Help Students Learn How to Self-Assess

In a discussion of the use of self-assessment in the classroom, a colleague pointed out that, potentially, not enough time is spent on emphasizing the importance of being self-critical. In her class, she used a set of self-assessment questions at the end of a research project, but she noted that “students spend the least amount of time on this, usually answering, ‘Yes, I did it well,’ or ‘No, there is no room for improvement.’”

Her question was how to get students to engage in the practice of self-assessment as well as how to get them to understand how important it really was.

The student responses above are the kinds of answers I would get from my classes when I first began asking them to evaluate their own essays. Although with teenagers, I’d get something more like, “It’s good enough. Whatever…” (with an accompanying eye-roll for emphasis). 

But we have to consider that the ability to self-assess is one of the most difficult of the self-skills. It's not really a fun thing to do, self-evaluation.  It’s also a “thinking” skill that teenagers seriously lack. Their self-perspectives are often distorted. Thus, having them practice this skill with their writing, in particular, may help them not only improve their essays but improve their ability to self-perceive. 

It’s not something that we can throw out there to a group of students, though, as “Let’s self-assess our writing, today.” It’s crucial that we personally have a strong grip on it before we launch the idea.We have to ask ourselves:

•  How well am I able to self-assess my own writing?   

• How well am I able to determine what my strengths and weaknesses are?

These questions might lead us to:

•  Have I written something or done something that I can self-assess?   

I think we sometimes underestimate the need for and impact of role-modeling, particularly as it applies to any sort of self-criticism. Finding the time can be an obstacle, but I'm wondering if it's more so that we don't' realize the importance of modeling this particular skill-set.

       We have to be comfortable criticizing ourselves and our own work, if we expect students to do 

        the same.  

In the Language Arts curriculum, writing alongside students can be the first step in guiding them to stronger self-assessment skills. 

For example, if you have a timed writing prompt, write the essay along with the class—same topic, same time parameters.  I would use this approach for a few reasons: (1) to ensure that I had a better grasp of the question, (2) to model the writing process (warts and all), and (3) to have an authentic point of reference when reviewing their work and in any discussions we’d have about the rubric. 

Then, we’d evaluate.  I’d share my writing with them in some way (sometimes, I’d just read it aloud), and then, I’d identify what I found to be a strong element (basing it back on the principles from a rubric), and what I thought needed work. I would also explain why something was strong or weak, in my opinion and based on the rubric.

That why is crucial. All too often students stumble onto a turn of phrase or idea, and they think it’s a one-time thing that they’ve done well. It’s NOT. Whatever they’ve done well can be repeated because it will reflect a principle of writing. The key lies in identifying the principle. 

Having the teacher tear her own work apart released their apprehensions in doing so themselves. Much like a counseling group, everyone would open up, once they felt safe. This approach served as a model of intellectual humility, and it also aided in cultivating a classroom culture of continuous improvement. Not just for the students, but for the teacher, too.  

If we want students to self-assess, then we'll need to show them how. How willing are we to model self assessment?

Mindy and some of her former students wrote Transparent Teaching of Adolescents: Creating the Ideal Class for Students and Teachers--a philosophy, method, and timely application of strategies that span the school year. A collaborative effort from all over the globe, the dialogue between this teacher and her former students presents both the wholeness of teaching and a model of how to build rapport, engage high school students in their experience, and enrich learning at the secondary level of education.

Compelling Students to Read: Why One Question Might Matter

The questions you see in this post are from a preview of a Middle School Guided Reading by Genre: CCSS Aligned, a product  for 5th-8th grade teachers available at Teachers pay Teachers. What I appreciate about the product is that Kiehl (the teacher-author) distinguishes between the genres in the discussions. For example, she clearly notes that each genre leads readers to think in a way that other genres may not and the questions reflect that distinction. Further, the questions provided do offer teachers an effective template from which to work. 

The essential questions, though, the big questions, the ones that would help students understand why we’re asking all of these other, rather random questions, can't be put on this template for obvious reasons. There are just too many possibilities.

However, my fear is that teachers, particularly those who are either too new, too fearful, or too apathetic to personalize the templates purposefully and thoughtfully, will over-rely on the offered questions, using them verbatim and nothing else. Again, don’t get me wrong—the questions will work, and Kiehl is to be lauded for creating a clear, cohesive document.

But what these questions cannot do is inspire any sort of motivation to read other than to answer the questions.  The motivation is the grade that the student will get from answering the questions (possibly for a simple participation grade or maybe for accuracy, depending on the teacher).  

Without any reason to want to answer these questions about a text or a character within it, why should the student bother exercising his or her brain to use the skill?

