With demanding schedules, teachers may start to feel that they just can’t justify taking minutes out of the end of lessons to have a “wrap-up,” or a whole-class reflection. But this can prove to be a costlier sacrifice than many realize.
As we seek to bolster our students’ metacognitive strategies, we need to model to them the importance of setting aside time for reflection. However, this does not need to be as complex or time-consuming as it may sound. The most important aspect is consistency.
What Wrap-Up May Sound Like:
- “What did you notice?”
- “Why was that difficult/easy?”
- “Who tried it another way?”
- “What strategies did your group try?”
What Wrap-Up May Look Like:
- Students exchanging notebooks
- Students demonstrating methods on the board
- Groups pairing up to exchange findings
- Students adding post-it notes to a unit bulletin board
- Class recording conclusions and realizations on chart paper to be displayed on the wall
- Students submitting feedback in the form of digital “exit tickets” on 1:1 devices.
- Discover where students stand in their understanding–find out where the learning should go next.
- Discuss the intended learning goal and identify evidence that it was explored–or ways that it can be better investigated.
- Students have the opportunity to share “aha” moments.
- Students have the opportunity to share misconceptions and seek clarification.
- Students learn alternative methods from peers.
- Build the sense of your class as a community of learners–one that consistently gathers to share findings in order to build up learning.
- Students develop metacognitive skills.
- Increase the likelihood that the memory of that segment of learning will last.
These are just a few of the benefits from personal classroom observations–the best way to find out the power of wrap-ups is to try them yourself!
Featured Image: US Army