Learner Autonomy And Self Assessment Guidelines

Learner Autonomy Principles

“Active learners taking initiative learn more things and learn better than do people who sit at the feet of their teachers.” – Knowles “Autonomy is essentially a matter of the learner's psychological relation to the process and content of learning--a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action” – Little “The autonomous learner is a self-activated maker of meaning, an active agent in his own learning process. Learning is seen as the result of his own self-initiated interaction with the world.” – Rathbone “Autonomy is a situation in which the learner is totally responsible for all the decisions concerned with his/her learning and the implementation of those decisions” – Dickinson

How can we develop responsibility and autonomy?

On the part of the LEARNER -

Motivation and self-confidence:

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Monitoring and evaluation:

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Learning Strategies

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Cooperation and group cohesion:

On the part of the TEACHER -

Sharing information with the learner

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Consistent control

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Delegating tasks and decisions

Adapted from Learner Autonomy by Ágota Scharle and Anita Szabó, Cambridge University Press 2000

Self-assessment as part of Learner Autonomy development

Types of Self-Assessment 1. Assessment of [a specific] performance 2. Assessment of [general] competence 3. Metacognitive assessment [for setting goals] 4. Socioaffective assessment 5. Student-generated tests

Guidelines for Self-Assessment 1. Tell students the purpose of the assessment 2. Define the task(s) clearly 3. Encourage impartial evaluation of performance and ability 4. Ensure beneficial washback through follow-up tasks

From Language Assessment by H. Douglas Brown, Longman 2004