This document provides instructions for students to complete metacognitive reflections through an ePortfolio assignment in an online business law course. It explains that students will write or record brief reflections after each course module to assess their understanding and evaluate their learning progress. Reflections will address whether quiz and assignment results matched initial self-assessments of knowledge, strategies used or needing improvement, remaining confusion, and interesting concepts learned. The final reflection requires students to review their study techniques and performance over the semester. Rubrics are included to evaluate the quality and completeness of written and video reflection submissions.

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STUDY GUIDES, KNOWLEDGE SURVEYS AND REFLECTION:
ENCOURAGE METACOGNITION TO HELP LEARNERS TAKE CHARGE OF
THEIR LEARNING
TIP Conference August 16, 2016
Attachment A
Student instructions for the Knowledge Surveys
Ida M. Jones, J.D.
Professor of Business Law
Craig School of Business
California State University, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740
559 278-2151; idaj@csufresno.edu
What’s the point?
Metacognition is the science of thinking about thinking. It focuses on thinking
about how we learn. In that process, we obtain tools that will help us study in the
future, in class and in the work force. It will also help us become more discerning,
critical evaluators of the information around us.
To help with metacognition, I have added Knowledge Surveys to Blackboard. The
key to correctly completing the Knowledge Surveys is to remember that this is an
evaluation of what you believe you’ve learned so far, not necessarily whether you
have accurately learned that information. In other words, the Knowledge Surveys
are a test to help you know where you are in your understanding and a guide to me
to determine what to focus on to assist you.
When and How?
To complete the Knowledge Surveys, read the chapter, then respond to the
statements. Your response assesses how well you’ve learned the material you’ve
read. Ultimately, you’ll look at whether your perception of what you understood
matches what you really understood. That then gives you an opportunity to change
or reinforce the way you’ve studied to improve.
Also note that these concepts are the main ones you will be tested on for the
exams. Thus, you should treat the Knowledge Surveys as your study guides for
tests. Note that in this class, the Knowledge Surveys for the first module have been
loaded onto Blackboard. You can review the content in the Knowledge Survey prior
to actually taking the survey. Then, take the survey prior to taking the quiz. You
will be unable to see the quiz until you complete the Knowledge Survey for that
quiz.

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Can You Explain This More?
The following are sample Knowledge Survey questions from a chapter you have not
(and will not have to read) in order to give you an idea of how to best respond to
and use the Knowledge Surveys.
Assume you see the following:
KNOWLEDGE SURVEY FOR CHAPTER 31 (which we do not review this semester)1
1. Have you read the entire chapter? Yes No
Just answer the first question noted above.
The following section is the answer scale. Your evaluation ranges from you have no
clue about the material to you know it well enough that you could explain it to
someone else. Note that you don’t have to actually explain the concept; rather
you’re stating whether you think you have mastered the material or not.
You will use the following numbers to complete the rest of the Knowledge Survey.
1 I don’t know it.
2 I have heard or read about it.
3 I can explain it to someone else.
So let’s look at a sample Knowledge Survey statement.
Number Survey Item
31.1 Explain the reasons Congress adopted the Securities
Act of 1934.
Analysis
Let’s take this statement. You’d ask yourself what is the Securities Act of 1934 and
ask why Congress passed that particular law. If you think about it and you think “I
don’t even know what the Securities Act of 1934 is.” Then you should mark 1 as the
response. If you think about it and say to yourself “Congress was concerned that
individual weren’t getting enough information about stocks, I think, but I’m not
sure really what it’s about.” Then you’d answer 2. If you read the question and
thought, “Congress wanted to make sure that when stock was listed on the stock
exchange that everyone had access to the same information. So, Congress created
the Securities and Exchange Commission with this law and also defined rules for
stock that is sold on the exchange, then you’d answer 3.
1 This Knowledge Survey format is adapted from Wirth, Karl, “Promoting the Development of Expert
Learners,” presented at California State University Fresno, 11/21/14.

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Note that on the Knowledge Survey, you do not have to give the answer to the
statement, rather, you answer based on what you believe is your knowledge of the
topic. It is a self-assessment of your knowledge.
CRAIG SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Name
______________
Department of Finance and Business Law Class Time ___________
BA 18 - Business and the Legal Environment
Professors Jones/Kemp
KNOWLEDGE SURVEY FOR CHAPTER 1
2. Have you read the entire chapter? Yes No
Use the following numbers to complete the rest of the Knowledge Survey. When
you take the survey on Blackboard, use the following numbers to rank your
understanding and knowledge.
1 I don’t know it.
2 I have heard or read about it.
3 I can explain it to someone else.
Number Survey Item
1.1 Explain why law is important to business people.
1.2 Compare substantive and procedural law.
1.3 Describe the functions of a legal system.
1.4 Describe the theories of jurisprudence.
1.5 Understand what precedent and stare decisis are and what effect they have on
the legal system.
1.6 Define and rank the sources of laws in the U.S. legal system.
1.7 Explain the distinction between legal and equitable remedies and how that
distinction arose historically (remedies at law and in equity).
1.8 Compare the legal systems in other countries, especially civil v. common law
systems.
1.9 Explain the role of the attorney for business and in the legal system.

