My students just finished up the first trimester yesterday. So we’re about a third of the way through the school year. In my mind this is a perfect time to reflect on the progress that has been made over the last couple months. All of my classes started near the end of August and many of my classes have recently completed the second or third unit. It’s been a great journey so far and we’ve made progress.
Last week I had a class conversation about progress and what it looks like in math class. We discussed growth and how it doesn’t look the same to everyone. To help facilitate the conversation I had students reflect on their unit assessments. Usually, I’d have students fill out a form indicating questions that were incorrect and then they’d code the errors. Students would then set a goal for the next unit. That process is detailed here.
This time around I wanted my students to recognize their growth and how their perceptions change over time. I also wanted students to preview the next unit and set a goal based on the preview. I modified a journal prompt from a colleague and decided to add sentence stems with space to write. I didn’t give students much advice or guidance on how to complete this, but I told them that I wanted them to be honest with their responses. The prompts are meant to have them reflect on their progress.
Students were able to follow the sentence stems a bit easier than past reflection prompts. The wonder question was left vague for a reason as it presents a way to indicate student interest and curiosity.
Most students were able to analyze their unit assessment and look for trends that were positive. I wanted to communicate that they should be proud of what they accomplish. Some students even looked beyond the test and wrote down that they were proud of how they improved their understanding of x skill. Other students stuck with the grade on the test and being proud of that aspect. I really like the “something I want to remember …” piece as it reinforces that what students are working on and developing will be used in the future.
Some students asked for more lines to write additional pieces that they learned. Again, I found there tended to be two camps of students. One group focused on the math concepts/skills, while others focused on the points/questions.
The “PA” is a pre-algebra activity that we complete to start the math class. It was interesting to read what students felt was the most difficult as some were more vulnerable than others. This year I’m emphasizing the idea that this class is part of their math journey and that we’re all mathematicians.
The next step was to preview the next unit and start to set a meaningful goal.
Student went through their math journals and looked for words or skills that didn’t ring a bell. At first students thought that everything looked fine and confidence was brimming a high level, but then they started to look at the wording. The next unit explores box plots and percentages. Based on the words/topics, students made a goal that they’d like to accomplish.
I appreciate how the above student extended the skill to learn about percentages and sports.
This particular student wants to become better at the “LCM box method” as it was explored last unit.
Students completed the page and then we discussed it together 1:1. I asked each student why they felt that the goal was relevant and meaningful. I’m looking at adding a progress monitoring piece to this goal as the class progresses through unit three. Ideally, I’d like to revisit the goal every 2-3 weeks to see what progress has been made towards the goal and make adjustments as needed. By doing this, I believe students are taking more of an ownership role as they can see progress made towards the goal.
You can find the entire template for the sheet here. Feel free to leave in the comments how you’d use this or if you have questions.
Educational Aspirations 
2 thoughts on “Math Reflections and Sentence Stems”