SelfAssessment Halley Belcore Essential Questions What is selfassessment

Self-Assessment Halley Belcore

Essential Questions What is self-assessment? How is self-assessment engaging and motivating to students? What are some strategies and skills that can be used to increase students’ use and understanding of selfassessment the elementary school classroom?

Self-Assessment is… “a process of formative assessment during which students reflect on the quality of their work, judge the degree to which it reflects explicitly stated goals or criteria, and revise accordingly. ” (Andrade & Valtcheva, 2009) -Heidi Andrade and Anna Valtcheva, Promoting Learning and Achievement Through Self-Assessment “The process of reviewing which involves reflecting upon past experience, seeking to remember and understand what took place and attempting to gain a clear idea of what has been learned or achieved…accompanied (Towler & Broadfoot, 1992) by action planning or target setting. ” -Lee Towler and Patricia Broadfoot, Self-Assessment in the Primary School from MUNBY, S. et al. (1989) Assessing and

Self-Assessment vs. Self. Evaluation • Formative • Done on works in progress to inform revision and improvement • Typically summative • Involves students grading their own work, sometimes as part of a grade

Qualities of Self Assessment Learner-Centered Cyclical Reflective Metacognitive Process-Oriented (not product oriented) Formative Constructivist

Four Stages of Teaching Students Self-Assessment Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Level of Establishi Teaching Providing Setting Implementatio ng Criteria Students Feedback to Learning n How to Students on Goals and Apply Application of Strategies Criteria Beginning Criteria given to students for their reaction Examples of work evaluated by applying criteria given to students Teacher provides feedback Goals and strategies determined by teacher Intermediate Students select criteria from a menu of possibilities Teacher describes how to apply criteria Feedback provided by both teachers and students A menu of goals and strategies is provided by the teacher Full Students generate Teacher models how Teacher engages Student constructs goals (Mc. Millan & Hearn, 2008)

4 Phases of the Reviewing Process 2. The Analysis/Understanding Phase- Seeking to understand why things happened in the way they did- ‘I think I worked well because. . ’ 1. The Knowledge Phase. Remembering events from the past with initial concrete recording in terms of ‘I did’ 4. The Synthesis Phase- Considering ways in which what has been learned can be fitted into an overall context, and, after reflecting on what has been learned, deciding upon relevant future objectives. 3. The Evaluation Phase- Making judgments about the learning situation and evaluating what has been learned and achieved. (Towler & Broadfoot, 1992

Mrs. Weathersby shared “analytical scoring guides” that explained the differences between good and poor -quality writing. Mrs. W and each student evaluated the student’s writing. Mrs. W gave her class writing samples with a range of levels for the students to sort into piles. They discussed why they did that and the differences between the piles. Students used these categories to analyze, evaluate, and edit their own writing Students continually compared old and new writing examples to see their growth. This ongoing process was implemented to help students see the distance closing their(Stiggins, present

Analytical Scoring Guides/Instructional Rubrics Are written in language that students can understand Refer to common weaknesses in students’ work and indicate how such weaknesses can be avoided Can be used by students to evaluate their worksin-progress and thereby guide revision and improvement (Andrade)

Metacognition Awareness of thought processes, strategies, and skills Metacognitive awareness in children develops as parents, caregivers, and early childhood teachers provide them with feedback regarding their&behavior, (Bingham, Holbrook Meyers, 2010) intelligence, and abilities. Conscious control of cognitive skills including: Checking understanding Predicting outcomes Planning activities Managing time (Mc. Millan & Hearn, 2008) Summarizing To help develop metacognitive abilities students can (Bingham, Holbrook & Meyers, 2010) use webs, maps, outlines, and rubrics.

Ladder of Metacognition Tacit use: The child makes decisions without much prior thought (editing punctuation) Aware use: The child’s decision -making process is conscious (students learn that good social scientists take observational notes, and they mimic that action) Strategic use: The child organizes his or her thoughts and actively employs a series of strategies to reach a decision (Creating an outline of a story to better understand it) Reflective use: The child monitors his or her thinking throughout the decision-making process and can contemplate ways to improve his or her work (Constantly monitoring writing and contemplating how it aligns with (Bingham, Holbrook & Meyers, 201

Problem Solving 1. Identify the problem 2. Identify potential solutions to the problem 3. Identify barriers to solving the problem 4. Identify the consequences of each solution (Palmer & Wehmeyer, 2003)

Self-Efficacy Perceptions of a student’s ability to do well on a specific task Estimating what they can do and how likely it is they will succeed Is developed as students connect their successes and failures to factors they believe have caused the result Student’s with high expectations are more likely to persist in their task than students with low expectations. Self-assessment can help students attribute success to ability and effort, which can help students develop self-efficacy for future tasks. (Mc. Millan & Hearn, 2008)

Reflection Students think about what they know and have learned, while identifying areas of confusion to create new goals Leads to a deeper understanding Conferences, written correspondence with parents or peers, written self-reflections (Mc. Millan & Hearn, 2008)

For Self-Assessment to be Successful Students Need… Awareness of the value of self-assessment Have access to clear criteria on which to base the assessment A specific task or performance to assess Models of self-assessment Direct instruction in and assistance with the assessment Practice Cues regarding when it is appropriate to self-assess Opportunities to revise and improve the task or performance (Andrade & Valtcheva, Students must know their revision efforts will 2009) lead to

How is self-assessment aligned with Constructivist theories?

