Title

Think, Reflect, Succeed: Using Reflective Thinking Routines to Develop Agency in Year 8 Girls in the French Classroom

Author

Tara Fennell (2025)

Year Published

2025

Description

This action research project explored how 12–13 year-old girls engaged in a reflective thinking routine, which aimed at increasing their agency in French lessons. The research was conducted with a group of 14 students at an all-girls independent school in London, England. In this project, students added their questions to a physical question wall, then explored answers and related ideas together. Their discussions supported aspects such as consolidation of complex grammar, writing feedback, and topic revision. Data collected were qualitative in nature and captured by questionnaires, interviews, my field journal, lesson observations, artefacts, and student written work. The results indicated that use of a thinking routine developed individual question competence, peer questions enhanced their classmates’ learning, the question wall provided potential for stretch and challenge, and the transactional nature of the student-teacher dynamic shifted over the ten weeks of the project. The students articulated the positive impact of the project on their sense of agency and discussed how thinking routines could be used moving forward. The effectiveness of the thinking routine with other year groups and other academic subjects can next be ascertained.

Type

Research Report

Research Category

Learning

Teaching

Middle Grades (ages 11-14)

Year of Study

2025

Identifier

45609