This post is the fourth in a quick series on ‘ten tools for thinking and reflection’.
Tool Four
When you’d like students to reflect on a list of items and the value of each, this strategy is simple and surprisingly effective.
If you can afford it, it works best with those tiny ‘Post-Its’ as they can be re-positioned easily.
Students decide on their criterion (or characteristic) and then write each item to be evaluated on a separate Post-It (or piece of paper). They then assemble these in rank order in relation to the criterion.
For example, if the criterion was ‘honesty’ and the items were characters from a story, the most honest would take the ‘first’ position.
A more interesting use for this strategy would be to assess aspects of a project or a larger assignment. if the criterion was ‘excellent work,’ they would have to decide on what makes for such work and which elements would be most important. Students might also use it to reflect on their own performance or the strengths of another’s piece of work.
The reflection and thinking in this strategy takes place largely in the discussion phase – where students negotiate the position of each item.
Filed under: Education, Resources, Teaching, Thinking Skills
