by Josh Kurzweil In his book “How We Think,” John Dewey talks about how reflection is a trainable skill. In this blog, I want to offer some of the ways in which we have put Dewey’s idea in practice with the reflective essay writing and feedback sessions on the course. We use the DIGPA (Describe, Interpret, Generalize, Plan Action) framework in our course in Berkeley and have created a thread throughout the course to help participants systematically develop their reflective skills. Over the years, we have developed some sequences and activities that have helped participants develop their skills more quickly and effectively. Tip #1: Use DIGPA Posters Introduce DIGPA on Day 1. We have a DIGPA poster hanging on the wall from the very first day and refer to it when debriefing lessons. Tip #2: Use Lesson Outlines Write up outlines of activities and lessons to help Ps focus on segments. For example on the first day of our course we do an ice-breaker called the ‘Magazine Picture Mingle.’ We list the 5 or 6 steps of that activity and then ask Ps to focus on a step so that they have a clear segment/slice from the lesson. Tip #3: Sequence the reflection tasks. We have found that it is much easier for participants to reflect on themselves as learners rather than leaping into reflecting on their own lessons as teachers. So…
Tip #4: Teach DIGPA Essays as a Writing Genre DIGPA essays have particular characteristics that make them effective. When Ps have a chance to read and analyze samples of effective DIGPA essays, they get a better sense of what they are going for in their own reflections and why. Here are the steps that we follow in our session.
Tip#5: Do DIGPA Outlines and Talks Some Ps can get bogged down with the actual essay writing, so it can be helpful to have them fill out and/or discuss DIGPA charts. This type of a quick reflection can also help Ps realize that we usually don’t think in a linear way, but the DIGPA framework can help Ps sort their thoughts, adding to different parts. Ex. If an action plan pops up, ask yourself, “What happened in the lesson that made me think that would help?” Tip#6: Label Participant Comments in Post-teaching Feedback As part of the active listening in feedback sessions, we try to label comments in terms of DIGPA stages so that Ps can develop their awareness and expand their ideas. Ex. That’s an interesting interpretation. What exactly happened in the lesson that made you think that? Can you offer more description? So… these are some of the ways we have worked on reflective skills in Berkeley. What ideas/reactions do they bring up for you? What are other ways that you support reflective skills among participants?
25 Comments
Welcome! My name is Josh Kurzweil and I have been an SIT TESOL Cert trainer since 2000. I ran the course in Kyoto for 4 years and then started up the site in Berkeley, CA in 2007. I love the SIT Trainer community and am always stunned when I think about the incredible talent that we have in our little community. After talking with the folks in D.C., I decided that it might be nice to have a website where we could share ideas and resources in a way that was more permanent than the list serve and Facebook posts. I have built out this space so that we can organize and share ideas, websites, videos, articles, etc. related to teaching, training, and teacher development. My hope is that this will be a constantly evolving resource for us as we run our courses, teach, and do our various projects.
Have a look through the site, you'll find some little bits and pieces that I have found useful. I'll be adding more, too, and am hoping that you will send me things to add. In addition, I'm planning to do some more blog posts about topics related to teaching & training, and I'd also love to have this be a place where you trainers can post guest blogs about topics that interest you. What are your thoughts about this blog/website? What would you like to see added? Do you have any suggestions about how to organize the pages? Please post your comments below! More to come soon! Josh |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
August 2018
Categories |