Without that desire, the questions, much like the ones answered on a standardized test, the goal is just to get the right answer by demonstrating mastery of the critical thinking skill.  But is that all really what we want? Don’t we want more? Don’t we want students to either LOVE reading or LOVE reading the particular novel, short story, text, or poem?  How can we encourage and instill that love for reading in any genre if all we want them to do is plough through questions to demonstrate that yes, Johnny can infer, synthesize, predict, and connect? 

We have to take a crucial initial step.

Let’s use one of the recommended inference questions from the template to create a quick example from Jean M. Auel’s The Clan of the Cave Bear, a text within the historic fiction genre: 

                What can you infer about Creb based on what Ayla has to say about him in the text?

From the template: What can you infer about (insert character's name) based on what (insert character's name) says about him/her in the text? 

I dearly love this book, and I’ve read it over and over again. I have to wonder, though, what question I could ask before this one that might inspire a student to want to care about what Ayla has to say about Creb. Why should the student care what Ayla thinks about the Mogur?  What question can I ask to get the student to even bother to desire to make this inference and respond to it? 

That compelling question, whatever it is, must be asked first. 

There must be a compelling reason for students to want to understand other than just practicing inferences because it’s something that students have to do because it’s a standard they have to know because we’re being evaluated on how well our students perform on that standard because that’s how our school is graded and plays a part in how much funding we get.  

Are we asking these initial, compelling, driving questions? 

Perhaps:

                Does it matter what daughters think about their fathers or father-figures? Why? 

From this over-arching question the follow-up inference question would flow quite nicely. 

Does it matter what children think about their fathers or father-figures? Why or why not?

Based on what Ayla says about Creb in the novel, what kind of a person and father do you think he is? (for the girls)

Based on what Broud says about Brun in the novel, what kind of a person and father do you think he is? (for the boys)

Actually, from that initial question, several others would naturally flow, particularly those under the category of connections.   Further, the distinction of gender provides an even greater connection for students. (You’ll notice that I changed the wording of the template question somewhat, but the meaning and underlying skill is the same.) 

When we offer students a compelling, clearly connective question BEFORE we have them analyze from a text, we can instill a greater intrinsic motivation to analyze, but we also move the emphasis away from the grade and the test and the standards. We make it real. We make the story mean something to them.  Figuring something out has a purpose that might make a difference in their lives. 

Try it once and see. Create that compelling, connective question that will drive the rest of those aligned questions on that worksheet and discuss it with students, first. If you’re really adventurous, try it one class but not the other, and compare the final products.  Let us know what you find out! 

Mindy and some of her former students have collaborated on a book of teaching strategies: Transparent Teaching of Adolescents: Creating the Ideal Class for Students and Teachers.  Check us out on FaceBook, too!

Perpetuating a Culture of Lower-order Thinking

I found this checklist offered as the next "best strategy" on Pinterest the other day. And while I do love easy to use, clear checklists, I pondered what the teacher was actually assessing.

Out of all of the items on this checklist for a "thoughtful" log entry, only one (no. 8) actually entails any assessment of thinking.  Everything else is...mechanics.

Of course, you might say that mechanics was the goal of the assignment. However, the title "Thoughtful Log" seems to belie that possibility. While we're wringing our hands at kids not being able to think critically, we need to stop and make sure that the assessments and evaluations we have designed actually promote that thinking. 

From a student's perspective, as long as I have complied with most every item, I will feel satisfied that I have done a good job.  And you can bet I'm going to do the easy stuff, first.

For example, the ability to integrate evidence from the text with context is certainly a skill that students need. However, checking off that they've "got" the evidence doesn't push their thinking. Rather, the item should offer something along the lines of:

        I've integrated evidence from the text (avoided a "dropped quote").

        I've clearly and purposefully contextualized that evidence.

These two quick revisions ask more of the student. They can still use Yes/No on the list, but they carry far more of a punch, cognitively speaking. 

Not to be outdone, I also came across this gem:

 

To be fair, this chart is identified as an elementary anchor chart for standard one in K-8 classrooms. Further, the use of the overarching question "How do [I] know?" is relevant and helpful.

Nonetheless, I have to wonder if it is absolutely necessary to have students use "said/says" when referring to text. Why can't we teach them a little bit earlier that text doesn't "talk"? Further, how difficult would it be to avoid having them write in past tense? Especially since the moment they hit high school, they have to use literary present?Consider the student who uses phrasing such as:

                            1. On page ___, the author writes..

                            2. The author argues/asserts/states/discusses...

                            3.  The graphic shows/reflects/conveys...

                            4. An example of ___is...

                            5. I know that ____because...

One thing that's going to happen is the student will most likely be compelled to write more in-depth; literary present does that. Further, the student will be much more aware of the author's role, which is crucial in helping them make the step "up" in analysis.

Or maybe I'm just grumpy, today. What do you think?


Mindy Keller-Kyriakides and former students are the authors of Transparent Teaching of Adolescents: Defining the Ideal Class for Students and Teachers.  Become part of the conversation!