Cycle #2: The Action (part 2)

Creating opportunities for self-assessment in the area of managing information.

Using the Alberta Education competencies overview I would like to look to explore ways by which students could monitor their progress or research and communicating information.  The managing information competency in this framework includes accessing, synthesizing, evaluating, and sharing information.  Using these indicators, it would benefit students to collaboratively reflect on what exactly indicates effective information management.

See all of the Competencies here

In order to accomplish this, time would be spent understanding what managing information means.  Using the model in the competencies overview, students would reflect on past experiences learning from and working with information.  Students would contribute to an alternative version of the chart above to develop their own expectations of what effective information management looks like.  Students can co-construct goals to ensure they are providing themselves with the direction needed to successfully refine this competency.  The student version of this chart could potentially look something like this:

* Chart has been modified from the Alberta Education Competency Description, Indicators and Examples.

Using this model of assessment students would begin to understand their comfort level with this particular competency.  It also would work to build the understanding of what effective practice of this competency looks like.  From here, students would be able to incorporate their understandings of the competency into their research and communication process as they complete classroom activities or projects.  Ideally their understanding and application of using information would develop and continue to be refined throughout this process. 

Knowledge is not the only thing that needs to be assessed in schools.  If students and teachers can work together develop their competencies of managing information throughout the progression of a task, students can holistically increase skills and build knowledge at the same time.  This process ideally will help students and educators enhance the competencies required to accomplish learning outcomes.