Self-Assessment

Children's Self-Assessment

Self-reflection is one of the most valuable skills children can learn with us. We want to ensure opportunities for children to review their own learning, for example within projects, by continuous feedback from adults and peers. Self-assessment at Kaleide takes place within a supportive “learning community” in which all of us are involved in negotiating the learning and the activities that contribute to such learning. Self-assessment then becomes a tool for empowering children, who gain access to involvement with assessment and share power in decision making.

Self-assessment enhances personal or intellectual development and social competencies, which children need to practise in order to work as a team. It also develops children's autonomy, cognitive abilities, and their capacity to learn about their own process of learning by making it conscious.

One of the tools we shall use to this end are Kanban Boards, which we talked about in the section on Project-based Learning.

In our conversations with the children, we can encourage self-reflection by asking them to think about questions such as:

• Do I listen to others and contribute my thoughts during meetings?

• Do I add topics to the weekly agenda to create changes at school?

• Do I hold to the agreements that we make together in Reflection meeting?

• Do I work towards solutions and help create a healthy culture?

• Do I speak up about offerings or activities I want to see happen?

• Do I listen to and consider the offerings when we go over them?

• Do I make sure things that are important to me get scheduled?