Self-assessment in student's learning and developing teaching in geoinformatics - case of Geoportti self-assessment tool

In successful geoinformatics education, students' active role in the learning process, e.g. through applying self-assessment, show an increasing interest but the evidence of benefits and challenges of self-assessment are sporadic. In this article, we examine the usefulness of an online self-assessment tool developed for geoinformatics education. We gathered data in two Finnish universities on five courses (n = 11-73 students/course) between 2019 and 2021. We examined 1) how the students' self-assessed knowledge and understanding in geoinformatics subject topics changed during a course, 2) how the competencies at the end of a course changed between the years in different courses, and 3) what was the perceived usefulness of the self-assessment approach among the students. The results indicate support for the implementation of self-assessment, both as a formative and summative assessment. However, it is crucial to ensure that the students understand the contents of the self-assessment subject topics. To increase students' motivation to take a self-assessment, it is crucial that the teacher actively highlights how it supports their studying and learning. As the teachers of the examined courses, we discuss the benefits and challenges of the self-assessment approach and the applied tool for the future development of geoinformatics education.

Automated summary

This article examines the usefulness of an online self-assessment tool for geoinformatics education. Data was collected from five courses in two Finnish universities between 2019 and 2021. The results indicate that self-assessment has positive effects on learning and teaching, but it is important to ensure students' understanding of the self-assessment topics. Teachers need to actively highlight how self-assessment supports learning to increase students' motivation.