Page 61 - International Journal of Process Educaiton (Special Issue)

Self-Assessment (1992) A

An individual with a self-assessment mindset is motivated to consistently work to improve his or her
own performance by using performance criteria. Self-assessment, like assessment, depends upon
criteria that describe what constitutes quality in a performance, and strives to identify strengths
(and how to replicate them) and areas for improvement (and how to make those improvements).
Self-assessment is the most productive practice for triggering and maintaining growth; conversely,
self-evaluation makes growth nearly impossible.

When Pacific Crest was Pacific Crest Software and it came Defining and Describing Self-Assessment
to marketing technology, Pacific Crest employees con-
ducted demonstrations in which teams of students used The articulation and definition of self-assessment evolved
the software (see the Role of Technology section). Dan between 1991 and 1997. The deep fundamental relationship
Apple shares his recollection of how that process led to between improvement and self-assessment was noted
an understanding of the critical nature of assessment and in the first Teaching Institute Handbook, in which self-
especially self-assessment: assessment was identified as a key to improving the rate of
learning (Apple, 1991).
In order to help faculty better understand
what they were seeing when they viewed these Self-assessment was an integral part of Learning Through
demonstrations, the student participants were Problem Solving (Apple, Beyerlein & Schlesinger, 1992),
asked to reflect on their experience and for each and was identified as a way to build the ability to think
team to share the three most important things critically about one’s own learning process: "Self-assessing
they had learned. Almost without exception, is about assessing your progress not only when you think
their lists of what they had learned were in areas you have an answer, but also as you are working toward the
such as improved communication, teamwork, answer…This book challenges you to assess your progress
problem solving, critical thinking, risk-taking, through a series of critical thinking questions." Part of the
self-confidence, and leadership, rather than power of self-assessment and the reason why it can lead
anything about the software. By the late 1980s, to improved performance is this combination of focus on
student participants started asking the workshop the process of performance (rather than end product) and
facilitators to help them to continue to improve in metacognitive awareness. To use a simple example, if we
the future. This led to the addition of the role of want to make a better pizza, we don’t start with a pizza; we
reflector in the team structures. It also led to the start with the process of making the pizza…and the more
facilitator tasking each individual student with aware we are of that process, the more carefully we can
performing a self-assessment of their performance. work to make things better.
Because there was no standard offered, students
could not easily evaluate their performance; they But self-assessment was not and is not an activity that
were simply asked to reflect on their performance can be simply added to the traditional classroom; self-
and consider how it might be improved. assessment is an essential aspect of a learning environment
which seeks the empowerment of the student. As Apple
Though not appreciated as such at the time, students were and Lawrence explain,
simultaneously looking back (reflecting) and looking
forward (assessing); individuals determined their own Self-assessment permeates each activity and is an
areas for improvement and teams shared a synthesized essential aspect of the empowerment of the student.
list of individual team member strengths. Though the One of the components of accepting responsibility
collaborative nature of these teams and the reporting for one's own learning (and therefore buying
structure they worked with may have made it difficult to into lifelong learning) is the ability and desire
observe at first, individual students were already engaging to assess oneself. To encourage self-assessment,
in informal self-assessment, identifying strengths and the facilitator needs to establish an environment
areas for improvement (see the section Assessment vs. where self-assessment is achievable, encouraged
Evaluation). and valued. — Education as a Process (1994).

At this point, we have a thumbnail sketch of self-
assessment that includes the following qualities:

International Journal of Process Education (February 2016, Volume 8 Issue 1) 59