.Cynthia DuFault.

REFLECTION

STUDENT SELF-ASSESSMENT

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Self-assessment or reflection presents some of the most powerful learning opportunities that can make students successful, such as critical thinking, personal responsibility, useful failure, adaptability, and more. I wished to inspire deep thinking in students about their learning journeys.

 

This has gotten students involved in reviewing their own progress while helping them participate in and take ownership of their own learning. By tracking their own learning progress, they began to identify their areas of strengths and weaknesses, they gradually developed realistic goals, and they focused attention on critical thinking and new discoveries.

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They also expressed how they were feeling on given days and how those emotions

were affecting their attention and progress. This could help me better understand their needs, and sometimes, solutions for them was as simple as me reaching with a listening ear.

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The value of student self-assessment and reflection has been a powerful tool for me, as I can monitor the student's perspective of the weekly process (other than what I see in class), the choices and discoveries made that week, what worked well, and what did not go quite as expected. It's when I piece them all together into a learning experience —even one or more "Aha!" moments— that reflective learning becomes real. By engaging in the process of thinking about and assessing student work through their reflective writing, I have been able to act on the evidence of learning from each student individually and guide them toward their next steps. By engaging in these activities, students seem to have developed more internal attributions and appear to show more feeling of empowerment and independence.

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The student self-assessment form includes questions like: 

 

• What part of this weeks' progress am I the proudest of and why?

• Which goals did I meet or exceed this week?

• What skills do I want more experience in?

• How can my professor help me succeed? What training can they offer to do this?

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The folders below each contain 14 weeks of student self-assessments. Admittedly, it is a healthy read, but to glimpse at the progress a few students is valuable.