Year 2, Lesson 1.2 - Reflecting together

Unit Learning Goal

Students will reflect on the meaning of the three Es of Good Work (excellence, ethics, and engagement) in applicable contexts. 

Lesson Goal

Students will be able to demonstrate recognition of reflective practices and reflect together as a group.

Assessment

  • Monitor participation and responses during reflection activities for understanding of the concept of reflection.

  • Analyze exit tickets for understanding of how reflection impacts decision making.

portfolio documentation

Resources

  • A way to share the Art as Metaphor slides on a screen with the class and/or print-outs of the art images

  • Art as Metaphor Slides

Total TIME

45 minutes

  • Remind students of the lesson they did on reflection last year, including the Mirror Test Handout.

    Remind students of the norms that were set during introductory Lesson 1.1. Display the norms and/or read them aloud. Ask students if they have any thoughts after consideration about what should be added or changed.

Instructions

1. Opener: What again IS reflection? [5 minutes].

  • Remind students of the following definitions of reflection:

    • Careful consideration, a thought occurring in consideration or meditation (dictionary.com)

    • “The process of engaging in attentive, critical, exploratory and iterative interactions with one’s own thoughts and actions, and their underlying conceptual frame, with a view to change.” (Nguyen et al., 2014)

  • Remind students that the Good Project describes reflection as a process of: routinely stopping, pausing, and considering where one is coming from, what one has learned, and where one is wanting to go or what one hopes to achieve.

  • Remind students that reflection can take place individually, in pairs or small groups, as well as in a large group (such as the class as a whole). 

  • Tell students that, as with last year, the expectation is that this process of reflection becomes a habit in a student’s life.

2. Art as Metaphor Reflection Activity [30 minutes].

  • Share with students (either on a screen, or via print outs) the slides from the Art as Metaphor activity.

  • Explain to students:

    • “In this activity we will be using art as a metaphor for our own understanding of reflection. We are not looking to understand the artist’s actual intentions of their work. We also do not have to be drawn to the entire work of art–we can focus on only part of a work of art. This is about works of art helping us with our understanding of reflection.”

  • Explain to students that they will be seeing 5 images. They should quickly choose the image that they feel represents the idea of reflection to them, and note the number of the image. 

  • Show students each of the 5 pieces of artwork, spending about 5-10 seconds on each slide and ending with the slide showing all 5 pieces of art. 

  • Break the class up into small groups, based on the artwork students have chosen (e.g., all students who chose artwork #1, get into one group, all students who chose artwork #2, get into another group, and so on). If you end up with groups larger than 5 (perhaps 6 students choose artwork #1), break those groups up into smaller groups (so in this scenario, you would have two groups of 3 who would discuss artwork #1).

  • Students will spend 15 minutes discussing the art they chose and how it represents reflection to them. Discussion questions include:

    • How does your image represent reflection to you? 

    • What stuck out in the image to you? What drew you to the image? 

    • Does anything in the image make you think differently about reflection? What does it make you think? 

  • Come back together and have one representative from each group briefly report on the conversation their group had regarding the image and their discussion of how they feel it relates to reflection. (10 minutes total, so perhaps 1-2 minutes per group).

3. Metacognition Moment: Why do we reflect? [5 minutes].

  • Lead the class in a group discussion. Some questions to consider: 

    • How did your individual ideas about the art evolve after hearing from others in your group?

    • How do you think the outcomes of this activity would have been different if you had only been asked to reflect on your choice of artwork alone?

    • What did you notice about the act of slowing down during the group discussion of your collective ideas about the art? 

      • How does the way you see things change when you slow down compared to how you were thinking when you had to quickly pick an image at the start of the activity?

  • Lead a discussion about benefits of group reflection.

    • Explain how when reflecting with a group, you get the added benefit of others’ perspectives, which can help make you aware of obstacles and opportunities you may have missed on your own.

    • Group reflection is an important exercise in many professions, particularly ones involving teamwork, large-scale projects, and/or collaboration.

4. Closing and Exit Ticket [5 minutes].

Students will complete the Lesson 1.2 Exit Ticket.

This lesson was inspired by an activity designed and developed by Shari Tishman, Project Zero.

Lesson Walkthrough

Watch this short video guide for lesson specific advice from The Good Project Research Team.