33 Evaluate Your Learning

During the learning process, you have many opportunities to receive feedback about the quality of your learning and work.  At college, this often comes in the form of grades and instructor comments on assignments and tests.

After college, feedback can look like employer evaluations, or more informally through conversations with colleagues, partners or friends. By using feedback, you can make adjustments to move towards your education, work, and life goals.

Reflecting through the semester

An excellent time for self-evaluation at NSCC is after you’ve received feedback on your first assignment or test. Consider the following reflection questions at this stage in your course:

• What does success look like for me in this course?
• How am I doing with meeting my goal for this course?
• What has worked well so far?
• What’s not working well?
• What changes might help me improve?
• What learning supports could help me meet my goals?

Use Evaluation to Support Learning

Reflect on things like:

• Your use of College supports.  These include instructor office hours, online resources that supplement your textbook, library and learning supports, and Advisor consultations.
• How did you use your time? Did you make a weekly schedule, study at a good time of the day, schedule breaks, set a timer?
• When did you do your best studying? What helped you focus?
• The style of notes or study tools you used. Maybe you used colour codes, cue cards, voice recordings.

Use the Stop-Start-Continue Method below to reflect and make your plan. If any of your current strategies are not working well, you might want to replace them with other methods. Continue strategies that are working well and start new strategies that you feel will support your success.

Reflecting at the End of a Course

Reflecting at the end of a course is also an excellent time for evaluation. In addition to the questions you asked yourself through the semester, consider the following:

1. How will the information I just learned help me in my future?
2. How will I use the information in my future career and other areas of my life?
3. What have I learned about my learning and studying strategies that will help me in my next courses?

By reflecting on feedback and evaluating your learning regularly, you’ll avoid unproductive patterns. You’ll take charge of your ongoing growth and development, supporting your success in future courses and in other life endeavours.

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