I read an interesting article recently about including students in assessment. Hart (1999) explains that giving students more responsibility when it comes to evaluating their own work it could influence and motivate them to take the depth of the activity to a higher level. Hopefully, students become more aware and take more control of their own learning. Using evaluative questions is one method to get students thinking about their work and growth. Evaluative questions include:
1. If you had the opportunity to do this assignment again, what would you do differently?
2. What was the most difficult part of this assignment?
3. Did you think of any new questions during this project?
4. If students were to do this project next year, what advice would you give them?
5. How did your initial opinions/views change through the project?
6. How did you profit from this class?
One of the challenges I find with using reflective activities is having the students remember the details of the project. Although details can be recorded using journals and such, one method that comes to mind is using blogs or wikis, while the prior can be kept private and secure. Both have the ability to keep revisions each time a change is made whether individually or as a group. Each revision can then be compared with another one showing the history, or timeline, of a project. This history can then be reflected on and becomes a vital component of self-assessment.
References:
Hart, D. (1999). Opening Assessment To Our Students. Social Education, 65(6), 343-345.
Silberman, L. (1996). Active learning: 101 strategies to teach any subject. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
