Self, Peer and Group Assessment by Phil Race
- What did you select and why?
I selected A Briefing on Self, Peer and Group Assessment by Phil Race as self and peer assessment is a form of assessment that I try to integrate into student’s learning in a number of ways. As a programme (Illustration) we are consistently striving to find ways that encourage both self and peer assessment that has mutual benefits for the student, their peers and their tutors. I could also include more group assessment, so wanted to address how I may develop this within my teaching moving forwards. - What did you find interesting?
Race outlines that self assessment can cause deeper reflection from the student when presenting in front of peers. This is helped when they are given the same criteria that is being used at the same time as their peers to asses them. Students ‘tend to be more critical of their own presentations than their peers‘ (Race, 2001) which I find really interesting, and how this is beneficial for them as their peers will often be more encouraging about their performance and therefore create a confidence boost for the presenting student.
After discussing this in the workshop, we further reflected on the role of Crits or Critiques as formative assessment within our own experience. In Illustration, we aim not have this historic style of Crit as mentioned in my earlier post, and rather create situations for kinder and constructive feedback. Talking with others in the group showed a similar perspective was shared based on our own experience and student feedback. We discussed ways to more accurately embody feedback situations from real-world contexts, such as our experience as lecturers in which we constantly review and assess our strategies within our departments in supportive yet questioning ways. - What action has it inspired you to take?
I’d like to to incorporate more group assessment into my teaching as a Transition Tutor, reflecting on this statement by Race: ‘Group-based assessment can extend the range of assessment to include cooperative and collaborative skills, teamwork, and so on, and increase assessment validity by bringing into the assessment framework skills and competences which are more closely connected to real-life vocational situations than are traditional exams and essays‘
In their third and final year, it is important to address ‘real-world’ contexts due to impending graduation and the need to apply their developed skills to the multiple pathways on offer for graduating students including career opportunities, freelance work and further higher education. In my transition workshops I will aim to create environments for learning in peer situations that resemble more authentic forms of assessment.
Doubting Learning Outcomes by Nicholas Addison
I also found Addison’s Doubting Learning Outcomes an interesting read, as it is a frequent topic returned to in our department. LO’s are consistently reviewed and always displayed on briefs for students, however, many of our students admit to not reading them and at times tutors have felt disconnected from them when marking. I was intrigued by how Addison comments on how LO’s may actually hinder student progress, and want to reflect on this moving forwards to address how we approach their definitions and use of these within feedback and assessment that is useful for students preparing for life past graduation.
‘LOs cannot hope to predict the situated and unresolved basis of learners’ motivations, their agency in ‘problem-posing’ (Freire 1972). LO systems thus limit and inhibit students’ input, particularly as students move towards self-initiated activities and objectives‘