Using Four Keys to Promote Reflexive Thinking
Teaching students to express themselves verbally and written is a function of teaching a primary language. To fulfill this curricular objective and the need of teenagers to express themselves, this activity has been structured with meaningful topics that have piqued student interest, such as: What is the value of existence? What is love? What is the meaning of death? After discussing the topic in small teams, the students write their thoughts in their diaries in at least 70 words. Then they read their thoughts to their classmates, talk about their ideas, and finally the team’s spokesperson states the result of their reflection to the group. We suggest that students take their diaries home so that they can write the ideas that come to their mind before the next session and which are related to the topic or even to their personal experience. They often ask their parents about the topics discussed in this class and, therefore, in these cases the reflection goes further than in the classroom.