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Therefore, the outline of methodologies that I would employ when teaching in order to assess learning and enable students to become independent learners, is found in the usage of formative assessments in which I am engaged with my students throughout the process. A large part of my assessment technique is rooted in the Socratic method, which encourages dialogue between teacher and student and obliges the student to work through problems and challenges on his/her own while being guided by the teacher, just as Socrates did with his students. He would suggest an argument or idea and bounce it off his students, who would then be encouraged by him to express their thoughts on the idea, whether or not they agreed with it, for example, and then he would dissect their responses in a reasonable and logical way, and ask them whether or not they agreed with his assessment of their responses. This form of back-and-forth would go on until the topic would reach a stage in which universal principles could be applied and a greater truth or idea could be enunciated, which would serve as a guide for future thinking. Arriving at this point was part of the process of involvement for Socrates and it is the essence of what I try to do with my students and what Marshall and William (2006) identify in their argument that formative assessment must be done with the students as opposed to done to them.

Thus, for written reflections, I would prompt the students to write about a theme or a concept discussed in class and these would be switched with their peers in class and critiqued. But I too would also critique the papers so that not only they were critiquing but also the teacher was guiding the process. The end objective was to move the students to a position where they could write efficiently on their own and flesh out their arguments consistently and effectively.

Written reflection would be followed by performance assessment and personal communication. It helps the student, in my view, to think more clearly and effectively if he/she can personally communicate ideas. This builds confidence and encourages the student to actively think "on his toes" so to speak especially in a classroom setting. It helps the student to also overcome shyness and block out distractions. Selected response would be interwoven throughout this assessment model, coming at the beginning, middle and end as a way to evaluate that the students have achieved mastery of the core skills, and thus this methodology reinforces the overall development of learning that the other methodologies -- written reflection, performance assessment and personal communication -- help to cultivate.