‘Two stars and a wish’ is a feedback strategy, used for both self and peer evaluation. It provides students with a scaffold, prompting them to focus on two positive aspects (the stars) and one aspect they could improve on (the wish). I chose this artefact, as I believe it directly correlates with my teaching philosophy that frequent self-reflection within a learning environment, enhances student performance. By encouraging students to consistently evaluate their work, participation in classroom activities, performances and general classroom behaviour, it enables them to understand they can always improve. It promotes self-initiation and motivates students to continually strive to achieve their personal best, as they become active participants in their learning journey (Koteswariah & Basavanna, 2016, p. 9).

 

I frequently implemented ‘two stars and a wish’ throughout my year 3 practicum class, both formally and informally. A specific instance in which I incorporated the strategy was within a poetry recital assessment. The task required each student to collect their favourite poems and perform them in front of the class. After each student had performed, the class was able to provide verbal feedback in the form of ‘two stars and wish’. Each student also completed a self-evaluation of their performance, filling out the rubric and indicating two positive aspects of their performance and one aspect they believe they could improve on (image 1 – student self-assessment sample). These self-reflections provided me with insight into their personal thoughts regarding their performance. I then organised one-on-one conferencing with each student, discussing the response they received from peers, their self-evaluation, whilst additionally providing my own feedback. We then collaborated and generated a personal learning goal, which they were able to work towards (image 2 – student personal learning goal). Goals are critical in a successful learning environment (Deed & Campbell, 2009), specifically attainable goals. I believe the ‘two stars and a wish’ strategy allows a focus to remain on the positives of student effort, increasing self-confidence and allowing realistic goals to be made (Deed & Campbell, 2009).

 

Promoting self-reflection within a classroom setting can be difficult, as students can often just regard it as another assignment to complete for the teacher (Deed & Campbell, 2009). By frequently implementing ‘Two stars and a wish’ throughout my practicum, it resulted in honest self-reflections and built up a habit in most students, as they understood that self-reflection wasn’t about teacher approval but an important skill for self-growth (Deed & Campbell, 2009).

 

I learnt that the self-reflection and one-on-one conferencing additionally empowered students to feel valued and understood, as I respected and considered their thoughts, when we developed their personal learning goal. This is an important aspect of the humanist approach, as the self-reflection made by each student can provide teachers with insight into their personal opinions regarding themselves and their abilities, strengthening a student-teacher relationship (Koteswariah & Basavanna, 2016, p. 9).

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Overall, I strongly believe that self-reflection is an essential part of a successful learning environment. When implemented frequently in an effective scaffold such as ‘two stars and a wish’, it can equip students to take responsibility for their learning, whilst increasing self-confidence and individual growth (Koteswariah & Basavanna, 2016, p. 9).