{"id":225442,"date":"2024-05-29T19:51:28","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T19:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/29\/strategies-to-help-students-retain-what-you-taught-them\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:18:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:18:30","slug":"strategies-to-help-students-retain-what-you-taught-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/29\/strategies-to-help-students-retain-what-you-taught-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Strategies To Help Students Retain What You Taught Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"text\">\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n<\/aside>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" alt=\"Strategies To Help Students Retain What You Taught Them\" class=\"wp-image-46549 perfmatters-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them-86x64.jpg 86w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them.jpg\" alt=\"Strategies To Help Students Retain What You Taught Them\" class=\"wp-image-46549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/15-Reflection-Strategies-To-Help-Students-Retain-What-You-Just-Taught-Them-86x64.jpg 86w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>by <strong>Terry Heick<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Reflection is a natural part of learning.<\/p>\n<p>We all think about new experiences\u2013the camping on the car ride home, the mistakes made in a game, or the emotions felt while finishing a long-term project that\u2019s taken months to complete.<\/p>\n<p>Below I\u2019ve shared 15 strategies for students to reflect on their learning. Modeling the use of each up front can go a long way towards making sure you get the quality of work you\u2019d like to see throughout the year\u2013and students learn more in the process.<\/p>\n<p><strong>15 Reflection Strategies To Help Students Retain What You Just Taught Them<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Pair-Share<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pair-share is a classic learning strategy where students are paired, and then verbally \u2018share\u2019 something that will help them learn new content, deepen understanding, or review what they already know. It can also be used as a quick and dirty assessment tool, as the conversations generally reflect a level of understanding the teacher can use gauge mastery and plan further instruction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Sentence Stem-based responses<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sentence stems are great because they\u2019re like training wheels\u2013or to mix a metaphor, tools to coach students into thinking and speaking in certain patterns. For example, you can implore students to \u2018think critically,\u2019 but if they don\u2019t have even the basic phrasing of critical thinking (e.g., \u2018This is important because\u2026\u2019), critical thinking will be beyond their reach.<\/p>\n<p>You can also see our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teacherspayteachers.com\/Product\/28-Critical-Thinking-Question-Stems-Response-Cards-3199581\"><b>sentence stems for critical thinking<\/b><\/a> here for other examples (you don\u2019t have to buy the materials to see the samples).<\/p>\n<p><b>3. Layered Text<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Layered text is something I\u2019ve meant to write about for years and never have. A layered text is a digital document that is filled with hyperlinks that communicate, well, just about anything: Questions students have, opportunities for further inquiry, odd references and allusions that reflect the schema students use to make meaning, and so on. (Rap Genius does a version of this.)<\/p>\n<p>By adding \u2018layers\u2019 of meaning to a text through meaningful hyperlinking, students can reflect back on anything, from a pre-assessment journal entry that demonstrated their lack of understanding, to a kind of \u2018marking up\u2019 of what they learned when, and from where.<\/p>\n<p><b>4. Tweet<\/b><\/p>\n<p>140 characters forces students to reflect quick and to the point\u2013great for brief bursts of reflection or hesitant writers who would struggle to write meaningful journal entries or essays. In fact, you can combine twitter with #6 for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/learning\/reflective-questions\/\"><strong>twitter exit slips<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><b>5. 3-2-1<\/b><\/p>\n<p>3-2-1 is a tried-and-true way to frame anything from a pair-share or journal entry (e.g., ask students to write 3 things they think they know, 2 things they know they don\u2019t know, and one thing they\u2019re certain of about a topic) pre-assessment to a post-assessment (e.g., list three ways your essay reflected mastery of skill X, two ways skill Y still needs improving, and one way you can make your argument stronger in the next five minutes) to a reflection of the post-assessment.<\/p>\n<p>Read more about <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/critical-thinking\/3-2-1-strategy\/\">using the 3-2-1 format for critical thinking<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><b>6. Exit Slips<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Whether you call them exit slips or exit tickets, asking students to briefly leave behind some residue of learning\u2013a thought, a definition, a question\u2013is a powerful teaching strategy. In fact, \u2018exit-slip teaching\u2019 literally drives how I use data in the classroom. Asking students to drop some bit of reflection of the learning process on a chair by the door on the way out is a no-brainer.<\/p>\n<p>Some examples?<\/p>\n<p>How did you respond emotionally to something you struggled with today? What did you find most surprising about _____? How did your understanding of _______ change today? What about _____ still confuses you or makes your curious?