An important part of student development is becoming an active learner. Such learners take control of their own learning, and plan and monitor what they do. They are reflexive about the selection of tasks, timing of activities, identification of what counts as 'good' work and they are pro-active. Psychologists refer to this as self-regulated learning. The challenge of a good course is to bring out these features in all students, not just the 'good' students.
Task selection
Students gain practice in selecting learning tasks suited for their level of understanding of a topic. The ability to make judicious choices does not come readily to all students and many need assistance in learning features of the tasks they need to take account of.
Knowing the next level of complexity of a task that can be tackled is an important part of organising one’s learning. Students capable of self-monitoring can choose learning activities that match their level of competence and extend it progressively.
Self-testing and the use of results
Self-testing encompasses any activity in which a student receives knowledge from a person, book or automated system about the correctness or appropriateness of a response to a question.
Self-testing may be used to calibrate ones judgement against peers or experts or determining what one has yet to know. The key to self-testing is incorporation of the results into further study.
Confidence marking
Students take tests and indicate not only what they believe to be the correct answers, but also their degree of confidence in their being right.
This can prompt reflection and awareness about what is known and not known.
Confidence marking can be used for tasks with self-generated marks or even conventional multiple-choice items when suitable distracters are built into items.
Withholding marks until specific comments have been considered
When work is returned to students, it only includes comments, not marks. Marks are provided at a later stage.
Evidence shows that students may not read comments when a grade is provided with them.
Students are more likely to consider and engage with feedback when it is not accompanied by a mark or grade.
An example is the REview system, where comments on students work and students self-perception of their work are presented and considered before/separately from grades.
Promoting reflection/reflexivity/meta-learning
Tasks are used which involve students reflecting on their learning activities, their practice during a placement, their feelings or their changing understanding and making sense of them.
Because of the emotional dimension, marks and grades can inhibit reflection. Working in contexts that are experienced as safe and accepting can enhance it.
This may occur in many different ways—through keeping personal journals, portfolios or blogs, through debriefing activities with others, or expressive means (eg. re-enactment).
Reviewing what is and is not known
At the start of a module students are asked to rate their knowledge and skill on a set of topics or competencies, and rate where they want to be by the end. This is repeated at the end of the module when students rate their present knowledge and skill and indicate how much more they need to appreciate about each item.
This does not represent actual competence, but perceived competence, and students should not mistake one for the other.
Such an exercise could be used at various stages in a longer course. [See use of Knowles's (1975) questionnaire about competences — Learning Resource G, H].
Re-presenting achievements or outcomes in different forms
Students create summaries of their achievements for portrayal to third parties (eg. employers). [Purposeful portrayals of learning]
Example: As the final task in the final unit of a Masters course, students produce a two-page summary of what they have learned in a form that can be attached to their CV and read by prospective employers.