During last night’s #langchat, several teachers mentioned their desire to engage in more regular and more formal self-reflection next year, and to help their students do the same. Here I share a simple tool, PlusDelta, that my students and I have found tremendously useful for reflection. It works for people learning on their own, too.
I first learned of PlusDelta by participating in and conducting workshops with Evan Gardner of Where Are Your Keys and have since gotten many more ideas for it from other teachers. I’ll share the basic version first, then some comments and variations.
PlusDelta: basic version
Near the end of any given class period, invite two students to the front of the class. One becomes the moderator; the other becomes the scribe. The scribe draws a line down the middle of the board, creating two columns, and labels one column with a plus sign, the other with a triangle. The triangle is the Greek letter delta, which is used in math to signify “change.”
The moderator now invites the class to comment briefly on what things about that class session were especially helpful. The scribe writes these comments word for word in the Plus column. If a comment is longer than 10 words, the moderator asks the commenter to sum up in 10 words or fewer. This is to avoid the scribe’s having to come up with a summary that may miscommunicate the commenter’s actual point.
After several Pluses have been collected, the moderator gives a last call for Pluses, then invites classmates to share “Deltas”–things about that class session that could be changed to be more useful. The scribe again writes the exact words of commenters in the Delta column. After issuing a last call for Deltas, the moderator thanks the class for its thoughtful contributions and thanks the scribe for writing. The teacher takes a picture of the board, then thanks and dismisses the class.
Comments and variations
1. If students see you take a picture of their PlusDelta and realize from the way you plan and conduct subsequent class sessions that you take their comments seriously, PlusDelta can become a powerful source not only of improved sessions, but also of mutual respect.
2. PlusDelta has become one of the most sacred components of my classes. To stay true to this, I need to make sure to bring whatever else we’re doing to a close in time for PlusDelta.
3. The teacher’s professional expertise is still the final factor in determining how to act on PlusDelta. We need to take students’ comments seriously while also pointing out that the usefulness of a given practice may become clear only over time.
4. I like to leave the room during my classes’ PlusDelta time. Not every class can handle this; if a class can’t, I stay at the back of the room. No matter what, I don’t explain, justify, or otherwise interrupt PlusDelta time unless students act disrespectfully. The combination of my staying out of PlusDelta time and then actually acting on students’ comments is one of the biggest trust-building practices in my classes.
5. You can switch things up, and elicit more comments from reticent students, by having students complete a personal PlusDelta on a note card instead of using a class scribe and moderator. If you wish, you can use PlusDelta note cards as exit tickets.
6. If you can do so without things getting too ridiculous, you can let Pluses and Deltas include things that are outside of your or students’ control, such as the weather. Naming uncontrollable pros or cons can contribute to class camaraderie. In some of my classes, it’s become a tradition to include things like the return of a sick student among the Pluses for a certain day.
7. If a class is inclined to reduce Deltas to complaints, you can redefine Deltas as suggestions for positive change.
8. Teachers can do their own PlusDelta based on how they think a given session went.
9. PlusDelta can also be used to reflect on a single task, to evaluate a resource, assessment, or assignment, or to reflect on longer divisions of time, such as a week, a unit, or a semester.
Conclusion
PlusDelta isn’t meant to replace more detailed reflection or self-evaluation of language proficiency. There are lots of instruments for such reflection and evaluation. PlusDelta is simply an easy tool to use daily with surprisingly high payoff in terms of rapport and increased joy and success!
Plus: I have used PlusDelta in the past.
Delta: I should use them in the future.
My problem: “To stay true to this, I need to make sure to bring whatever else we’re doing to a close in time for PlusDelta.” I never have enough time! A planning issue indeed
I hear you! Yes, it takes incredible discipline to stop whatever else one is doing in time for PlusDelta!
I try to start classes with “This is what we plan to accomplish today,” and end with “so, what did we accomplish today.” I could see using Plus/Delta as an alternative to the latter, perhaps directing students to especially take into consideration the lesson objectives.
Hi, Paul, great idea to apply PlusDelta specifically to the stated lesson objectives!
Rather than take a picture after our Delta/Plus, I’ve started asking an additional student to be the “sellaris scriptor” (seated scribe). That student writes the delta/plus feedback on an index card, copying what is being written on the board, and then hands it to me at the end of class. I use these when planning future lessons, and it’s a great way to involve an additional student in the process. (Some of my quieter kids don’t like to come up front as much but they love being the sellaris scriptor.)
That’s such a good idea, Linnea!
During online learning, for classes that I’ve only taught virtually, we’ve been using Nearpod collaborative boards at the end of each class for Plus/Deltas (they are free and easy to set up!). I simply give students a link, and they can each write their own responses, which appear as post-it notes on a bulletin board. Everyone can see the comments as they are posted, and it allows each student to make a contribution in their own words and to “like” each other’s responses. I also invite everyone use the name of the class for their “name,” which keeps comments anonymous. There are pros and cons to this, but on the whole students seem more comfortable sharing, and I get a lot more responses this way.
I love these ideas. I also like the idea of focusing on the positive, not griping just to gripe. I think it might be good to use Jamboard and let each person write their + and their Delta that way everyone gets their ideas up there without the embarrassment of speaking before the class and then they could be read over and saved and used without photo or scribe.
I agree that Jamboard would be good for this, Kathy! The version described in the post is from analog days in which discussing PlusDelta as a class (and having a student moderator and student scribe) was specifically a community-building practice, and the photo was partly so that students would physically witness my recording of their comments. An anonymous version trades those benefits for the benefit you mention of potentially more ideas, from more students, being recorded, which is valuable. Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts!