Promoting Critical Thinking through the Use of Portfolios and Self-assessment

Abstract

This is a report of a case study carried out with sixth graders in a public school in Bogotá. The main goal of this study was to analyze if through the use of portfolios and self-assessment practice critical thinking was developed. In this case different study instruments were used to observe the students’ critical thinking process: a teacher’s journal, students’ portfolios, video recordings, interviews and a questionnaire. The results showed that self-assessment helps to develop critical thinking in students, especially as regards self-regulation and evaluation skills. Likewise, using portfolios increased students’ autonomy. In addition, self-examination and self-correction skills were developed.

Keywords

• portfolios
• critical thinking
• self-assessment