Toward a Praxis-Oriented Understanding of Student Self-Assessment in STEAM Education: How Exemplary Educators Leverage Self-Assessment

ABSTRACT

While researchers have begun to develop theories of assessment to support integrated learning within Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education, the role of student self-assessment (SSA) – a core aspect of classroom assessment – has been understudied. The purpose of this research was to develop an initial praxis-oriented understanding of how exemplary STEAM educators provoke SSA in integrated learning. Through an in-depth qualitative methodology drawing on interview and artefact data from 14 purposefully selected exemplary STEAM teachers, this study identified seven types of SSA activities: (a) self-documentation of learning; (b) reflection; (c) making metacognitive processes explicit; (d) prototype testing and revision; (e) goal setting; (f) self-testing; and (g) interactional SSA. Superimposed on the engineering design process, a process commonly leveraged to integrate disciplines in STEAM education, results provide a nuanced understanding of how exemplary STEAM educators leverage SSA, advancing assessment theory and practice in integrated education.

KEYWORDS:

• STEAM education
• student self-assessment
• classroom assessment
• integrated learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada [430-2019-0045].