Developing self-assessment instruments to measure students’ performance characters in making dresses using a high-order thinking skills approach

Abstract

Self-assessment in practicum courses may develop students' character, for example, honesty, discipline, and responsibility. Moreover, it can also improve students' initiative and critical, creative thinking. However, assessment for practicum courses is often fully conducted by lecturers with minimum involvement from students. This study aims to develop self-assessment instruments to assess students’ characters while performing fashion design practicum using the HOTS approach. The instruments were developed using the 4D model by Thiagarajan that consists of four stages, namely Define, Design, Develop, and Disseminate. The sample was collected purposively from 15 students taking the Haute Couture course. The developed instruments were validated by experts in fashion design and were considered “Almost Perfect”. The interrater reliability index is higher than 0.7, meaning that these met the criteria required. The collected data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics. The self-assessment demonstrates that 14 out of 15 students were considered competent or had very good performances. The developed instruments can, therefore, be used to assess student’s performance characters in practicum courses as they may measure students' competency (hard skill) and characters (soft skill). This study reveals that self-assessment of work attitudes needs to be attempted during practical learning to enhance students’ learning motivation and develop their relevant competencies.