Year-to-Date: 568.1; Apr 2023: 79.9; Last Week: 37.9
The concept of self-assessment concerns the process that individuals use to track their progress to reach goals. Take the first line in each of these Broadcaster posts as an example. I set myself the goal of running 2,000 kilometers this year. This large (and nearly unknowable goal) breaks down to around 160 kilometers a month. This is still a large number that requires a lot of work and it breaks down to around 40 kilometers per week. This distance is a bit less than a marathon; however, that distance is far too great if I expect to make it into the fifth grade learning space everyday. My daily goals vary because I focus on different aspects of running to improve.
Let’s transfer self-assessment to this year’s fifth grade cohort. Self-assessment includes many approaches to learning. Thinking skills, especially reflection, are essential to understand growth from a certain reference point to another. Self-management skills, namely time management and organization, are critical when focusing on strategies for success. Research and communication skills, particularly finding the correct data or observations to read closely, are important to know that thoughts can actually transform into beliefs. One of the most meaningful ways that teachers include self-assessment is to reflect on previous goals to set new ones.
This week students reflected on third term goals through a Seesaw post. There were varying levels of success with most students achieving most of the their goals with enough room to still be working on others. What was different at this stage in the school year is candor. Students knew through experience that their beliefs would be compared and contrasted to the success criteria discussed ad infinitum by teachers. Before setting fourth term goals, students reflected on progress in reading by analyzing criteria on a continuum, in writing by analyzing criteria on a progression, in maths by reflecting on prior learning with fractions, and in their approach to learning through areas of general growth.
