Self-Reported Grades, i.e. the Mirror Moment by Ralph Lagana

Self-Reported Grades, i.e. the Mirror Moment by Ralph Lagana

I don’t know too many people who aren't consumers of television shows and movies. Good or bad, we seem able to find time in our lives to watch a story presented for us on a screen. And, because of our common appetite for watching stories on screens, I feel supremely confident you’ll know what I mean when I write about the Mirror Moment.

The Mirror Moment is what I call the point in a dramatic TV show or movie when a character must finally take stock of himself. Almost always, this happens before a mirror. A rogue cop, a dishonest friend, even a self-deluded killer will at some point look into a reflecting glass and be forced to “see” himself for who he really is. It’s a decisive moment in many cases because we learn which path the character has chosen. That’s the Mirror Moment.

We've seen the Mirror Moment portrayed on screen so many times that it borders on pathetic. What holds it back from that precipice is that it rarely rings falsely to us. Without becoming too dramatic myself, I’ll merely note that we've all experienced the Mirror Moment, taken stock of our day, or behaviors, or acts. The Mirror Moment is a powerful experience as it can quite literally change how you act or think. I sometimes think it’s what keeps one from running amok.

Knowing that taking a true measure of oneself can be so effective, it would seem to make great sense to bring that into the classroom in some way. For myself, this means seriously considering if I've done enough by the end of each week or day. It can even be boiled down to individual periods. Was my lesson this period effective? This is something most teachers do. Anyone who observes a teacher doing a lesson several times a day will see it transform rather distinctly from start to finish. I digress…

If holding a mirror to oneself is good for the teacher, could it not also be good for the student? In other words: Would students benefit from holding the metaphorical mirror to themselves at the end of a class period? It certainly seems like it should. And, more importantly, there is research to support this.

John Hattie’s book, Visible Learning for Teachers, aims to make plain which visible efforts by schools and teachers have the greatest impact on students. Hattie has studied research on whether or not homework has a high, positive, effect on students. Does student choice have a large effect? Peer relations? Home life? Simulations and Gaming? Disruptive behaviors? And so forth. It’s a long list. One you can review here: visible-learning. 

Actually, it’s one I highly recommend you examine.

BUT

But, before you do, would you care to guess which visible behavior ranks the highest as having a positive effect on students and teachers in the classroom? Yeppers, that’d be the Mirror Moment, or as professionals like Hattie call it: “self-reported grades”.

Of course, educational research is not flawless. It can be and often is subjective. But, the data Hattie has compiled is compelling, enough that I’m going to give it a whirl this school year. Below is an image of a self-reporting grade card, I plan to present to students. Once a week, if my addled brain can remember to follow through on this, I will ask my students to stop for 3-4 minutes and reflect on their efforts in my classroom. I’ll ask them to look into the mirror and decide for themselves if they were attentive, managed to maintain good effort, and honestly attempted to complete classwork to the best of their abilities.

Kids are usually pretty honest about these things -sometimes too honest, scoring themselves lower than I might. We shall see.

We shall also see if Hattie’s data and my years of watching Mirror Moments hold up in the real world.

GW parents: If you're wondering how this can work for you at home, try asking your child to perform a similar reflection of her/his efforts to read or study at various points in the school year. I do recommend using an A/ B/ C/ Needs Improvement scale, as well as a short written piece, to help them frame their efforts. things. 

Focused Visualization by Ralph Lagana

Focused Visualization 

For those who struggle to comprehend, one of the hardest things to do is to "see" what's happening within the pages. Focused visualization is one way to assist a child with this difficulty.

Begin by locating a descriptive passage in the book your child is reading.

Before having your child read the passage, ask him to close his eyes and recall a favorite location. This can be a frequented vacation spot, the beach, or even your backyard. Ask: “What do you see? Hear and smell? How does this place make you feel?” 

Children, even very young ones, are often able to provide quite a bit of information as to what they’re “seeing”. 

If your child is having difficulty visualizing, try the experience yourself. Close your eyes and describe a place you both know well. 

Once you have successfully practiced visualizing a place, then note which words, which descriptive words, were used to make the image seen.

Now, give your child the clear purpose of reading the descriptive passage you’ve selected with the goal of visualizing what the author intended his readers to see. 

Below are some examples of highly descriptive passages that work well for focused visualization.

Andalucian Stallion

Standing on his hind legs, this rare Andalucía stallion is fearless. His ears are turned back while his noble looking head is held high. His all black coat glistens in the late afternoon sun. His face displays a strong confidence with his nostrils flared, his veins bulging from his cheek bones, and his fiery black eyes burning holes into the souls of those who stare into them. His neck muscles are tensed and thickened with adrenalin. His black main is thrown into the wind like a flag rippling in the winds of a tornado. His muscular front legs are brought up to his chest displaying his flashing gray hooves that could crush a man's scull with one blow. His backbone and underbelly are held almost straight up and his hind quarters are tensed. His back legs are spread apart for balance. His back hooves are pressed into the earth; therefore, his hooves cause deep gouges from the weight of his body on the soil. His black tail is held straight down and every once in a while a burst of wind catches it and then it floats down back into place like an elegant piece of silk falling from the sky. His bravery and strength are what made his breed prized as a warhorse. 

The Hot Fudge Sundae

In front of me on the table sat a beautiful pure white bowl, simplistic in design, hiding a decadent surprise inside. In the bowl was hidden something that was not so pure, however, the irresistible indulgence was worth every calorie that I knew it contained. As I looked inside I saw on the bottom of the bowl a hot, tender brownie loaded with macadamia nuts. I knew from past experience that the nuts had a creamy and smooth texture, almost like white chocolate. On top of the brownie were two firmly packed scoops of ice cream, laying side by side, each one a different flavor. The scoop on the right was a rich vanilla, flecked with dark specks of vanilla bean. The scoop on the left was a dark, smooth, bittersweet chocolate. The scoops were just starting to melt tiny rivers of melted cream down the sides of the hot brownie, pooling on the bottom of the pure white bowl. These scoops of ice cream were draped with a sumptuous, rich, hot fudge sauce. Topping the luscious sauce was an ample dollop of whipped cream that was in perfect contrast to the dense, almost too rich dessert below. The whipped cream was topped with a shower of chocolate sprinkles and finely chopped walnuts. What finally completed this wonderful creation was a perfect maraschino cherry, its red juice sending tiny streams down the whole mountain of dessert delight. The contrast of colors, textures and flavors in this dessert appealed to every part of my senses. I could not wait to eat it.