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Number Survey Item
1.10 Explain the difference between common law and statutory law.
This Knowledge Survey format is adapted from Wirth, Karl, “Promoting the Development of Expert
Learners,” presented at California State University Fresno, 11/21/14.
Attachment B
California State University, Fresno
BA 18 Business and the Legal Environment
Spring 2016
Professor Ida M. Jones
ePortfolio Assignment (70 points)
Due Dates--alternate Fridays
Introduction & Overview
The ePortfolio Project's main purpose is to help you increase your awareness of
what you've learned through
 Writing and in other ways expressing what you've learning in this course, and
 Organizing and presenting evidence of what you've learned for self
evaluation
This ePortfolio promotes metacognition—thinking abouat your thinking—by asking
you to reflect on your performance in this class and what worked and what didn’t.
Each ePortfolio entry except the first and last will be either a written reflection of a
maximum of 1 1/2 pages, or a video of no more than 3 minutes.
Due Dates
Due Date(by
11:59 p.m.)
Item/Format Points
1/29 Create your ePortfolio entries: last day to create your
ePortfolio for points is January 29. This is part of the
“Start Here” assignment on Blackboard
2/5 Reflection 1-Written (1 ½ pages) 10
2/19 Reflection 2-Video (3 minutes) 10
3/4 Reflection 3-Written (1 ½ pages) 10
3/18 Reflection 4-Video (3 minutes) 10
4/1 Reflection 5-Written (1 ½ pages) 10
4/15 Reflection 6-Video (3 minutes) 10
4/29 Reflection 7-Written (2 pages) 10

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How Do I Get Started?
You will need to create your ePortfolio. You will do that by following the instructions
in the “Start Here” section of Blackboard. After you’ve created your ePortfolio, the
following instructions are the topics for ePortfolio entries 1-7.
What Must I Do for Reflection 1?
For Reflection 1, answer the following questions:
A. Have you had any experience with the law? Examples include having an auto
accident and dealing with insurance, signing a contract for a loan, working
for an employer, being bit by a dog or agreeing to repair work on your car. If
so, briefly summarize it. It’s impossible to have had no experience with the
law, so you may have to think awhile to get an example. What did you
experience teach you about the law?
B. Review the table of contents for the book. Pick two items you know
something about and summarize what you know. Pick two items that interest
you that you don’t know anything about and explain why you’re interested.
What Must I Do for Reflections 2-6?
The following are questions for ePortfolio entries 2-6.
1. Did you accurately predict how well you knew the material? Did you do as
well as you thought on the quizzes and other assignments? Explain.
2. If you did, what did you do that helped you to do well? If you didn’t, what
will you differently next time?
3. What is still confusing in the reading since the last ePortfolio entry?
4. What is the most interesting or surprising thing that you read since the last
ePortfolio entry?
What Must I Do for Reflection 7?
Review the work that you’ve done for the class so far. What have you learned about
how you study, how well you prepare for class and what you need to do? Did you
adopt different study techniques during the semester? Explain. If you didn’t adopt a
different study technique, what seemed to work well for you? In your answer, be
specific (e.g. refer to differences in quizzes, exams and/or other assignments as
evidence to support your response).
Additional Instructions to Get Started
Note that each video must be uploaded to Vimeo, Youtube or as an mp4 file and
loaded into the eportfolio through that medium. Be sure the video is not private, as
I will not be able to see it when I click on the link.

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The ePortfolio must also be submitted (uploading the artifacts isn’t enough—they
ePortfolio must then be submitted to the Blackboard Assignment.) See the videos
and information in the “Start Here” section of Blackboard.
Creating and Organizing Your ePortfolio
In the “Start Here” section are instructions to create your ePortfolio and to make
the first submissions to it. Please follow those instructions.
If you have technical questions, please work on the ePortfolio during the hours the
DISCOVERe Hub is open in the library. This is a link to the Hub website.
ePortfolio Written Reflection Rubric
Criterion Meets Quality Standards Needs Improvement
Content Thoughtful reflection; specific
rather than general; followed
instructions and answered the
questions (6 points)
Response seemed hurried,
or superficial rather not
sufficient depth; did not
answer all questions (2
points)
Format Written document was clear and
responsive; creative element in
written document; few
grammatical errors (4 points)
Not clearly written; points
not well made (1 point)
ePortfolio Video Reflection Rubric
Criterion Meets Quality Standards Needs Improvement
Content Thoughtful reflection; specific
rather than general; followed
instructions and answered the
questions (6 points)
Response seemed hurried,
or superficial rather not
sufficient depth; answered
only one question or none
of the questions (2 points)
Format Video was clear and
understandable; student
appeared on video at least for a
short time; creative element in
the video; not more than the
requisite time (4 points)
Video was very fuzzy or
hard to see; audio was
unclear; student did not
appear on video; more
than the requisite time (1
point)