How is self-assessment engaging and motivating? Student involvement in determining how to selfassess (criteria and goals) provides students with a sense of ownership and responsibility which enhances motivation. Students are actively engaged learners because they are thinking about the quality of their work instead of relying solely on their teacher for feedback By giving students responsibility Implies that students opinions matter (Towler & Broadfoot, 1992) (Andrade & Valtcheva, 2009)

Using Self-Assessment In The Classroom 1. Teacher and children discuss and plan activities within the topic. Teacher outlines and photocopies activities along with accompanying skills related to the standards for each student. The class does the activity. Children paste the photocopies into a ‘Reflections’ book, ticking skills they think they achieved and adding comments about the activity and their strengths and weaknesses. (Towler & Broadfoot, 1992) 2. At the beginning of the year, have students develop a self-profile of their strengths and weaknesses as learners (perhaps based on formal instruments related to learning styles, provided by the teacher). They should consider how they learn best, what strategies work well for them, what type of learning is most difficult, and what they wish to improve upon (in other words, set goals). Then, structure periodic opportunities for journaling, when students can monitor their efforts and reflect on their struggles, and successes, and possible edits to their own profiles. (Wiggins & Mc. Tighe, 2005)

3. Require that self-assessment be attached to every formal product or performance, with the option of basing a small part of the student’s grade on the accuracy of self-assessment. (Wiggins & Mc. Tighe, 2005) Revise, revise… 4. Students focused on a specific criteria. They underlined the criteria in red on the rubric, then search for the criteria in their essays. The students would underline the evidence of the criteria on their papers in red, and if it was not present they would write a note on the top of their paper. (Andrade)

Metacognition Enhances Third-Graders’ Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Activate background knowledge through a riddle, questions, and constructing synonyms (making connections) to create a semantic web (visual representation) and multiple meanings web. (Boulware-Gooden, Carreker, Thornhill & Joshi, 2007)

As children read, they would softly say “yes” if they were right about something, “oops” if they need to correct information, or “wow” if they learned something new (active engagement). Then the class identified the main idea, supporting details, and the details. These were constructed into a pyramid, giving them a visual representation of their ideas and a new way to organize their thoughts while they were reading. Then the students had to summarize the main idea, (Boulware-Gooden, Carreker, Thornhill & which led them to reflecting back on the text and Joshi, 2007) finding the essence of what they read. This also made the students organize their thoughts concisely.

Outcomes Increases learning Increases self-regulation Increase student’s confidence Increases motivation Increases self-awareness Increases independence Improves academic engagement and achievement Develops reflective and critical thinkers Deep understanding of content Learn responsibility for schoolwork (Towler & Broadfoot, 1992) (Andrade & Valtcheva, 2009) (Bingham, Holbrook & Meyers, 2010)

References Andrade, H. G. (n. d. ). Rubrics and self-assessment project. Retrieved from http: //pzweb. harvard. edu/research/Rubric. Self. htm Andrade, H. , & Valtcheva, A. (2009). Promoting learning and achievement through self-assessment. Theory Into Practice, 48(1), 12 -19. Retrieved from http: //web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? vid=3&hid=104&sid=c 844 55 b 8 -c 142 -4615 -a 1 dced 481 c 66 ce 6 c@sessionmgr 13&bdata=Jn. Npd. GU 9 ZWhvc 3 Qtb. Gl 2 ZQ== Bingham, G. , Holbrook, T. , & Meyers, L. (2010). Using selfassessments in elementary classrooms. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(5), 59 -61. Retrieved from http: //web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? vid=3&hid=7&sid=337172 be-a 0 a 3 -4663 -b 03 be 5 e 813 ea 737 d@sessionmgr 11&bdata=Jn. Npd. GU 9 ZWhvc 3 Qtb. Gl 2 ZQ== Boulware-Gooden, R. , Carreker, S. , Thornhill, A. , & Joshi, R. M. (2007). Instruction of metacognitive strategies enhances reading comprehension and vocabulary achievement of third-grade students. Reading Teacher, 61(1), 70 -77. Retrieved from http: //web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? vid=10&hid=7&sid=33717 2 be-a 0 a 3 -4663 -b 03 b-

Mc. Millan, J. H. , & Hearn, J. (2008). Student Self-Assessment: The Key to Stronger Student Motivation and Higher Achievement. Educational Horizons, 87(1), 40 -49. Palmer, S. B. , & Wehmeyer, M. L. (2003). Promoting selfdetermnation in early elementary school. Remedial & Special Education, 24(2), 115. Retrieved from http: //web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? vid=8&hid=7&sid=3371 72 be-a 0 a 3 -4663 -b 03 be 5 e 813 ea 737 d@sessionmgr 11&bdata=Jn. Npd. GU 9 ZWhvc 3 Qt b. Gl 2 ZQ== Stiggins, R. J. (2012). An introduction to student-involved assessment for learning. (6 th ed. , pp. 4 -9). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Towler, L. , & Broadfoot, P. (1992). Self-assessment in the primary school. Educational Review, 44(2), 137. Retrieved from http: //web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? vid=5&hid=7&sid=3371 72 be-a 0 a 3 -4663 -b 03 be 5 e 813 ea 737 d@sessionmgr 11&bdata=Jn. Npd. GU 9 ZWhvc 3 Qt b. Gl 2 ZQ== Wiggins, G. , & Mc. Tighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. (2 nd ed. , pp. 215 -218). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development