Involving students in the
assessment process is an essential part of balanced assessment. When
students become partners in the learning process, they gain a better
sense of themselves as readers, writers and thinkers. As students
reflect on what they have learned and on how they learn, they develop
the tools to become more effective learners.
How do students involve in self-assessment process? While I was a
student teacher, I grouped students and randomly assgned them the
worlds' biome so that they organize information on the characteristic
of each biome. They had to search for information in the interent and
be able to find the required data. Each group was allowed to presnt
its' finding to the class. I have asked students to compare their
findings as every other group presents the characteristics of a biome.
A biome is characterized by its own:
1. Location on earth
2. Climatic conditions (temperature, rainfall and humidity level)
3. Vegetation type
4. Animals
5. Peculiar features (what makes a biome unique)
6. Its service to human beings
7. Method of presentation, in groups or a student in the group, oral or
reading or powerpoint,
As they compare their work they will realize how much they have done on
their part, because each group will have its on way of data organzation
and presentation. Each group will be able to answere the following
questions:
- What did I do well?
- What am I confused about?
- What do I want to know more about?
- How would I improve in my next project?
- What did I learn today?
Why is student
self-assment so important?
As students partcipate in the self-assessment
process they will have an opportunity how teachers are evaluating their
work. If they get higher or lower scores in their work thay are liable
to accept it without hesitation. It means especially it will avoid the
misunderstanding that may occur when students get lower grades, because
the students themselves are part of the evaluation process.
Now that so much assessment is situated in the daily classroom
life, there are numerous opportunities to engage students in the
assessment process. They-
1. can compare their work overtime
2. create evaluation criteria for a project
3. work with peers to evaluate and revise piece of writing.
4. judge their reading preferences and habits by reviewing their
reading
journals
When students are collaborators in assessment they develop the habit of
self reflection. They learn the qualities of good work, how to judge
their work against these qualities, how to step back from thier work to
assess their own efforts and feelings of accomplishments and how to set
personal goals.
Generally, as teachers model, guide,
and provide practice in
self-assessment, students learn that assessment is not something apart
from
learning or something done to them, but a collaboration between
teachers and
students, and an integral part of how they learn and improve.
Student portfolios have
become a means of self- assessment for students
References:
1. http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/litass/self.html
2. Reif 1990; Wolf, 1989
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