Page 91 - Learning to Learn

LEARNING TO LEARN: BECOMING A SELF -GROWER 91
EXPERIENCE 4: S ELF-ASSESSMENT : THE ENGINE OF SELF -GROWTH READING
Reflection Self-Assessment
STEP 9
Determine whether there is a need to for other
processes.
If, during the process of reflection, it becomes clear
that an improvement in performance is necessary, the
self-assessment process should be initiated to identi-
fy strengths, areas for improvement, and potential for
an action plan to address some of the identified areas
for improvement. Reflection can also lead to learn-
ing, problem-solving, research, design, and other
processes. Since the problem-solving, research, and
design processes are often confused with one anoth-
er, it is useful to reflect on past situations in which a
particular process has been identified and then decide
which of these past situations is most similar to the
given situation (Cordon & Williams, 2007).
Determine whether there is a need to engage in
other processes.
The self-assessment report for Step 8 may identify a
need to do further reflection or to engage in learning,
research, design, problem solving, or other processes
in order to maximize growth or to fully implement
the action plans. These processes are described in
Beyerlein (2007).
STEP 10
Assess the quality of the reflection process.
Identify the strengths, areas for improvement, and
insights gained as a result of this process, being
careful to focus both on the process of reflection, and
the product that was generated (i.e., the reflection
log).
Assess the quality of the self-assessment process.
Identify the strengths, areas for improvement, and in-
sights gained as a result of this process, being careful
to focus both on the self-assessment process and the
product that was generated (i.e., the self-assessment
report).
Example of the Methodologies
To illustrate a practical application of the methodologies that might be used in a classroom situation, let
us use the example of a student procrastinating on a web design assignment. In our hypothetical situation,
a project has been assigned that is due after Thanksgiving break. It involves the use of Dreamweaver™,
which is a commonly-used web page design productivity software product. Although the project had been
assigned several weeks before Thanksgiving, our student has put off starting it until he has gone home for
Thanksgiving weekend. He discovers when he gets home that the Internet will be down at his house for
the whole weekend. As a result he is unable to access any online references, nor can he look at examples
of other web pages while he designs his project. Fortunately for him, he does have Dreamweaver™ on his
laptop, so he is able to create the code, but he is unable to test it in a real browser.
When he gets back to school and is again able to access the Internet, he discovers a number of errors which
he does not have time to correct before the paper is due. He explains the dilemma to his teacher who agrees
to let him turn it in late with no penalty if he completes reflection and self-assessment reports in order to
learn from his experience. The following is a description of his experience using the reflection and self-
assessment methodologies.