Working Memory - Part 11 - Reflection

Reflecting is the act of thinking about what has been learned. It also involves  forming an opinion, making judgements, and predicting outcomes. 


In a reading activity it takes place in the after reading phase and at the metacognitive thinking level. At this level the reader is concerned about what and how he/she is learning. It is essentially concerned with the thinking and learning process. It follows on from goal setting in the before reading phase and monitoring thinking and comprehension strategies used in the during reading phase. 

While reflecting the learner will make judgements about how well he/she has been reading. It assesses whether or not the reading goals have been achieved. It considers how those goals were/were not achieved and how it could be improved in the future. This is an executive function of working memory and it enables the learner to make the necessary adjustments to reading skills that lead to self-regulation and reading independence.


How  children can be encouraged to reflect:

1. Encourage them to think about what they have learned about the content.
2. Encourage children to think about how they read and what they can do to improve comprehension.
3. Encourage discussion by focusing on making an opinion, making judgements about character roles, and predicting future story scenarios.
4. Model the types of questions that the children should ask.
5. Encourage children to generate their own questions. 
6. Provide question cues such as, "What did I think what ......?"
7. Encourage self-praise by making statements such as, "I did well when I......"
8. Encourage children to think about how their new knowledge can be shared or put to use.