Reflective assessment: opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Purpose: Librarians engage in assessment for several purposes, such as to improve teaching and learning, or to report institutional value. In turn, these assessments shape our perspectives and priorities. How can we participate critically in the assessment of information literacy instruction and library programming while broadening our view and making room for questions about what we do? This paper explores self-reflection as a method for building on existing assessment practices with a critical consciousness.Design/Methodology/Approach: In tracing the trajectory of assessment and reflective practice in library literature, the authors conducted a selective literature review and analyzed the potential impact of incorporating librarian self-reflection into assessment practices, particularly for instructional services. The authors' experiences with strategies informed by these conversations were also described.Findings: Self-reflection has typically been employed to improve teaching or as a method of assessing student learning. However, it can also be used to develop a critical awareness of what we accomplish through the act of assessing. The authors develop and present self-reflective strategies and discuss their benefits and limitations.Practical Implications: An extensive list of strategies was developed to illustrate practical examples of a reflective approach to assessment. Originality/Value: Although librarians have used reflection as a type of assessment strategy, we have not viewed self-reflection as a method for evaluating other assessment techniques. Librarians interested in exploring reflective practice and thinking critically about assessment will find strategies and suggestions for doing so.

Perceptions of information literacy competencies among future psychology professionals: a comparative study in Spain and Portugal

“…Some studies have gone more in-depth with respect to learning outcomes in order to know the mechanisms of IL learning while seeking to intervene on this subject (Chan, 2016;Kiel et al, 2015;Larkin and Pines, 2005;Stanoevska-Slabeva et al, 2015). Others reflect more in detail on the instruments of student performance (Neely, 2006;McKinney, 2010;Fraillon et al, 2013;Graf and Harris, 2016). Finally, others focus on the results obtained and what they mean, taking into account the learning in IL and which areas or components are evaluated (Cranney et al, 2008;Heine and O'Connor, 2013;Stecher and Hamilton, 2014).…”

Improving Learner-Driven Teaching Practices through Reflective Assessment

“…Macaluso (2014) furthermore told us that "the greater purpose of selfreflection is to develop a sense of where one's strengths and areas for improvement lie and what steps one might take to improve or grow as an educator" (p. 124). Within this frame, the growth-oriented act of reflection becomes a legitimate tool of assessment (Graf & Harris, 2016).…”

For Your Enrichment: Developing a Reflective Practice Template for Citation Management Software Instruction

“…7 They cite Schön's statement: "when we set the problem [upon which we reflect and act], we select what we will treat as the 'things' of the situation, we set the boundaries of our attention to it." Thus, for Schön, as for Graf and Harris, the perception of critical incidents would depend on what events were paid attention.…”