Does self-assessment improve learning in children? A Literature Review Spanning 2020 – 2023

Abstract

Record ID: 286

Mentorship Award: Excellence in Research Mentoring

Type: Poster Presentation (in-person)

Advisor: Heidi Kloos

Abstract: Self-assessment is a popular pedagogical tool that encourages learners to evaluate the quality of their performance. However, findings are mixed on whether this tool is effective in improving children’s learning. Recent theoretical work on self-assessment suggests that the method of self-assessment matters: if children evaluate themselves in a summative way (e.g., to determine the grade they deserve for produce), learning is hampered. In contrast, if children evaluate themselves in a formative way (e.g., to determine what kind of learning opportunities need to be sought out), learning improves. In the current study, we seek to evaluate evidence that may support this theoretical claim via a literature review. We focused primarily on children grades K-6, as these children might first learn the concepts of self-evaluation. We curated a list of relevant sources that we filtered through from the list of articles that cited Heidi Andrade’s “A Critical Review of Research on Student Self-Assessment” (2019) which is one of the current leading references for formative assessment in the field of self-assessment. We then sorted through over those 300 articles that cited her by using a list of specific criteria we established to contribute to our literature review. Preliminary results suggest that formative self-assessments are a more accurate mechanism for gauging students’ self-efficacy than the alternative summative versions.