Reflection in a Writer's Workshop

Today I played around with Reflection in a Kindergarten Writer's Workshop.  I have four categories of questions I like to ask writers at the end of a workshop:

• Looking Back Questions (e.g. What did you learn?)
• Looking Forward Questions (e.g. What are you going to do next?)
• Looking Inward Questions (e.g. How do you feel about your work today?)
• Looking Outward Questions (e.g. How do you think your writing compares to others?)

This morning I wanted writers to Look Inward so I asked, "How do you feel about yourself as a writer?"  The children thought, reflected, drew, and wrote their feelings about themselves as writers.  Their responses were illuminating. 

A writer's act of reflection is actually a form of authentic assessment for me.  Each reflection teaches me something about writers and gives me insight into their thinking. If a child is bored and yearns for the energy of friends, I need to make sure to position him in a space surrounded by friends who might give him the jolt he needs.  If a child is nervous about writing, I need to know why and what I can do to help alleviate her trepidation.  If a child feels happy about herself as a writer, what is happening to make her feel this way--and might she offer suggestions to peers to help them foster this feeling within themselves?

Primarily, reflection is a self-evaluative act so the writer can step back and think inward.   But it's also an assessment act that teaches me something I need to learn from my writers.

I wonder: In what ways do you reflect with your students?  How can we make reflection a daily part of their Writer's Workshop?