Planning & Reflection Prompts

"We do not learn from experience ... we learn from reflecting on experience." John Dewey

Reflections on Process

• Planning

  • How did I choose my project topic? What interested me about it?

  • How did I break down my big project into smaller, manageable tasks?
    How well has that worked for me?

  • How have my goals changed? Why? What makes my new goals SMART Goals?

  • What's one example of how you adapted your plan when something unexpected happened?

  • Today I/we improved* my/our original plan/design by … because …

    • *improved = better, cooler, prettier, cheaper, safer, more effective, more efficient … 

  • A different way to accomplish my/our task would be …

  • I/We didn't get as far as I/we planned because ... What did you learn from this experience, and how might you adjust your plan or approach for better progress next time?

  • I/We got further than I/we had planned because ...

• Time Management

  • An example of me/us managing our time well was …

    • This week I/we took the proper time for the job when ...

  • How did I prioritize my tasks during this project? Was this effective?

  • Describe a time when you had to adjust your schedule. What caused this, and how did you handle it?

  • The strategies I use to stay on track with my project timeline are …
    They are helpful because …

  • What has been the most challenging part of managing my time during this project? How can I improve next time?

• Learning Resource Management

  • What resources (videos, websites, people, etc.) have been most helpful? How/why were they helpful?

  • One resource I found during my project and wished I had known about earlier is … It would have been helpful for … 

  • One resource I wish were available is … (describe the format and content) OR
    If I could create my own perfect resource for this project, what would it be and why?

• Team Member Management

  • We divided responsibilities by … This has been this effective/ineffective because … Going forward we will … because …

• What is going well? What is challenging?

• How did my project management skills evolve throughout this process?

• Next time I/we would …

• What tools or apps did you use to help manage your project? How effective were they?

Reflections on new Skills and Growth

• What specific skill have I improved the most? How can I continue to develop it?

• In what ways did I step out of my comfort zone during this project?

• What's one skill I didn't expect to develop during this project, but did?

• How has my approach to learning new skills changed as a result of this experience?

Reflections on Growth Mindset, (including Iteration, Resilience & Grit)

• One example of a FAILure we had was … 

  • One challenge I/we overcame today was … I/we solved this by …

  • How did I turn a mistake into a learning opportunity during this project?

• Today I/we had "hard fun" when …

• Describe a moment when you wanted to give up. What motivated you to persist?

• How did I reframe a setback as opportunities for growth?

• My/our mindset affected how I/we did my/our work by ...

• What is an example of me iterating on an idea or step? What was my initial approach, how did I modify it, and what did I learn from the process?

• Think about a challenging moment you faced while working on your project. How did you demonstrate resilience in overcoming this obstacle? Describe the strategies you used to persevere and the impact this experience had on you.

• What strategies did I use/develop to maintain motivation during challenging parts of the project?

Reflections on Challenges & Problem-Solving

• I/We keep making the same mistake. This might be because ... What new strategies can you try next time to overcome this mistake?

• I/We am/are having difficulty with … One way I/we might try to solve it is … What steps or resources might help?

• What unexpected challenges arose, and how did they affect our workflow?

• We don't understand … What questions can you ask or what resource(s) might you consult that can help you gain a better understanding?

• We want to know ...

  • One thing I/we am/are curious about after today is ... 

• What was easiest? Most challenging? Why?

• One unexpected thing that happened this week was …

• What has been the biggest problem I faced, and what steps did I take to solve it?

• We are having difficulty with … Next time, we will try ...

Reflections on Impact & Application

• How could what I learned from this project help me in other subjects or in my daily life?

• What does this help you do that's important? 

Reflections on Learning about Learning

• I seem to learn better or work better when I ... An example of this is … 

• One thing that got in the way of my/our learning today was … What approach or strategy could you try to overcome this obstacle, and how might that help you succeed in the future?

• I/we demonstrated character by ...

