Self-assessment and developing reflection

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  1. Introduction.
  2. What is self-assessment?
  3. Personal and development planning (PDP).
  4. Making really good use of feedback.
  5. Learning diaries, logs, blogs and portfolios: tools to document self-assessment.
  6. Hints, tips and suggestions.
  7. Further information.

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1. Introduction

The UK government has had 'lifelong learning' as a core educational theme for a number of years.  One of the foundation stones for lifelong learning is the ability to be able to self-evaluate and update one's own skills and knowledge.  Self-awareness and the ability to be self-critical are therefore crucial skills for students to develop.  Such views have been particularly influential in professional development and undergraduate courses closely affiliated with vocational and career routes such as in nursing and engineering.  The term reflective practice is sometimes used to describe the approach of reviewing and thinking carefully and critically about actions and activities in order to derive fuller understanding and learning.

Self-assessment is, therefore, an important process in achieving an undergraduate degree and a life skill that can (and should be) honed during study.

 

2. What is self-assessment?

Self-assessment requires students to take responsibility for both monitoring and making judgements about their own learning.  Boud (2007) suggests that this can be considered in two parts:

  • Recognition and understanding of the appropriate standards (or assessment criteria) to apply.
  • Actually making judgements about the extent to which you have met those standards.

Self-assessment is linked with improving student learning as it uses the skills of evaluation and critical judgement.  For students it is frequently linked with both learning more about themselves and career possibilities and choices.

 

3. Personal and development planning (PDP)

In the UK schoolchildren are required to keep Records of Achievement which include academic successes and sporting, social and community achievements in order to promote and support a rounded and integrated development.  This ideology persists into higher education and students are encouraged to set their own personal and professional development goals that are integrated with their academic studies.  Personal and Development Planning (PDP) requires students to self-assess and review their learning, skills and goals and devise plans to help them learn what they want to learn and gain all that they can from their experience at university.  Sometimes PDP is integrated with the personal tutoring system, whilst in other universities it may be associated with specific study skills modules or the careers services.  To find out more about PDP click on the Higher Education Academy web pages and see the briefing sheet on Pastoral or Personal Tutorials.

 

4. Making really good use of feedback

Each year graduating students are surveyed to find out what they think about their experience of higher education.  This nationwide exercise, the National Student Survey (NSS), has highlighted a common concern - students want more feedback on their work.  Many academics are addressing this in their own courses and working to improve the quantity and quality of feedback that they provide.  However, there is also a belief that many students do not make full use of the feedback that they do receive.  Teachers frequently comment that their students look at the grade or mark that they have been awarded but pay little attention to the written feedback comments that may have taken considerable amounts of time to provide.  Feedback is intended to help the student self-reflect and be able to make improvements in future assignments, but sometimes students lack the awareness and skills to do this effectively.  

Ways in which you can prompt students to make better use of the feedback that they receive, include:

  • Require students to self-assess work before it is handed in, and then compare their assessment with yours.
  • Use a submission cover sheet in which students are asked to recall the feedback they received in previous assignments and note how they have applied it in the work they are now handing in.
  • Allocate time in class to go through feedback and provide a set of structured questions that directs students to systematically consider the guidance provided and plan for future work.
  • Review all coursework comments and grades for a student in a personal tutorial so that themes and patterns can be detected across several pieces of work and a more holistic assessment can be made of the student's strengths and weaknesses.

 

5. Learning diaries, logs, blogs and portfolios: tools to document self-assessment

The use of written diaries and logs, to monitor and support students undertaking projects, placements, fieldwork etc, is now common practice.  These are usually semi-structured narratives of the learning experience.  Some may include questions that prompt students to consider their skills development and encourage reflection at key stages of a piece of work.  Others are more free form and students can diarise their own experiences in ways that they find useful.  Portfolios usually include selected pieces of evidence that illustrate and demonstrate key learning.

Originally logs and diaries were paper-based but increasingly electronic formats are being employed.  Some teachers are experimenting with blogging software which allows students to share their ideas and thoughts more widely and to discuss their self-reflections virtually.  To learn more about blogs, web logs and electronic learning logs see The University of Leeds Staff Development pages.

For tutors to grade learning logs summatively is difficult (and time-consuming) - so many are simply judged on a pass/fail basis or are considered to be a required element of studying the module or course and do not carry marks or credits.  Another approach is to ask student to self and peer assess their own learning journals formatively - as learning how to be self-reflective and self-critical is the real point of the exercise.

 

6. Hints, tips and suggestions

Supporting self-assessment is usually a case of providing motivation (eg making it a course requirement) and a structure (prompt questions and a timeframe).  Students need to be convinced of the value of self-reflection and for many this is partially driven by thoughts of future career choices and thinking about how they can best present themselves in CVs and at interviews.

 

7. Further information

Boud, D. and Falchikov, N., 2007.  Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education: Learning for the longer term.  Routledge.  (This is an edited collection, with useful chapters on Feedback by Dai Hounsell (chapter 8) and Conceptions of self-assessment by Kelvin Tan (chapter 9)).

Stefani, L.A.J., 1998. Assessment in partnership with learners.  (Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education.) 23(4) p339-50.

The CETL for Integrative Learning at http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/integrativelearning/.  Discusses the concept of students taking a proactive role in integrating their learning experiences at university.