Reflective Judgement Activity

Reflective Judgment Activity

The following activity can be modified to use with any subject and can be used to introduce a topic or to challenge students to examine an issue in more depth. The key points of the activity are that it requires students to record their individual ideas before they discuss them with the group, it gives the instructor the opportunity to draw out the underlying assumptions or misconceptions in students' initial responses, then asks them to make decisions based on conflicting arguments. To separate the students into groups for this exercise simply write a number that corresponds to their group assignment on the top of each student handout. The entire activity can take close to two hours, make modifications to make it fit in the time your class has or split it up into more than one class meeting.

Student Handout

.
"How should we address the problem of teen pregnancy?"

During class today you will participate in an interactive group activity and panel discussion that will address the above question. Please complete the following handout as directed.

Step 1
Before you begin to discuss anything with your fellow group members, take a few minutes to record your thoughts on the issue of teenage pregnancy. List several reasons why you think it is a "problem" in our society. After you create your list see if you can summarize your thoughts to create a personal theory that might explain teen pregnancy.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Your theory:

Step 2
After you have completed you original reflections, have each person in your group share their theory. Use the space below to record points where your group agrees and disagrees.

Similarities

Differences

Step 3
After you have shared your theories, request the materials for the famous theorist. As a group read the theory and discuss how it explains teenage pregnancy. Prepare one person from your group to "be" the theorist for a panel discussion in front of the class. You will have 25 minutes to prepare your "theorist".

Your theorist should be able to:
a. summarize the theory for the class
b. explain the assumptions of the theory
c. describe how the theory explains teen pregnancy
d. answer questions about the theory

As your group prepares its "theorist" remember that each theory rests on certain assumptions. In this case the assumptions are about human nature. The following questions should help you think about the theory:
1.What does individual behavior depend upon?
2. What are the fundamental characteristics of human nature?
3. What are the causes and the effects according to the theory?
4. Where does abnormal or anti-social behavior come from?

Step 4
Use the space below to record questions about the theories and personal responses to the panel discussion.

Step 5
Post Activity Assignment

Write a brief reflective essay explaining how your personal theory changed or stayed the same as a result of the activity. If your theory did change explain when ,why and how it changed. If it did not change explain why you think it did not change. At the end of your essay list any remaining questions about the theories.

Instructor Directions

During Step 1 direct students to get started thinking about the issue as soon as they find their group's location. Tell students that they will have about 10 minutes to record personal thoughts about the topic. As you observe most students finish with their individual observations instruct students to move on to Step 2. As the groups discuss their personal theories, circulate around the room and make observations on the groups' behavior and individual comments. Intervene if you notice one person dominating the discussion or if you notice a group has lost focus.

After the groups have completed Step 2, ask each group to select one person to share with the entire class. Group reporters should summaries the similarities and differences that emerged as each person shared their personal theory. During the class discussion, make observations about assumptions students make and ask probing questions that require students to go deeper and think more like theorists. Use your own curiosity about why a student thinks the way he or she does to ask clarification questions. For example, ask "What did you mean when you said...?", "What is the basis for your observation that teenage pregnancy is caused by...?'' or "How do you define....?". If your assignment has underlying assumptions, ask students about those. In this assignment the instructor has made the assumption that teenage pregnancy is a problem.

For Step 3 you will need to prepare packets for each group with information on a different theory prior to the class meeting. After the class discussion, give each group a copy of their theory. Depending on where you want the groups to focus, you can vary the types of material you give groups. You might give students a copy of how Skinner would have answered the question, "Why do teens get pregnant?", then have students make observations about the theorist assumptions, understanding of human nature etc.. Or give them copies of the theory and have them compose their theorists answer to the question of teen pregnancy based on the information they have been given.

After the groups have had time to prepare, ask the "theorists" to come to the front of the class for the panel discussion. Prepare a brief case study for the panelists to address for the class and then describe how their theory applies to the case study. Encourage members of the class to ask questions of the panel and allow the theorist's "assistants" (group members) to field questions he/she is unable to answer. The main point of the panel discussion is to help the class to see the assumptions, limits, ways theories can contradict one another and help students see there is no single right or wrong answer to the question on the table.

Conclude the panel discussion and leave yourself enough time at the end of class to allow you and your students to make process observations and reflections about the activity. Support students' attempts to change personal theories based on new information gained during the class and acknowledge the discomfort that making decisions based on uncertainty can cause.

Provide students with a sense of closure by assigning a reflective essay for students to complete outside of class. The essay can be a reflection of if and when their "personal theories" changed and why. You might want to ask students to draw upon notes made in Step 4 to write about questions that are still unanswered. This will give you an opportunity to assess students level of reflective judgment and see what they got out of the activity.

Modifications

This activity can be simplified by eliminating the panel discussion portion of the activity. Begin by asking students to develop their own conclusions about an ill-structured problem. Provide students with a set of articles or summaries of conflicting arguments and ask them to come to their own individual conclusion. Then place students into groups and ask the groups to develop a group conclusion. Support student's critical thinking process by providing questions that will help them analyze arguments. Have groups share their conclusions with the whole class and facilitate a whole class discussion to provide closure or ask students to write a reflective essay. Whatever the method of closure, use closure as a time to point out solid arguments, highlight places where students effectively used evidence to support conclusions and validate students' anxiety or discomfort with making a decision based on uncertainty.

References:

King, P.M. and Kitchener, K.S.. (1994) Developing reflective judgment. San Fransisco: Jossey Bass.

Russo, Thomas J.: And Others. (1995) Thinking about thinking: A constructivist approach to critical thinking in the college curriculum. River Falls, WI: Wisconsin University. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 390 353)

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.	"How should we address the problem of teen pregnancy?" During class today you will participate in an interactive group activity and panel discussion that will address the above question. Please complete the following handout as directed.
Step 1	Before you begin to discuss anything with your fellow group members, take a few minutes to record your thoughts on the issue of teenage pregnancy. List several reasons why you think it is a "problem" in our society. After you create your list see if you can summarize your thoughts to create a personal theory that might explain teen pregnancy. 1. 2. 3. 4. Your theory:
Step 2	After you have completed you original reflections, have each person in your group share their theory. Use the space below to record points where your group agrees and disagrees. Similarities Differences
Step 3	After you have shared your theories, request the materials for the famous theorist. As a group read the theory and discuss how it explains teenage pregnancy. Prepare one person from your group to "be" the theorist for a panel discussion in front of the class. You will have 25 minutes to prepare your "theorist". Your theorist should be able to: a. summarize the theory for the class b. explain the assumptions of the theory c. describe how the theory explains teen pregnancy d. answer questions about the theory As your group prepares its "theorist" remember that each theory rests on certain assumptions. In this case the assumptions are about human nature. The following questions should help you think about the theory: 1.What does individual behavior depend upon? 2. What are the fundamental characteristics of human nature? 3. What are the causes and the effects according to the theory? 4. Where does abnormal or anti-social behavior come from?
Step 4	Use the space below to record questions about the theories and personal responses to the panel discussion.
Step 5	Post Activity Assignment Write a brief reflective essay explaining how your personal theory changed or stayed the same as a result of the activity. If your theory did change explain when ,why and how it changed. If it did not change explain why you think it did not change. At the end of your essay list any remaining questions about the theories.