Digital tools for reflection in action, on action and for action.

The Context 

Last week I discussed the solution to a Chemistry problem in my classes and as we went about considering the steps I observed that most students were having problems in getting the answer. They claimed that a key piece of data was missing and that the question could not be solved. I paused and considered what was happening and why it was happening. Next, I asked a guiding question to help jog students memory about the so called missing number. Some of them immediately realized what they had forgotten and then jumped in to solve the question and gain a feeling of accomplishment.

Reflection in Action

As I read Benade (2015) I noted the references made to Schon (1983) about reflection in action and reflection on action. Reflection in action occurs while a lesson is being delivered and it refers to adjustments made by the teacher to cater to issues that might arise. In the example above I observed that students had forgotten a key piece of knowledge that had to be applied to solving a problem and while the lesson was in progress I asked guiding questions to help them recall the information. While this kind of reflection in action is useful it does not unearth all of the student misconceptions. Several digital tools can help to provide quick feedback with individual student data and the teacher can get specific details on students' perceptions. If these tools are used effectively then they can scaffold student understanding and foster student reflection. Some tools include Kahoot and LMS like moodle.

Reflection on Action

At the end of the lesson I searched for some similar questions to share with the students and I took a mental note of this issue to inform my future practice. I plan to make an instructional video to share this guidance. I made a similar video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_NyrZBJsNA

when I noticed that students were confounded by the terms amphoteric and amphiprotic. In this latter case Benade (2015) cites Schon (1993) and identifies that post lesson action is termed reflection on action. I believe that the power to create and share a video is a great tool to allow the teacher to act on  the findings of post lesson reflections with corrective action. 

Reflection for Action

Videos like the one cited above are also used to guide future students and I often share them with colleagues and students at other schools. The feedback I receive from this is then another scenario for reflection in action and for action as I examine way to improve the quality of the presentation. Below is an example of the feedback I received on YouTube.

REFERENCES:

Benade, L. (2015). The transformative educative prospects of flexible learning environments. Teachers Work, 12(1), 9–13. doi: 10.24135/teacherswork.v12i1.47