Reflecting on the experience is one of two activities necessary to improve our mathematical thinking (Siemon et al., 2021). In Teaching Mathematics: Foundations to Middle Years, we read that “reflecting may involve writing about where we got stuck, what we did to become unstuck, conjectures we tried, patterns we found, and strategies we used” (Siemon, p 145).

We know that reflection is an integral part of numeracy learning, but it can be easy to let it slip when we’re running out of time or don’t really have a plan of attack for how to elicit deep reflections in our students.

In the past I have also found some students to be uninterested in reflecting, but I think this spoke to the ways I was asking them to reflect which didn’t allow them any insight into their own thinking or learning.

This year I have regularly used a small rotation of reflection prompts for maths lessons with my class, allowing students to gain familiarity and confidence with ways they can reflect. Students know the routines well and their reflections are becoming increasingly more meaningful.

See below for a slide deck and download of the reflection prompts I have been using successfully with my students this year, plus a couple of others I want to try in future. Some of the reflections I’ve been using are from Rob Vingerhoets, which he generously shares on his website.

I hope they are useful for you. Please let me know any successful maths reflection prompts you use!

Sources

Siemon, D. et al. (2021) Teaching mathematics: Foundations to middle years / Dianne Siemon and 9 others. Docklands, Victoria: Oxford University Press.

Classroom maths ideas & activities for you. Rob Vingerhoets Maths is Fun. Available at: https://robvingerhoets.com.au/maths/classroom-maths-ideas/ (Accessed: 01 August 2023).