Assignments: assessing your information

The final step of our process is assessment.  After all the hard work of defining and gathering information, followed by writing our assignment, it can be tempting to forego this last step.  However, assessing the successes and challenges of any process can help to improve it the next time we do it.

 

Imagine a friend of yours is about to start writing their assignment.  They are struggling to get started.  Would you recommend this system to them?  What worked well?  What didn't work at all?  What would you do differently?

 

Time management
Which parts of this process took the most time?
Did any parts take more time than you expected?
Did you run out of time at the end? 
How would you plan your time differently the next time you write an assignment? 

Organising yourself
Was it easy to keep track of your notes?
Did you remember to gather your citation information as you read?
Did you find out your password for accessing online resources?
Did you learn new ways of accessing resources, such as reserving library books? 
How would you organise yourself differently the next time you write an assignment?   

Overall
Are you happy with the assignment you wrote?
Think about one thing that you did very well when you were writing your assignment.
Think about one thing that you would have liked to do better when you were writing your assignment.

Alvin Toffler tells us that one of the most important skills for students today is to be able to learn, unlearn and relearn.  Assessment is a vital part of the learning process; it is worth taking the time to reflect on what you have learned in order to improve your future work!