or is not) important.
- Grades are a source of stress and anxiety for many students.
Explain that students’ learning will be evaluated using the “ungrading” approach and outline how ungrading will work. Here are some points you may wish to raise when explaining why and how ungrading will be used:
- There is no final exam for this course. Instead, at the end of the semester, you will write me a letter reflecting on what you learned in the course. Based on your own assessment of your own learning, you will assign yourself a grade.
- I hope that knowing you are in control of your grade will create more space for you to follow your passions and explore the questions you’re genuinely curious about.
- As a teacher, ungrading allows me to focus all my energy on feedback and encouragement – on teaching, rather than assigning numbers.
- I reserve the right to modify (up or down) the grades you assign yourselves. If a student who has missed half of the classes this semester gives themselves a 100%, I will ask them to explain why they think this grade is fair. On the other hand, I may increase your grade if I think you are being too hard on yourself. This is important because a substantial body of research indicates that female students and racialised students tend to underestimate their performance, even when their performance is equal or superior to that of their white/male counterparts. This is true not only in school but also in the workplace.
Acknowledge that students may have mixed feelings about ungrading and invite students to share their thoughts, concerns, and questions about the grading system:
- Give students 1 minute to discuss with their neighbour “what is one word that comes to mind when you think about the grading system in this class?”
- Reconvene as a whole class and invite 2-3 students to share their words with the class.
- Invite students to ask any questions they may have about the grading system.

Day 2

This activity is designed to be carried out during the last week of class.

Help students calm their minds and focus their attention by facilitating a wellness activity.
Explain how and why students will reflect on their learning. You might say “Today, you will write me a letter where you reflect on what you've learned over the course of the semester.  Reflection is important because it helps us make sense of our experiences, set goals, and consider the real-life implications of our experiences in the classroom. This reflection is what we are doing instead of a regular final exam.”
Remind students that their work will be evaluated using the “ungrading” method: students will assign themselves a grade for the course.
Acknowledge that students might have mixed feelings about the reflection. You might say, “For many of you, this may the first time you are being asked to self-evaluate in this way. So, it’s normal if you’re feeling a little nervous or uncertain about it! Feel free to ask me for help. I will answer any questions you have, and I would be happy to review a draft before you submit the final version. I am here to help.”
Invite students to begin their reflection, using the self-reflection hand-out. Teachers may choose to add, delete, or modify questions to suit the specific context of their course. To make this activity more accessible, allow students to finish their self-reflection as homework if they do not finish during class time.