Day 4: Reflective Writing

Welcome back from the long weekend.  What was the highlight of your weekend?

Short List: 

1. Attendance
2. Warm-up
3. Writer's Help Check
4. Reflecting and Goal-Setting

Homework: 

• Email me (jpbair2@illinois.edu) describing:
• What you think are two strengths in your writing (based on what you see in your diagnostic)
• Two areas that you could improve (based on what you see in your diagnostic) 
• Your imagined "plan" for things we could incorporate into the class/your own time that would help you improve on those two areas in your writing
• Set two goals that you can measure and observe for your writing

---

The Details
Schedule of events:

1. Attendance Check

2. [10-15 minutes] Community Circle Activity
We are creating a community in this classroom.  I believe that students can only learn in an environment of safety, mutual respect, and collaboration.  In order to make this community, we need to be good neighbors.

• What do good neighbors do? 

3.  [5 minutes] Writer's Help Check

1. Reminders to get it
• On Jon's late work policy
2. Some features
• Contents vs. Index
• Exercise Help
• Scorecard
3. Grading
• Using this sheet. 

4. [25-30 minutes] Reflecting and Goal-Setting

1. Look at this picture: Link to the picture
• What is he doing? 
• What do you see in this picture?
• What do you think the man in this picture was probably thinking while doing this? 
2. Now, look at this picture: Link to picture 2
3. We aren't going to actually write a full reflection today, but I want you guys to look at this example reflection and identify 3 main parts of a reflection.  
• Part 1: _________________ 
• Part 2: _________________
• Part 3: _________________
4. After learning the basics about how to reflect, we are going to look at our diagnostic essays and my notes on them and practice some reflection.  You are encouraged to brainstorm and take notes, but you will not be permitted to take your diagnostic home yet.  You will be permitted to keep you diagnostic with my notes on Friday.  

Attribution: In section 4, "Reflecting and Goal-Setting" numbers 1-3 are borrowed and adapted from Eunice Nam's and Jenna Suk's original creation. 

Homework:
From both experience and my reading of the current research, one of the biggest, most important keys to learning is self-reflection.  The homework today, naturally, is to practice self-reflecting.  Good learners do this automatically without even having to think about its necessity, and all of us do it about something we are really passionate about learning.  Often, however, the parts of our studies that do not come to us as naturally or as passionately require more conscious intentionality.  With that in mind, we will begin our somewhat frequent reflecting in this class today.

Email me (jpbair2@illinois.edu) describing:

• What you think are two strengths in your writing (based on what you see in your diagnostic)
• Two areas that you could improve (based on what you see in your diagnostic) 
• Your imagined "plan" for things we could incorporate into the class/your own time that would help you improve on those two areas in your writing
• Set two goals that you can measure and observe for your writing

This email should be in my inbox by class time on Friday.  

If you have not yet registered Writer's Help and done at least one exercise, it will be counted late after class on Friday following the normal Late Work Policy.