Putting Observation and Reflection Together
Putting Observation and Reflection Together
A short example. The teacher from the earlier step-by-step example who ran the map activity for Grade 6.
Observation data after four weeks
- Pre-test: 30% of students correctly labeled five continents.
- Post-test: 72% of students correctly labeled five continents. 48% labeled all seven.
- Weekly quizzes: steady upward trend.
- Teacher’s journal: students engaged in 14 of the 15 sessions. One session collapsed due to a noisy day.
- Group interview: students said the daily activity made the maps feel “less scary” and that they remembered the continents by associating each one with the matching color used in the activity.
Reflection
What worked. The continuous, brief format. Five minutes daily over four weeks beat one long lesson per week. The use of color coding helped students remember.
What did not work. The activity required the same group of students to come prepared every day. Three students who were frequently absent fell behind and never caught up.
Why. Daily exposure with color codes built memory. The format failed students with poor attendance because the daily structure could not absorb missed sessions.
What should change. Cycle 2 should add a short Friday recap session that catches absent students up. Cycle 2 should also test whether the color coding works for harder concepts like ocean names and major rivers.
That is a strong reflection. It gives the next cycle a clear starting point.
One more card breaks the same idea into its three parts.
