The reflective diary as a method for the formative assessment of self-regulated learning
Journal article, 2018

An increasingly desired outcome of engineering education is the ability to engage in self-regulated learning (SRL). One promising method for the formative assessment of SRL is the reflective diary. There is, however, a paucity of research on the use of reflective diaries in engineering education. To mitigate this gap, we report on a case study where reflective diaries were implemented in a master’s course on tissue engineering. The objective of this paper is to explore the potential of reflective diaries for the formative assessment of three central aspects of SRL: conceptions of knowledge, conceptions of learning, and strategies for monitoring and regulating learning. Based on a theoretical thematic analysis of the diary entries, we show that reflective diaries can be used to assess these three aspects of SRL. We discuss ways of providing feedback to students, with a focus on dialogic feedback.

formative assessment

epistemological beliefs

theoretical thematic analysis

dialogic feedback

Self-regulated learning

reflective diaries

Author

Patric Wallin

Chalmers, Communication and Learning in Science, Engineering Education Research - EER (Chalmers)

Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Tom Adawi

Chalmers, Communication and Learning in Science, Engineering Education Research - EER (Chalmers)

European Journal of Engineering Education

0304-3797 (ISSN) 1469-5898 (eISSN)

Vol. 43 4 507-521

Subject Categories

Didactics

DOI

10.1080/03043797.2017.1290585

More information

Latest update

5/14/2018