Self-Assessment
I am not sure how well Self-assessment or peer-assessments work. What is everyone elses feeling on these?
Terry
Terry,
I do use self assessment and then follow with an improvement plan based on the self assessment. You do have to provide the criteria.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I think since self assesments requires the student to objectively look at thier own work it requires some degree maturity. Therefore it may not work for all students at all levels.
Tanya,
That is true. You need to educate students on self assessment. We forget to do that many times. Great comment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I liken the use of self-assessments and peer-assessments to teaching a subject. The common understanding is that when you can teach a topic to someone else, then you really understand it. Likewise, if you can assess your work, then you probably truly 'have it'.
Michelle,
I use self-assessment and peer-assessment often. It is helpful for students to learn how to give constructive feedback to other and also assess their own work. Nice job.
Terry,
Self-assessments works well. It allows the student to judge him or herself against the criterion listed. I used them in tasks where it takes several steps or the assignment is reflective. Students like them because they are able to gauge where they are and where they are insecure.
Camesha,
Self-assessment also allows the students to see the rubric in a different light. If they use the same rubric to self-evaluate that will be used for peer or instructor evalation, they should really understand the expectations more clearly.
I am assuming that the peer assessment would involved students reviewing one another's papers. I'm not sure if this is a good idea as the students may not have the necessary skills to critique their classmate's work.
I use self and peer reviews with group projects. Part of my process is to use the student's input compared to my own analysis of student performance. I have approximately 25% of students that usually rate their accomplishment at the highest level, regardless of actual performance. So the good news is 75% of students take the assessment process seriously and provide authentic analysis. For the other 25%, it is a blend of students either not taking the process seriously or really not understanding what is expected. While I can and do working on providing more support to help contextualize the process for learners, I do think there will be a portion of students that will not conduct self or peer analysis properly.
Trena,
Yes, peers assessing peers. It doesn't affect their grade but provides them with additional feedback and they become familiar with the rubric and provide good feedback. I have found it to be very useful.
Lewis,
Sounds like you have an effective system worked out that meets your needs. Nice job.
This has me thinking. It could be really fun in an online environment if done correctly. I'm thinking that perhaps an assignment could be presented with no name or several and get everyone's feedback.
I'm going to think about it some more...
Virginia,
I ask for anonymous peer feedback and self-assessment on several assignments. It just provides some additional feedback that is different than my feedback. The more the merrier. ;-)
This is a great tool that can be used to encourage group interactions with projects. It also opens up the door for students to understand from the instructor or teachers point of view how their assignments are broken down and graded.
De Monte,
I like your "open up the door" idea. It's a great way to say that. Thanks!
In art and design studio classes, peer assessment is a permanent part of almost all classes, in the form of critiques. Critiques can be a total waste of time, if there hasn't been enough modelling or coaching on how to critique, or if students for whatever reason are unmotivated or have had negative experiences in the past, but when it works, it is a great thing.
One of the biggest advantages for an instructor is to see how well students have learned the concepts, and can articulate them about someone else's project, that can be very gratifying. And it is also very helpful for students to receive constructive feedback from someone else besides me, especially when that feedback is similar to what I may have been suggesting.
Christine,
Oh, you are so right. The modeling has to be there first so that students understand how to do it. Learning how to critique or provide constructive criticism is a learned skills. Thanks for making it a part of your course. It's a good skill for students to have.
I think that when fear is taken out that self assessment can be useful if students are honest; however, some students need objective criteria on their performance. This rubric-based assessment is useful in self, peer and teacher assessment. One does need to be careful with self-assessment.
David,
There may be a bit of fear in the beginning, but the more you utilize self- and peer-evaluations, the more comfortable the students will become. Thanks.