<\/p>\n<p><b>7. Write-Around<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I love write-arounds\u2013easy ways for students to write asynchronously and collaboratively. And the writing fragments students use don\u2019t have to be prose\u2013certain key vocabulary and phrases can help students reflect, but most importantly in a write-around, help students learning from one another as each student is able to read other responses before creating theirs.<\/p>\n<p><b>8. Sketch<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Whether by sketch-notes or doodles, allowing students to draw what they think they know, how they believe their learning has changed, or some kind of metaphorical pathway towards deeper understanding is a great learning strategy for students that tend towards creative expression, and a non-threatening way for struggling students to at least write <i>something<\/i> down on paper you can use to gauge understand and plan your (their) next step.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. Podcast<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Through podcasting as a reflecting strategy, students will talk about their learning while recording. If you want to keep it \u2018closed-circuit\u2019 (not published), or actually push it to a public audience of some kind depends on the learning and students and privacy issues and so on.<\/p>\n<p>This can also be simply an audio file recorded and uploaded to a private YouTube channel that\u2019s shared with teachers or parents.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. Brainstorming<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Brainstorming can be an effective reflection strategy because it disarms issues with other approaches. For hesitant writers, journaling may not work because the writing process could overwhelm the learning. Podcasting may not work for shy students, Pair-Share may not work well if students are paired effectively, and so on.<\/p>\n<p>Brainstorming is much simpler. Students could take an allotted time to write down everything they remember about a topic. Or, they could brainstorm questions they still have (things they\u2019re confused or curious about). They could even brainstorm how what what they learned literally connects with what they already know by creating a concept map.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11. Jigsawing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jigsawing is a grouping strategy where a task, concept, or something \u2018larger\u2019 is broken down into small puzzles pieces, and students in groups analyze the small puzzle piece, then share out to create the puzzle at large. Using this approach for reflection is seamless: Among other approaches, you can prompt students in groups to gather and share questions they have (you could group by readiness\/ability, for example) in groups, and then choose one question that they weren\u2019t able to answer among themselves with the whole class (anonymously\u2013no one has to know who wrote the question).<\/p>\n<p><strong>12. Prezi<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Think of a cross between a sketch, collage, and presentation, and you have a prezi. Engaging\u2013though distracting and overwhelming if the reflection you need is minor\u2013reflection tool that allows students to create an artifact of learning for their digital portfolios.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13. Vlog<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This reflection strategy is close to \u2018Podcasting\u2019 and even has something in common with pair-sharing. By reflecting through vlog\u2019ing, students simply talk about their learning to a camera.<\/p>\n<p>This approach would be successful for students that love talking to a camera, but less so for others (who, if they have to talk at all about their learning, may prefer podcasting\u2013or simply recording audio files that are never published.<\/p>\n<p><strong>14. Collage<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You could do a normal collage of learning reflections, but a multimedia collage is also possible\u2013maybe a sketchnote with a voiceover recorded as a YouTube video to share as a quick presentation with the class (or absent students).<\/p>\n<p><b>15. Journaling<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The University of Missouri-St Louis offers 3 kinds of journals that demonstrate the different possibilities of the otherwise vanilla-sounding \u2018journaling.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Personal Journal<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Students will write freely about their experience. This is usually done weekly. These personal journals may be submitted periodically to the instructor, or kept as a reference to use at the end of the experience when putting together an academic essay reflecting their experience. (Hatcher 1996)<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Dialogue Journal<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Students submit loose-leaf pages from a dialogue journal bi-weekly (or otherwise at appropriate intervals) for the instructor to read and comment on. While labor intensive for the instructor, this can provide continual feedback to students and prompt new questions for students to consider during the semester. (Goldsmith, 1995)<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Highlighted Journal<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Before students submit the reflective journal, they reread personal entries and, using a highlighter, mark sections of the journal that directly relate to concepts discussed in the text or in class. This makes it easier for the instructor to identify the student to reflect on their experience in light of course content. (Gary Hesser, Augsberg College)<\/p>\n<p><em>15 Strategies For Students To Reflect On Their Learning; image attribution Flickr user woodleywonderworks<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.teachthought.com\/learning\/reflection-strategies\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] by Terry Heick Reflection is a natural part of learning. We all think about new experiences\u2013the camping on the car ride home, the mistakes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":225443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225442"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}