Page 90 - Learning to Learn

READING EXPERIENCE 4: SELF -ASSESSMENT: THE ENGINE OF SELF-GROWTH
90 L EARNING TO LEARN: BECOMING A SELF-GROWER
Reflection Self-Assessment
STEP 5
Play a lot of “what-if” games.
This step allows the reflector to consider other
possible outcomes to the experience. These alternate
outcomes may come from the reflector’s own past
performance or something he or she has read or heard.
These other possibilities can be used to question the
meaning and significance of the actual sequence of
events, thus deepening and expanding the insights in
the log.
For each attribute or simple criterion, determine
the evidence needed to perform the assessment.
Evidence is important in order to judge whether
the criteria are achieved successfully. The evidence
should be readily accessible from the performance
being assessed.
STEP 6
Organize a list of insights into common themes.
In this step, the reflector looks back over the list
of insights generated and arranges them based on
common elements. It may be useful to write the
insights on separate slips of sticky paper and group
them by themes before recording them in the log.
This step is a preparation for Step 7 in which the
reflector evaluates the quality of the insights.
Select the scale and range to be used in looking at
each piece of evidence.
Measurement requires a scale and a range. If the
evidence is carefully selected, these should be self-
evident. The scale may be numerical or ordinal and
should be sufficient to explain all gradations within
the range. If in doubt, one should make the scale
simple.
STEP 7
Identify key insights.
Once the insights have been organized by common
themes, the reflector identifies those which are
most significant and meaningful. This may involve
rewriting them to combine several insights into one
and checking that no important insight has been
omitted.
Collect and measure the evidence identified in
Step 5 using the scale from Step 6.
For this step it would be helpful to have already
engaged in a reflection about the performance being
assessed. The reflection or play-back will highlight
evidence needed to conduct the assessment. The
collected evidence should be connected directly to
the performance. Each piece of evidence should be
rated according to its scale.
STEP 8
Generalize key insights to a wider set of situations.
The key insights which were identified in Step 7 may
be somewhat specific to the past experience which
initiated the reflection, or they may apply to a wider
set of situations that can allow the reflector to derive
greater value from the original experience. To raise
the level of significance of the insight, it helps to ask
the question “So what?” repeatedly, and then reword
the generalized insight according to the answer.
Use the collected evidence to prepare a self-
assessment report.
In writing a self-assessment report, one determines
and documents strengths, areas for improvement,
and insights gained from conducting the assessment
(Wasserman & Beyerlein, 2007). It is thus referred to
as an SII report, and it is the heart of the assessment.
The main purpose of self-assessment is to help the
assessor/assessee improve his or her performance
and move along the path to becoming a self-grower
(Leise, 2007). For each area for improvement, one
should develop a short-term (what can be done
immediately) and a long-term (what can be done in
the future) plan of action. If previous action plans
have been developed, they should now be assessed.