What is the role of the student's self-evaluation in vocational education?

iVet 2013-2014

Vygotsky Team

VOC 1, Session 3

16.10.2013

What is Self Assessment?

• In self assessment, an individual student or a student group assess its own work or actions.• Can be used along with teacher assessments• Can be guided by teacher’s instructions and templates for

assessment criteria

• PRO +• Develops students’ own

ability to evaluate their actions

• Saves teachers’ time

• CON –• Students’ various level of

criticality• Unfamiliar for students• Motivational biases

Examples of Different Self Assessments

Diagnostic (before)

Formative (during)

Summative (after)

Selective / Predictive

Motivation

Guiding / Developing

Control

When?A student joining French classes takes online-test to decide

what level course she should join.

Wh

at p

urp

ose

? A trainee-footballer is sent to have a test period with a professional team and to evaluate his real level.

As a mid-course exercise an engineer-student builds a

model of bridge and notes what calculations he already can and

what he yet cannot do.

The teacher-students writes an essay what

learning she can apply in her work and what she

still needs to learn more.

Self-assessment can be used to…

• reflect on topics students have studied • measure skills they have learned• find out their study habits• awake students sense of their overall strengths and weaknesses

• motivate students• evaluate students’ participation

Four Steps for Using Self Assessment

1. Involve students in defining the criteria that will be used to judge their performance

2. Teach students how to apply the criteria to their own work.

3. Give students feedback on their self evaluations.

4. Help students develop productive

goals and action plans.

Benefits of Self-evaluation

• promotes lifelong learning• helps students develop the ability to make judgements

• students can become better learners• encourages students to become

independent learners • can increase students' motivation

Padlet Task: Questions About Self-Evaluation

Please go to the address: Alexandra’s and Timo’s group:•http://padlet.com/wall/szpx0ov6gc Tiina’s and Katja’s group:•http://padlet.com/wall/lxbzqknnzb Virpi’s group:•http://padlet.com/wall/1h04e4olky

• There are studies that show how students can reflect on their own learning, but have often never been given the opportunity to do so.

• Here are some of the questions that can be asked: • When you finish a study or a lesson, do you think whether you have really understood it?

• Do you think about the process of learning?• Can you identify the strengths and

weaknesses in the way you learn?

Most common perceptions of strengths and weaknesses.

According to “Self Evaluation in the Global Classroom” study:

Top strengths:• ‘learning fast’• ‘understanding’• ‘making connections’

Top weaknesses:• ‘laziness’• ‘difficulties in concentrating’• ‘managing time’

Difficulties in motivating students in self-evaluation?• The student’s motivation is greatly influenced by:

• The peers can provide the important sense of motivation and the discussion in the class

can be an important way to learn

about ‘learning for life’.

Interest Understanding Social environment

Teachers can pay greater attention to student’s individual development and talk about learning based on interest and how the student can do best.

Digital image, Clarion University. http://www.clarion.edu/254/

Sources

• Peer and Self Assessment. Barral, R. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw67R8SVYKI

• Macbeath, J., Sugimine, H., (2003). Self-Evaluation in the Global Classroom. RoutledgeFalmer, New York. Chapter 18, Pages 183-202.

• Center for Development and Learning,

Student self-evaluation: What reseach says and what practice shows, by Carol Rolheiser and John A. Ross

• http://www.cdl.org/resource-library/articles/self_eval.php