Schlosser and Franken

How do I learn? Reflections from Kindergarten

Tawnya Schlosser, Bluewater District School Board, Hanover, ON, Canada; Jane Franken, Bluewater District School Board, Whitechurch, ON, Canada

Abstract:

Throughout the past four years, we, as the two educators in a full-day Junior and Senior Kindergarten classroom, had been working to provide opportunities for the students to gain independence in their learning. However, we wondered if our students needed to be able to reflect and develop metacognitive skills in order for them to develop to their full learning potential.

We kept an educator journal of our thoughts, feelings and questions throughout the project. The students were also asked to reflect on their thoughts and feelings using reflection sheets, conferences, and class discussions. These reflections were captured in written, video and photograph forms by both the educators and the students themselves.

Throughout the project students were supported with educator modelling and scaffolding during a number of different activities. Some of those activities included: one on one conferences, creating and leading virtual trips, reflecting on art creations, and individual research projects.

By the end of the year, we noticed that the students were able to confidently state what they were learning, and the classroom resources that they were using to support their learning. We also observed that the students were beginning to independently articulate their own reflections about how they knew when learning was taking place, and plan next steps for improvement. We learned, along with our students, that young children have the ability to engage in the metacognitive process to support, develop and extend their own learning.

Keywords:

reflection, kindergarten, independence, metacognition, documentation