Self Evaluation: Building Student Self-awareness and Competence

Abstract

This paper discusses the results of two experiments in self assessment and discusses their value in evaluating student consciousness of their competence, and the opportunity to improve self-awareness and competence in students. The data was gathered from two different engineering courses. The first experiment was conducted in a second-year course on basic electronics and electrical power. As part of the final examination, students were asked to assess their confidence in their answer to each question. The student self-assessment was compared to the actual result in an effort to determine the student’s perception of their competence. Student assessment was coded with respect to consciousness and competence.
 The second experiment was performed on a midterm examination in engineering ethics and professionalism, a senior course discussing the impact and interaction of the engineering profession on society. Students were given an annotated exemplar and a marking rubric and asked to grade their own midterm submissions. The student assessments were compared to the instructor assessment and again the results were coded with respect to consciousness and competence.
 The results showed a contrast between the second-year and senior courses. For the second-year course, 50.3% were coded as consciously competent or incompetent. In the senior course, 80% of students were coded as consciously competent.
 The comparison of the two results suggest that senior students, given suitable instruction, are more aware of their competence than junior students suggesting that current methods do develop an improved awareness of competence, although other factors may be relevant. It is suggested that student awareness be formally monitored, and results used to modify pedagogy to improve and accelerate consciousness in graduates.

Midwives’ perceived role in up referral of high-risk pregnancies in primary healthcare settings, eThekwini district, South Africa

“…In contrast to this study, the midwives' conviction of 'knowing what they knew' (Lynch 2017) about the maternity care guidelines drove them to persevere in reaching out to the structures involved in the referral process. Their perseverance was often met head-on with an interruption of the communication loop, intra-professional disrespect, which was evident in the disregard of the midwives' requests to the emergency medical services and interrogation of their professional decision-making, further complicated by the late arrival of the emergency medical services.…”