Assessing meaning making and self-authorship
Subtitle: theory, research, and application
By: Marcia B. Baxter Magolda, Patricia M. King
Series: ASHE higher education report -- v. 38, no. 3; ASHE higher education report -- v. 38, no. 3.
Publisher: Wiley Periodicals, Inc.; Jossey-Bass
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Hoboken, N.J; San Francisco, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 138
ISBN-13: 9781118500545
Subjects: Constructivism (Education); Lernpsychologie; Developmental psychology; Cognitive styles; Student; Self-actualization (Psychology); Lerntheorie; Psychology of Learning
Description: One reason so many students fail to achieve complex learning goals may be that they rely too heavily on others' opinions about what to believe, who to be, and how to relate to others. The meaning-making capacity of self-authorship provides a basis from which to understand and learn from one's experiences; without this, students are at a loss to know how to make intentional choices about what to believe and how to act. Similarly, without a means to access and assess students' meaning making, researchers are at a disadvantage in deciding how to interpret students' academic performance and other behaviors, and educators are at a disadvantage in translating findings into the design of new programs and services. This monograph is for those who are interested in understanding self-authorship and its assessment, and in using this approach in their own work. Drawing from well-established theories and extensive longitudinal research including nearly two thousand interviews, it offers a detailed account of how young adults' capacities become more complex and adaptive over time. Those who understand the role of meaning making will be better able to document its effects on educational outcomes and provide better information to decision makers about program effectiveness. -- Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-129) and indexes.
Table of contents: title: Nudging minds to life : self-authorship as a foundation for learning; title: Assessing self-authorship and its evolution; title: Development of the ten positions in the journey toward self-authorship; title: Trusting external authority : external positions; title: Entering the crossroads : predominantly external positions; title: Leaving the crossroads : predominantly internal positions; title: Self-authorship : internal positions; title: Using the self-authorship assessment guide; title: Appendix : Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education : qualitative research team.