Paris, S. G., & Ayres, L. R. (2003). Becoming Reflective Students and Teachers with Portfolios and Authentic Assessment. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

This book discusses how to design classrooms and assessments to support self-regulated learning: "the motivated and strategic efforts of students to accomplish specific purposes." Paris suggests that for students to regulate their own learning, they need (a) to be motivated to learn, (b) to face challenges that they need to overcome, (c) to build knowledge collaboratively, and (d) feedback that informs them about their progress.

To this end, much of the book is dedicated to the idea of developing assessments that promote refection. Portfolios, selv-evaluations, journals, and personal inventories and surveys all serve this purpose, when well designed. Such assessments should ask the student to report on and analyze the work they've done, as well as provide them with a standard by which they can judge their performance; for example, rubrics for scoring elements in a portfolio of learning.

Paris then addresses many of these self-assessment/reflection techniques to the teacher, as well. Self assessment via professional portfolios, teaching journals, etc. parallel the self asessment activities asked of students and provide opportunities for professional reflection and growth.

All of this is presenting in the context of learner-center assessment; assessments that inform both the learner and the teacher of the learners progress and areas for improvement. This is contrasted with content-centered assessment, which focuses mainly on whether content knowledge can be reproduced by the learner on demand.

Contributed by: William Doane wd213355@albany.edu