Why is Reflecting on Learning So Important?
Reflection time is a powerful tool in the play-based classroom, offering a range of benefits that extend far beyond the immediate moment.
For young children, reflection helps them make sense of their learning experiences and gives them the opportunity to recognise their achievements and see their play as a valuable part of their educational journey.
Students Realise Play is Valuable Learning Time
Yes. Reflection time is a time that helps children recognise their play is purposeful and valuable.
When students are asked to share and discuss what they explored and learned during investigations, they begin to see the connection between their play and the larger academic concepts you’re teaching.
This validation is not only key to building their confidence as learners, but it will also help to make future play investigations purposeful and curriculum-aligned. The magic happens when your children realise that what they’re doing during play isn’t just fun—it’s important learning time!
Reflection Promotes Critical thinking, Communication, and Self-awareness
By asking open-ended questions and encouraging students to talk about their play experiences, you can help them to articulate their thoughts, consider the choices they made, and understand the consequences of those choices.
Whether they’re explaining how they built a complex structure or sharing observations about a science experiment, reflection time fosters deeper thinking. It’s during this process that children often make connections they hadn’t seen before.
Reflection Allows You to Address Misconceptions and Scaffold Learning
From a teacher’s perspective, reflection time is invaluable because it helps you address misconceptions and scaffold future learning opportunities.
As you listen to students’ reflections, you gain insights into their understanding, or lack thereof, of key concepts.
For example, I remember a child talking about a tower they made during investigations at one of our reflections. He expressed confusion about balance and stability and that gave me the perfect opportunity to correct his misconceptions (and probably other student’s misconceptions) before introducing a lesson on those very topics later that day.
Reflection time is also an opportunity to identify areas where children need further support or extension, helping you to plan your next steps effectively.
In addition, reflection time is a vital tool for documenting and extending learning. As children share their insights, you will not only develop communication skills but also have the chance to gather valuable data about each child’s progress.
These observations can be documented as part of your ongoing assessment. Reflection can provide a clear picture of how students are progressing toward curriculum goals. This documentation, in turn, informs your future planning, ensuring that your lessons are responsive to the needs of your students.
Want to learn more about how reflection fits into the broader structure of a play-based day? Check out my blog post on How to Start with Play-Based Learning.
It offers more context on the role reflection plays in connecting investigations with explicit teaching