The Power of Reflection - LTP

I recently read a summary of John Medina's Brain Rules. The author makes many good points, but my favorite is that intentional reflection is important to real, long term knowledge acquisition. This point resonated with me because I've seen the value of reflection up close and personal in my students' Learning Target Projects (LTPs).

As I explained in an earlier entry, my students work through the Learning Targets independently. Periodically, students are required to reflect on prior Learning Targets and to create an LTP. This project can be just a review of the taught and learned content, or it can go beyond that learning into related content and/or result in a unique representation of the content.  Here are some examples of LTPs students have created:

• A video explanation of the difference between stated and implied information
• A hyperlink immigration educator (think interactive info kiosk)
• A 3D model of a sandwich with attached info representing the organization of text
• A flowchart poster showing the history of changes to American government
• An Alaskan volcano recreated in a Minecraft virtual environment
• A picture book of a student-authored narrative
• A conversation with a teacher about U.S. citizenship
• A homemade playdough sculpture/map of an archipelago
• A board game about the U.S. Constitution
• A preprogramming (Scratch) animation explaining how the stock market works
• An electronic concept web showing the causes, turning points, and effects of the Civil War
• A comic describing the immigration experiences of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
• A hyperlink quiz about the branches of U.S. government
• A woven Penobscot basket covered with info about Maine
• A snow sculpture of a fault drop mountain

Some of these projects were stellar.  Others...well...not so much. However, the important part of the LTP is not the product itself. Rather, what is important is the reengagement with and extension of learned content. Pretty projects are nice and usually quite engaging, but the real benefit of an LTP is that students are required to spend time reflecting on the standards they have just met or exceeded. In our hurry up and do the next thing world, reflection is often cast by the wayside. That's a shame because it is that reflection that helps lock content into the long term memories of many students.

The LTP reinforces the point that school is not just about passing assessments; it's about learning, creating, and (hopefully) remembering.