‘In the current era of standards-based education, student self-assessment stands alone in its promise of improved student motivation and engagement, and learning.’ J. McMillan and J. Hearns
Self-assessment is a super power. But what is it and how does it work?
It is not ‘just giving yourself a grade’. Self-assessment involves thinking about what you are learning, how you are learning it and what learning strategies and skills are effective for you. It is also about analysing your progress and learning that leads to you identifying areas for development and setting new goals, planning actions and deciding on strategies that will help you develop your language further.
Which helps with your motivation
Students that can see their progress and feel in control of their own learning are more motivated to learn. Students that have positive self-assessments commit more to their learning (Schunk 1995)
Which helps with your engagement
Students that are motivated to learn and feel in control are more actively engaged in their learning.
Which helps with your confidence
The more a student feels in control of their learning, feels able to analyse and build on their progress and knows their actions will lead to further learning, the more confident they are in their success.
Which helps with learning
There is absolutely no doubt. All research into successful learning indicates that motivation, engagement and confidence lead to better progress and better results.
How do we help students self-assess?
To help students develop the skills they need to self-assess well and accurately research shows that we need to establish clear learning objectives, involve students in developing evaluation criteria and encourage them to self-report on their learning. What does this look like at EC?
We foster this by ensuring:
Every lesson has a clear learning objective and you will discuss how this learning will be achieved during the lesson and how you will be able to use the language outside the classroom.
Success Criteria are used to help students understand what success looks like. Success Criteria are discussed with students and students can decide what areas they want to focus on.
Reflection is then encouraged, students use Success Criteria to analyse their performance and decide their next steps.
So, self-assessment is a super power and it is a super power that EC will help you develop, a super power that will ensure you Find Your Voice
If you want to start your English language journey with us, then contact us today to find the best course that suits your needs and to travel to your dream destination this year!