Glows & Grows
Having students reflect on their learning has always been very important to me. It is so important for them to know what they know and can do than do and it is worth the time and effort to help them see it. This is the simplest of simple reflection tools that I use. I can't take credit for it as it came from one of my students at the end of one of our classes We were debriefing an activity one day and I was asking them what went well and what could we improve upon. I can't remember exactly what the focus was but I do remember one young lady saying, "Oh, you mean glows & grows." And I guess that was exactly what I meant. I guess that was part of a reflection she had used in a writing program.
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It was perfect. From that point on I started using it. I can plan for it or I can use it on the fly when I see that it is needed. Individually, with partners, in groups and as teams, students can easily identify the glows and grows. Where do we glow (going well, showing growth, etc.) and where do we need to grow (improvement, need more work, etc.)? This is adaptable to pretty much any situation and the youngest of young can understand it. Now all I have to do is say "glows & grows" and they know what to do. One year I had a 7th and 8th grade class that wanted to change it up to "Sparkles & Suds." I like that one too. At a staff meeting a third grade teacher shared that one of her students used it during his student lead teacher conference. Yeah!!! I love it when that happens.
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