As Ricardo Semler, the innovative Brazilian businessman, often said during brainstorming sessions at Semco Style:

As challengers in the field of personal growth, our role is to nudge you out of your comfort zone and then collaboratively reflect on what this new "open" learning zone can offer you. It's important to note that we can never conduct an assessment of you - that's something only you can do for yourself. However, we can assist you in this process as challengers and facilitators!

Inspiration from Amsterdam School for Liberal Arts

Recently, I found inspiration in an unexpected place: my children's high school, Alasca School for Liberal Arts. This school has implemented a new concept that bears a striking resemblance to the philosophy we stand for. Interestingly, during the opening of their new building, they even featured my favorite education philosopher on the wall!

Not grades how you compare to the other but knowhow about yourself!

Alasca promotes peer learning, self-reflection, and self-motivation as much as possible. Their approach aligns with our belief that only when you set your own goals can you effectively evaluate yourself. However, we prefer the term "reflection" over "evaluation," as we're not looking for grades but for insights.

The Rubric Method: A Tool for Self-Assessment

The method Alasca uses is called the Rubric. Generally, you formulate a learning goal and five different skill levels, ranging from Novice to Expert or Master. Each step is well-documented, showing what you demonstrate when you've mastered that level.

We plan to create such a Rubric for each component of our Framework, or even for each tool. This process will help us thoroughly document what skills are needed, how they're developed, and why they're important. We'll use a five-point scale that aligns with the five steps of the Road to Mastery model we use in serious gaming and challenge-based learning.

Building a Comprehensive Framework

Creating these Rubrics will be a significant undertaking, but it will provide us with much-needed structure and understanding. Later, it will also benefit our participants. Whether it's used for a quick scan, a self-assessment, or as a structure for a navigator tool that helps you find the right instrument at the right time - we can only move forward by making our knowledge explicit in a framework.

Think of it as creating a map - a guide that helps navigate the complex terrain of personal and professional development.

More info on the Rubric method... check out Cornell University for example; https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/assessment-evaluation/using-rubrics#:~:text=A%20rubric%20is%20a%20type,projects%2C%20portfolios%2C%20and%20presentations.