Literacy-Focused Reflection and Metacognition with Students
Dr. Jason D. DeHart is a teacher at Wilkes Central High School in North Carolina, and was an assistant professor of reading education at Appalachian State University. DeHart's research interests include multimodal literacy, including film and graphic novels, and literacy instruction with adolescents. He taught middle grades English/Language Arts for eight years and continues to work to keep current with trends in education. DeHart’s work has recently appeared in SIGNAL Journal, English Journal, and The Social Studies, and he has a co-edited the volume, Connecting Theory and Practice in Middle School Literacy, to be released by Routledge later this year. He is passionate about literacy, inclusivity, engaged reading, and authentic writing practices.
There is a long tradition of reflective practice among educators. In fact, administrators at the building level and superintendents at the district level often require end-of-year reflection and goalsetting in many schools. Indeed, much has been written about this kind of reflection for the individual teacher and through mentoring practices.
However, there is another dimension of reflection to consider which involves the student. Students benefit from practicing agency in their learning. This includes awareness of their strengths and areas for growth. Without this honest awareness, asking students to act and take part in their learning can feel frustrating and foster uncertainty.
Goalsetting with Older Readers
This is especially delicate work for older readers. If a student is not reading at grade level in middle school and beyond, awareness of these areas of need can be overwhelming. These are not conversations which should take place publicly, and posting scores to challenge students can be a humiliating prospect.
Simple, one-on-one conversations with students can be one way to approach this process. It is important to keep in mind that students – and their families – need information to be conveyed in understandable terms. Showing a computer-generated chart might not result in immediate consensus. Instead, conversations can focus on which standards students have mastered and which areas of key need would be meaningful for next steps.
Developing Cultures of Agency
These conversations should begin early, but educators at the secondary level do not always have the benefit of developing this kind of early communication for meaningful intervention later on. Fostering dialogue in vertical planning and developing a culture of open communication and goal-setting are important steps.
This begins with district and school leadership – the work of literacy need not be an area of secrecy or uncertain practices at any level. There is a wealth of research to inform educators in their approach and perspective.
Conversations with students can begin with questions and prompts like:
- Tell me about something you feel like you can do on your own in class without anyone else.
- When you are reading, what are you thinking about?
- What do you imagine when you read?
- What questions do you ask as you read?
- Tell me about a time you wrote or created something in class that had meaning for you.
- How did you work to get that meaning across in your writing and composing?
Questions like this can lead to greater awareness of literacy practices for educators and their students. From here, goal setting can begin, and students can take a leadership role in how these goals and formed. Conversations can and should involve family members and stakeholders.
References
Beauchamp, C. (2015). Reflection in teacher education: issues emerging from a review of current literature. Reflective practice, 16(1), 123-141.
Chung, H. Q., Chen, V., & Olson, C. B. (2021). The impact of self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection before and after revision on student self-efficacy and writing performance. Reading and Writing, 34(7), 1885-1913.
Moeller, A. J., Theiler, J. M., & Wu, C. (2012). Goal setting and student achievement: A longitudinal study. The Modern Language Journal, 96(2), 153-169.
Nordengren, C. (2021). Step into student goal setting: A path to growth, motivation, and agency. Corwin Press.
Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2007). Teachers: The next generation. ASCD Express.