Knowledge surveys: Supporting students along pathways to self-directed learning with self-assessment

Student self-assessment data: an instrument for program assessment

“…Researchers have found that students can accurately self-assess their abilities compared to instructor assessments when questions are specific rather than broad or global in nature (Nuhfer et al, 2016a(Nuhfer et al, , 2016b(Nuhfer et al, , 2017Watson et al, 2019;Wirth et al, 2021). When used in a course, student post-KS's compare well with scores on exams, design projects, and writing assignments (Bell & Volckmann, 2011;Favazzo et al, 2014;Sloan & Scharff, 2022;.…”

“…For example, overconfidence relative to performance on an exam could be because the exam questions were not in alignment with the course objectives upon which the KS was based. In an ideal case, faculty have well-designed courses with specific learning objectives that clearly communicate learning expectations, formative assessments that enable faculty to observe student performance and intervene as needed, and summative assessments that are well-aligned with the objectives and instruction of the course (Nuhfer, 1996;Nuhfer & Knipp, 2003;Wirth & Perkins, 2005;Wirth et al, 2021). In all cases, faculty have a tool to teach students not just about a given topic, but to teach students about self-assessment as a fundamental component of learning and to teach them how to think metacognitively (Andrade, 2019;Boud & Falchikov, 2007;Boud et al, 2013;Wirth et al, 2021).…”

“…• Using self-assessment data to complement or augment data from other sources; selfassessment instruments should not be the sole artifacts to demonstrate student achievement of a particular program outcome (Table 3). There is tremendous value in making self-assessment an overt part of a curriculum (Boud & Falchikov, 2007, Sadler, 1989Wirth et al, 2021) and where this is done, it is a logical next step to use some of these data for program assessment (Doppler, 1999;Favazzo et al, 2014;Nuhfer & Knipp, 2003;Wirth & Perkins, 2005).…”

“…(p. 943) Self-assessment is a key self-regulated learning skill (Nilson, 2013) used by expert learners to deliberately select learning strategies to achieve learning goals (Ertmer & Newby, 1996). Wirth et al (2021) note that self-assessment promotes both learning and self-directed learning through metacognitive processes. Accuracy in the self-assessments of one's knowledge and abilities is central to metacognition (Dunlosky & Metcalfe, 2009).…”

“…Other research highlights that if students are unable to self-assess, then they will be ill-equipped for professional roles (Boud et al, 2013), while others emphasize the importance of self-assessment to career choice and success (Jaeger, 2018;Shulz & Thöni, 2016). For all these reasons, many researchers in this area argue that teachers are obligated to systematically teach students self-assessment skills as an overt part of any curriculum (Andrade, 2019;Boud & Falchikov, 2007;Sadler, 1989;Wirth et al 2021).…”