• What skills/knowledge can you take from your project to use in your life outside of class?

• Where could I/we use the skills/knowledge again?

• Why is what I am learning important/useful?

• What patterns did you notice in how you approach or do your work/thinking?

• What connections did you make? (to previous projects, other classes, etc.)  or I/we made a connection today ...

• I/We learned...

  • What do I/we know now I/we didn’t know before?

  • What can I/we do now I/we couldn’t do before?

  • How did I/we learn it? What helped my/our learning?

  • How do you know you learned it?

• Things I/we still want to learn are … 

Reflections on Character, Emotions and Social Learning (including Collaboration)

• One way I/we showed resilience was ...

• One way I/we connected/collaborated with others was …

• One way I/we helped someone else today was ...

• One frustration I/we had was ... One way I/we dealt with it was ...

• One way I/we added to our learning/making community was …

• What about my thinking, learning, or work today brought me the most satisfaction? Why?

  • What was fun? What did I/we enjoy? Why?

• Why was this project meaningful to me/us?

• Did I do an effective job of communicating my learning to others? How do I know that?

• Were there times when you felt overwhelmed? How did you handle this?

• What surprised you?

• If you were __ (person), what comments would you make about yourself?

• Describe a time when you had to ask for help or advice on your project. How did this impact your work?

• How did I/we feel?

• One way I/we received and used feedback today was ... That feedback showed us that I/we ... 

Reflections on Metacognition

(thinking about thinking, monitoring thinking, directing thinking)

• How can I best use my strengths to improve my process or product?

• One big/important question I/we answered today was ... I/we answered it by ...

• This week I/we had a breakthrough when ...

• What breakthrough(s) did you have?

• One way I/we showed resourcefulness was ...

• One way I/we demonstrated "self-monitoring" was …

• One way I/we were strategic was …

  • One example where I/we thought ahead was ...

• What skills did I/we use that I/we already had?

• How could I/we make it better? More interesting?

• When were you the most creative? Why do you think that is?

• What strategies did I use to keep myself motivated and focused?

• What is relevant and irrelevant? Important and unimportant?

Reflections on Achievement

• Describe your progress towards your goals

• My/our achievement was affected by ... This caused ... 

• I/We were efficient/inefficient because ...

• I/We were effective/ineffective because …

• One important takeaway for me from this project is …

• I/we ended our project without completing it because … This is a thoughtful idea because …

• How did you ensure the quality of your work throughout the project?

• Describe your process for reviewing and improving your work as you progressed.

• How closely does your final project match your initial vision? What factors contributed to any differences?

• How much progress did I/we expect to make? How much progress did I/we make? What affected my/our progress?

Reflections on Vision and Future Aspirations

• In what ways do you think you could improve? 

• What if I/we …

End of Quarter/Year Reflections

• If I/we had a do over … OR
  If I could go back to the beginning of this project with the knowledge I have now, what would I do differently?

• If I/we had another week/month ...

• What tips would you offer for someone else trying this project?

• How have your projects helped you grow and mature as a learner?

• What skills have you developed that you will use again? 

• In what area(s) do you feel you have made the biggest improvements? Why is that?

• What challenges have you overcome? How did you get past those challenges? How did you grow as a result of facing those challenges?

• What important life lesson (academic or personal) have you learned that you’d like to share with an incoming 5th grader?

• If you were to redo a year of Thinkering Studio, what would you (not the teacher, not other students/partners) do differently so that you personally would get more out of it?
  (Learning is at least as dependent on the student as the teacher.)

• Thinking back to everything I have accomplished throughout the semester/year, what are you most proud of and why?

• Is there an assignment or project you would have liked to re-do, and what would you do differently the next time?

• What new/improved strengths do you have due to your work this quarter/year?

• How has this project influenced what I want to learn or do in the future?

• Having reflected on the quarter/year and your work/learning, what is one big goal you would like to set for yourself next quarter/year?