Self assessment and self reflection are some of the most significant tools we can teach our students and are a fundamental aspect to Character Education. We want students to be reflecting on their learning, understanding, strengths, weaknesses, goals and so much more. Teaching self assessment is what separates the 'good' teacher from the 'outstanding' teacher.
Here are 4 great reasons why teachers should be offering the opportunity for students to self assess in every single lesson, as well as some fun and engaging ideas for self reflection that your students are going to love!
1) Deeper thinking: Usually when we formally assess students, they receive feedback with a grade which tells them how well they have done. There is a time and place for this of course, but really we want to go a step further and encourage our students to think more deeply about their learning. By doing this, they also learn the qualities of "good" work and how to judge their work against these qualities. They also learn to look at their own performance and assess their efforts and accomplishments so they can set goals to improve in the future.
2) Structure your next lesson: This is also a great opportunity for you to find out what common problems students are having so you can go over it next lesson or offer small group training. You can even differentiate your self assessment activities to target different groups of students / learning styles. Check out these Social Media Exit Tickets below as an example - some of these are targeted at visual learners, others are just focusing on keywords and others are asking for more depth in creating questions and answers based on their understanding of the lesson.
1) Deeper thinking: Usually when we formally assess students, they receive feedback with a grade which tells them how well they have done. There is a time and place for this of course, but really we want to go a step further and encourage our students to think more deeply about their learning. By doing this, they also learn the qualities of "good" work and how to judge their work against these qualities. They also learn to look at their own performance and assess their efforts and accomplishments so they can set goals to improve in the future.
2) Structure your next lesson: This is also a great opportunity for you to find out what common problems students are having so you can go over it next lesson or offer small group training. You can even differentiate your self assessment activities to target different groups of students / learning styles. Check out these Social Media Exit Tickets below as an example - some of these are targeted at visual learners, others are just focusing on keywords and others are asking for more depth in creating questions and answers based on their understanding of the lesson.
Social Media Exit Tickets. Click the image to download!
3) Take ownership: they can take ownership of their own learning and learn that assessment isn't something that is done "to" them (we all know the dreaded feeling of getting back test scores!) but something that is an integral part of their learning and collaboration between themselves and their teachers.
4) Engage them: self assessment doesn't have to be boring and tedious. There are plenty of ways to capture their interest and engagement - simply tap into what they are already tuned into! I have created an array of exciting exit tickets that are based on popular trending themes that students love, e.g.: emojis, social media, cell phones, comics etc! Click on any of the images below to find out more!
4) Engage them: self assessment doesn't have to be boring and tedious. There are plenty of ways to capture their interest and engagement - simply tap into what they are already tuned into! I have created an array of exciting exit tickets that are based on popular trending themes that students love, e.g.: emojis, social media, cell phones, comics etc! Click on any of the images below to find out more!
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Need more proof? Check out what other teachers have been saying about my exit tickets:
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Well there you have it! Teachers all around the world are loving seeing their students getting all excited about self assessment with my engaging exit tickets! I hope you get on well with self assessment in your classroom, and feel free to try out any of my exit tickets to engage your students in their journey of self reflection! Oh, and I do have a free pirate emoji exit ticket in the VIP area which you are welcome to download and use!
How do you currently self assess in your classroom? Let's chat in the comments below - I respond to every comment :)
How do you currently self assess in your classroom? Let's chat in the comments below - I respond to every comment :)
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