Will self‑assessment make students more reflective of their learning and behavior?
Yes. Students became aware of how they functioned within their group. Students often asked each other if they were focusing on “The Ten Links to a Successful Literature Circle.” Students called me to their group when they successfully piggybacked or referred to the novel. Students began to take pride in their success. Will literature circles help students become independent thinkers? Yes. Students became independent thinkers within their literature circles. They no longer looked to me for answers. Moreover, no longer were my answers more valuable than theirs. In one circle, I asked a question and posed an answer. The group discussed the question as well as my answer‑eventually disagreeing with me! This was not a behavior observed prior to implementing literature circles. Last, students began to refer to their resources (the text) for answers‑another behavior previously unobserved. These new behaviors, prove that students valued their own knowledge and were willing to use their resource
