Developing Self-Reflection In Learning By Formative Assessment In Vocational High School

In recent years, a lot of senior schools enlarge students enrollment. Only a limited number of students study in vocational high schools for a job after graduation. The qualities of students in vocational school descend. By questionnaires the researcher found that students' learning habits were unscientific and self-reflection was weak on learning. The present assessment system focused on scores. It did not fully monitor learning processes. The New Curriculum Standard was promulgated by the National Ministry of Education in 2001, which initiated the formative assessment. And students' learning process should be focused. The reflective learning habits should be cultivated. The thesis explores whether the self-reflective habits could developed by formative assessment.There are two main hypotheses:1. Formative assessment can help students in vocational schools cultivate self-reflection in learning.2. Self-reflection enables students to make progress in learning.The researcher made an experiment by case study, interview and questionnaires. Then data was collected and analyzed with SPSS.The researcher concluded:1. the self-reflective learning can be developed by formative assessments.2. the formative learning can benefit English learning. 3. the formative assessment also improve learning students' self-confidence, cooperation and communicative skills.The thesis is divided into five chapters.In Chapter One, the thesis presents analyses about students' learning situation and present assessment system. According to these, the researcher puts forward to the purposes of the experiment and outlines the thesis.In Chapter Two, it is literature review. The theories and applications of formative assessment and reflective learning are respectively elaborated.In Chapter Three, the author made an experiment in Class (15) (16) Senior Two with 50 students in Beijing Foreign Affairs School. Class (16) was experimental group; class (15) was control group. The control group adopted the traditional assessment. The experimental group adopted the formative assessment. The experiment was from March to July in 2006. The final-test scores and Class Log scores last term were regarded as pre-tests; the middle-test scores, final-test scores and scores in Proficiency Test (English) this term were regarded as post-tests.In Chapter Four, the researcher analyzed and compared the data with SPSS.In Chapter five, the author drew conclusion of the whole experiment and put forward several implications. Recommendations for future study were made. The development of formative assessment and reflective learning were imagined.