Self-Reflective Practice Prompts

With the goal of helping students learn how to learn this structure and set of sample prompts might help us
develop a practice that could work across disciplines.

Stages of a Unit or Project:

1. At the beginning when a new topic and or a problem/challenge is introduced. (The goal is for students
to understand the challenge/question/goal, check their assumptions, inventory applicable prior knowledge and
skills, figure out what specifically they need to learn)

What do you see as the new challenge or goal of this next unit?
What do you already know that you think might be useful for this new challenge? (Prior knowledge).
What, in this new unit, seems entirely unfamiliar? Are there new unfamiliar terms or concepts you might
research?
What challenges might this unit/project present? What can you do now to manage these challenges?

2. When some time has been spent working on the problem. (Before a quiz type of assessment or before
an outline or rough draft is due.)

Has your understanding of the challenge/problem/goal changed? How?

What new knowledge or skill have you developed so far? How have you done so?
What still does not make sense? What challenges are you having? Why? (How its been explained?
How youve been studying?)
What have you done so far that has worked well for you? Why might this be the case?
What parts of the challenge do you still need to solve? How will you go about doing so?

3. Near the end of a unit or project. (Before a major assessment or due date for a project.)

How has your understanding of this unit developed?

What do you now see as the key or most important parts of this unit? Why?
What work have you done that seems to have helped the most? Why?
What aspects remain puzzling and might need more work/review? How can you get assistance with
these issues? What changes in your approach might help?
What new skill have you added to your toolbox?

4. After the project is done or after a major assessment.

In what ways were you successful in dealing with this challenge? How/Why?
What remained a problem for you? Why do you think this might be?
Why did you get wrong? Why? Was it lack of preparation or how you prepared?
What are the most important concepts or skills you developed in this unit?
What were the biggest problems or challenges you encountered? How did you go about managing
these challenges?
What might you change about your study or work habits that might help you be more successful in
future projects? What do you think you will take from this project into future work?