For many students, report cards have recently been issued and, as summer commences, an evaluation of goals and a reflection on accomplishments (or disappointments) will fill young minds before another semester begins anew in the fall. During this downtime, I want to encourage all of those students out there to engage in some healthy metacognition (thinking about thinking) as a way to more thoroughly understand what just happened this spring and recognize areas of improvement before the new school year arrives.
Here’s the best way to self-evaluate: endlessly ask yourself why. Why did I get a D in my English class this semester? Because I’m not a strong writer. Why am I not a strong writer? I don’t read that much, I’m not great with grammar, and I tend to procrastinate. Since I know those things about myself, why have I not addressed them? Because I don’t care enough about English. Why don’t you care enough about a required class that you will have to continue to re-take until you pass it? I don’t know. I guess I should care more, at least enough to work hard on addressing my problem areas so I don’t have to take the class again. Yes! I’m on my way!
While this is helpful at the end of a term, this process is actually something you should be doing all the time—every Friday afternoon, every time you finish writing an essay, every time you get a graded paper back. You should be thinking about how you think (and perform all tasks) a lot. If you don’t, you will never know what went wrong and, subsequently, how to fix it so it doesn’t happen again.
Here’s another one: I just got a D on a paper...why? Well, I wrote it the night before it was due, and it turned out sloppy. Why did I wait until the night before it was due? Because I decided to hang out with friends every night this week instead of write. Why did I think hanging out with friends was more important than writing a solid paper? I don’t, so next time that choice is presented to me, I will consider my priorities more carefully and set more time aside for writing my paper. There! I have successfully discovered the root of my problem, addressed it, and formed a plan for doing better next time.
This time let’s get even more specific. I just received a low grade on a grammar quiz because I couldn’t remember rules for commas. Why don’t I know rules for commas? Because when the teacher was going over them in class, I was not paying attention. Why was I not paying attention? Because I was busy looking at my text messages. Why were you looking at texts instead of paying attention? Because I get easily distracted. Why do you let yourself get distracted? I don’t know. I guess putting my phone away will help me resist the temptation to be distracted, and since I will be more focused, I will pay more attention to the teacher. I might even take notes next time. Genius!
After many years of teaching, few things frustrate me more than when I see students continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. Take some time this summer to reflect on your personal learning process and truly commit to getting to the root cause of why you do the things you do academically. I promise, asking yourself why as often as possible will help you focus on improving, and, as long as you’re honest with yourself, great results will follow.
Here’s the best way to self-evaluate: endlessly ask yourself why. Why did I get a D in my English class this semester? Because I’m not a strong writer. Why am I not a strong writer? I don’t read that much, I’m not great with grammar, and I tend to procrastinate. Since I know those things about myself, why have I not addressed them? Because I don’t care enough about English. Why don’t you care enough about a required class that you will have to continue to re-take until you pass it? I don’t know. I guess I should care more, at least enough to work hard on addressing my problem areas so I don’t have to take the class again. Yes! I’m on my way!
While this is helpful at the end of a term, this process is actually something you should be doing all the time—every Friday afternoon, every time you finish writing an essay, every time you get a graded paper back. You should be thinking about how you think (and perform all tasks) a lot. If you don’t, you will never know what went wrong and, subsequently, how to fix it so it doesn’t happen again.
Here’s another one: I just got a D on a paper...why? Well, I wrote it the night before it was due, and it turned out sloppy. Why did I wait until the night before it was due? Because I decided to hang out with friends every night this week instead of write. Why did I think hanging out with friends was more important than writing a solid paper? I don’t, so next time that choice is presented to me, I will consider my priorities more carefully and set more time aside for writing my paper. There! I have successfully discovered the root of my problem, addressed it, and formed a plan for doing better next time.
This time let’s get even more specific. I just received a low grade on a grammar quiz because I couldn’t remember rules for commas. Why don’t I know rules for commas? Because when the teacher was going over them in class, I was not paying attention. Why was I not paying attention? Because I was busy looking at my text messages. Why were you looking at texts instead of paying attention? Because I get easily distracted. Why do you let yourself get distracted? I don’t know. I guess putting my phone away will help me resist the temptation to be distracted, and since I will be more focused, I will pay more attention to the teacher. I might even take notes next time. Genius!
After many years of teaching, few things frustrate me more than when I see students continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. Take some time this summer to reflect on your personal learning process and truly commit to getting to the root cause of why you do the things you do academically. I promise, asking yourself why as often as possible will help you focus on improving, and, as long as you’re honest with yourself, great results will follow.