Self-Assessment Skills for Lifelong Learning

1. Self-Assessment Skills for Lifelong Learning Margy MacMillan Instructional Librarian, Mount Royal College, Calgary, AB, Canada http://www2.mtroyal.ab.ca/~mmacmillan/conf/lw2006.ppt

2. Why is Self-Assessment Important? • Prompts reflection • Can build self-efficacy • Key life skill for students Why is Reflection Important? • Students don’t always know what they know.

3. A Tool for Self-Assessment • The I-SKILLS Résumé • Easily understood, simple format • Low cost • Provides insight on what students think is important • Provides information to the student they can actually use

4. I-SKILLS Résumé (see handout) (Information Skills and Knowledge for Lifelong Learning Success) Personal: (Name) Special Expertise: (What kinds of info or topics are you especially adept at finding/evaluating/using) Education: (What classes, training, reading, self teaching etc. have you done in the area of information skills) Experience: (what types of information can you find and what tools can you use – e.g. article databases, library catalogues, deep web sites, laws, addresses, etc) Other: (Anything else pertaining to your information finding/evaluating/usage skills you'd like an employer to know, e.g. citing/analysing/bias checking)

5. I-SKILLS Research Project • Long-term project – 2002-2008 • Assessing information skills of journalism students Key Research Questions • Does it prompt reflection on information literacy? • Is the résumé and/or the reflection it prompts useful in seeking employment?

6. Does It Prompt Reflection? “What I am most pleased with is the increase in my knowledge base. I found it amusing that I used the word “muddled” in regards to working on the internet last year. I feel that I have grown so much I do not even remember that person anymore.” Jeff Harris “I would really like a refresher course on research now that I think about it.” Brad Linn

7. How Does the I-SKILLS Résumé Prompt Reflection? • Encourages recall of skills • Encourages articulation of skills • Shows development of skills over time • Provides a tangible record of skills for other purposes • Thank you for the suggestion to ask students to include learning objectives for the next year – by asking “What would you like to know/learn?”

8. How else can we prompt reflection? Notes from participants: • Have students work in dyads – discussion boosts reflection • Ask students to voice concerns about their projects and look for tips from their peers • Hammocks!!!! • Journaling – intensive – can journal their research process – or just include one or two sentences. Can use Blackboard discussion groups – one per student accessible by student and instructor as a place for journaling. • E-portfolios – used a lot in education and arts – can require inclusion of reflective pieces • UNLV uses peer-to-peer teaching to prompt reflection • Good question prompts • What did you do to find…. • What did you think? • How did you feel about the process Thanks for all your great ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9. Other Resources • Research Page • Links to ongoing literature review, other presentations, articles, etc. • http://www2.mtroyal.ca/~mmacmillan/research.htm • I-Skills Résumé Wiki • Ideas for using the résumé tool • http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/i-skills_resume/