Each class, just like every student, is unique. As you consider SA strategies, it's a good idea to gather feedback on their perception of the strategies.
Researcher Kristen Nielsen advocates for 12 strategies for self-assessment based on her synthesis of self-assessment literature. Over five weeks I implemented several of these strategies in my first-year composition classroom. Students were asked to rate the helpfulness of the self-assessment strategies on a scale of 1-5 (1=low). As you can see in the chart below, students reported the highest levels of satisfaction with using the Rubric (4.0), Sample Writing Models (4.0), and Guiding Questions (4.0). The other strategies we used were rated as follows: Checklists (3.86), and then Weekly Reflection Prompts (3.79) and Individual & Group Reflection Exercises (3.79). Many of these specific exercises can be found on this website in the Resource Forum.
In the past I have been told anecdotally by some students that they do not reference the assignment rubric, so I was surprised to see its use for SA rated among the highest! By asking my students how they felt about the self-assessment exercises I better understood how their reception to classroom activities mediated their learning.
When I asked students for a written response of how these exercises have helped them improve as writes, some responded:
1. “I actually now see it as a necessary tool.”
2. “I have to say it has improved because I understand how to use the techniques and what they are used for.”
3. “It helped me realize I need to be aware of many essay forms and really understand what I am writing.”
4. “Being that I have never written a rhetorical analysis like this before, the self-evaluation of it was a new experience as well in which I learned some valuable things.”
5. “I learned new devices to help.”
6. “I learned to take a closer look at the readings for content and what to base my structuring on.”
7. “After we reviewed with our peers, I tried to read my essay as if I was someone else and it helped me look at my writing from a different point of view.”
Another effective way to understand how students perceive of SA exercises is to collect and read their responses, even if you do not assign a grade for them. I like to showcase excellent student reflection pieces periodically in class, such as the following:
"My discourse community is my peers. The community I am writing to are parents, adults, and psychologists who value the information supplied by psychologists. The knowledge I have about the rhetorical appeals and the rhetorical devices will help me compose my essay. The synthesis paper is a new concept, but I only need to adapt to the new structure of the writing. The devices are my ingredients and my synthesis is a new dish. I need to experiment for different flavors to find the correct recipe." – Bridget, CCC Student, 2019
This example is a fantastic reminder that we can ascertain the most from our students when we are geared up to look, listen, and learn.
By the way, Bridget's reflection quoted above is a response to the following SA prompt:
Cooking is a metaphor for writing: what can you do with your pantry?
“If knowledge is just items in a mental filing cabinet, then it is easy to acknowledge that an expert must have a well-stocked filing cabinet, but that is like saying that a cook must have a well-stocked pantry. The pantry is not the cook, the filing cabinet is not the expert. What counts with cooks and experts is what they do with the material in their pantries or memory stores.” - College Writing and Beyond, 2007
Reflect on your current writing expertise within your discourse community. What expertise do you have for writing this synthesis and what will you do with it in the synthesis paper? How will you be like a cook?
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