Students Using Self Assessment
Assessment is occurring in classrooms at all times. It could be considered as assessment for learning, also known as formative assessment, assessment of learning, also known as summative assessment and assessment as learning.
All three types of assessment are valuable and offer constructive feedback to teachers and students.
Self-assessment is considered under the umbrella of assessment for learning. It is a key element of our teaching practice that supports students to become independent and self-regulating learners. Self-assessment is also necessary as instructional adjustments can be made to close the gap between students' current understanding and the desired learning goals.
Self-assessment is when students assess their own work or abilities. By providing this opportunity for students to self evaluate and make judgements about their own learning, over time they will become more objective and be able to constructively reflect on and evaluate their own progress. This feedback can help them as a student to gauge where their confidence and knowledge ranks. It is also helpful to teachers as they use this knowledge to enhance learning and instruction.
Self-assessment encourages students to take greater responsibility for their learning. Some suggested ideas for using self assessment in the classroom are;
students mark their own work against a given rubric before being marked by their teacher
putting their completed work in a tub labelled thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs half
another similar system is students putting their completed work in a tub labelled with a red, green or orange traffic light. If students place their work in the red traffic light tub this is a clear indication that students need follow up, or further time to work on this skill
complete a checklist provided by teachers to assess their own work and can provide students with a where to next and makes it clear what they need to work on
evaluating themselves on their learning goals and how they are going
use a thumbs up/down, or nod/shake of the head during class discussions
completing a self-reflection statement in their journals such as - something that is going well, something not going so well
similarly, students answering the questions in their learning log - what was easy, what was hard, what is something I need to learn more about at the end of a lesson, at the end of the week or completion of a unit of work
Do you encourage your students to self assess their work? What strategies do you use with your class or have seen others us? We would love it if you joined the conversation and left a comment below.
