STAGE 5: EVALUATING AND REFLECTING

The ‘Evaluate’ phase provides an opportunity for students to review and reflect on their own learning and new understanding and skills. It is also when students provide evidence for changes to their understanding, beliefs and skills.

Evaluate Step 5.1 Think back and evaluate

Suggested Subject Area: Literacy

Purpose
To provide students with opportunities to:

• Reflect on their own learning
  
• Provide a source of data for assessment.
  

To provide teachers with:

• Insight into student’s understandings and attitudes, as well as their perceptions of their own strengths and weaknesses.
  

Preparation
You will need:

• A Learning Log booklet in Resource 1.6.
  

Procedure
Ask students to think back over the unit and evaluate their learning. Begin by modelling reflective writing through a whole class learning log. Alternatively, you could model your own entry ‘thinking aloud’ as you write.

Provide students with a set of focus questions for their writing:

• Write about something new you learnt in this unit.
  
• How did you feel about the activities you undertook?
  
• What might you do differently if you were to do this again?
  
• How have my/our feelings and behaviour changed as a result of my learning?
  
• How well did I/we participate in any group/team learning activities?
  
• How can I/we make similar changes and improvements in other sustainability areas?
  
• What questions do you have about the topic at the moment?
  

Ask students to reflect to see whether they achieved their goal of describing a more sustainable or adaptation practice or designing a sustainable project or idea at the school or in the classroom while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Follow up
Ask students to identify current difficulties people in their community have to deal with regarding the environment in a changing climate. This might include drought, tidal surges, flooding, high salinity, large populations of insects, weeds etc.

What makes each situation a ‘difficulty’? Invite students to consider whether the situation can be fixed or whether our way of life must change to cope with it. Ask students to provide a possible response to the issue that could reduce its impact.

Assessment note
Learning logs are ideal to assist students to reflect on their learning and can provide a source of data for assessment. They can provide teachers with an insight into student’s understandings and attitudes as well as their perceptions of their own strengths and weaknesses.

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