Post on 31-Dec-2015
description
The Central Role of Students in
Formative Assessment
Heidi Andrade, Angela Lui, Christopher Valle, Fei Chen
1
Purposes of this Presentation
• To make a case for students as valuable sources of
formative assessment information
• To propose general principles regarding the conditions
under which students can play a central role in formative
assessment processes
2
Outline
• Learners as agents: A bit of theory
• Peer and self-assessment: A bit of research
• Conditions under which students can play a meaningful role
in formative assessment
• Conclusions
LEARNERS AS AGENTS
Students as sources as well as recipients of feedback
Where am I going? How am I going? and Where to next? An ideal
learning environment or experience occurs when both teachers and
students seek answers to each of these questions. Too often, teachers
limit students’ opportunities to receive information about their
performances in relation to any of these questions by assuming that
responsibility for the students…. Students, too often, view feedback as
the responsibility of someone else, usually teachers, whose job it is to
provide feedback information by deciding for the students how well
they are going, what the goals are, and what to do next. (Hattie &
Timperley, 2007, pp. 88 & 101)
If formative assessment is exclusively in the hands of
teachers, then it is difficult to see how students can
become empowered and develop the self-regulation skills
needed to prepare them for learning outside university and
throughout life. (Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006, p. 200)
Students themselves can be thought of as the definitive
source of feedback, given their constant and instant access
to their own thoughts, actions, and works, and their easy
access to each other. (Andrade, 2010)
oPeer assessment
oSelf-assessment
Learners as Agents
• Peer assessment: A process during which students
consider the quality of a peer’s work, judge the extent to
which it reflects targeted goals or criteria, and make
suggestions for revisions (Topping, 2013)
• Self-assessment
Learners as Agents
• Peer assessment
• Self-assessment: A process during which students
reflect on the quality of their own work, judge the degree
to which it reflects explicitly stated goals or criteria, and
revise accordingly (Andrade & Boulay, 2003)
Learners as Agents
• No peer or self-grading.
• Given what we know about human nature, we
believe that peer and self-assessment should be
formative and not count toward formal grades or
scores.
Learners as Agents
Peer and self-assessment can prompt students to
internalize self-regulated learning processes
Model adapted from Barry J. Zimmerman (2002)
Forethought (goal setting)
Reflection(next steps)
Performance(progress
monitoring)
Research on Peer Assessment
• Generally positive relationships found between peer
assessment and learning, achievement, and social
skills, particularly in non-competitive cultures
• Increased and improved quality of help seeking, help
giving, and students’ attitudes about asking for help
• Beneficial to both the assessor and the assessed
Research on Peer Assessment
Consistency of peer assessment with teacher assessment:
oMixed results, depending on training, learning culture,
age, and gender
oFemale peer assessors tend to be more consistent with
teacher assessment than male students
oImproved consistency between peer and teacher
assessments with training in key assessment skills
oHigher consistency when PA is formative
Research on Self-Assessment
Positive relationships between self-assessment,
achievement, and learning:
•Median effect sizes = .40 to .45 (Brown & Harris, 2013)
•Training in diverse SA strategies led to learning gains
•SA is most effective when supported by rubrics, modeled
examples, and teacher guidance
Research on Self-Assessment
Consistency of self-assessment with teacher assessment:
o Generally weak to moderate positive correlations
o Self-assessment is more consistent with teacher ratings when it is:
• Scaffolded by the teacher
• Not counted toward a grade or score
• Done by older students; younger students tend to overestimate
• Done by high performing students
• Done regarding familiar, predictable tasks
Perceptions of Peer and Self-Assessment
• Student perceptions of PA depend on context and culture.
o The perceived value decreases in places that emphasize
summative assessment and competition
• Students report enjoying SA but have some concerns:
o Preference for teacher assessment and feedback
o Psychological safety when self-assessments are made public
Student and Teacher Perceptions of Peer and Self-Assessment
• The voices of students and teachers in IS223, Brooklyn, NY
(videos belong to Students at the Center, a Jobs for the Future Project)
– Peer assessment [0:00-1:30]
– Self-assessment [3:25-4:25]
Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment
1. Mastery-oriented classroom
2. Clear learning goals and success criteria
3. Feedback
4. Opportunities to revise
Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment
1.Mastery-oriented classroom: trusting, respectful
learning environment valuing constructive
critiques of work
Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment
2.Clear Learning Goals and Success Criteria:
Clearly articulated learning goals and
expectations for a task should be shared with
students, so they can refer to them as they
provide feedback
Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment
3. Feedback: focused on the quality of work, the extent to
which it meets criteria and expectations, and how to
close any gaps.
• Where are you/am I going?
• Where are you/am I now?
• How to close the gap?
Conditions for Effective Peer and Self-assessment
4.Opportunities for revision: using feedback to
improve quality of work and deepen learning
Summary
Effective peer and self-assessment require:
•Training, guidance, and support from teachers
•A mastery-oriented climate
•Clear goals and criteria
•Constructive feedback protocols
•Opportunities for revision
•Emphasis on feedback, NOT grades
Conclusion
• Under the right conditions, students can become useful
sources of as well as recipients of feedback
• As a result, students can learn more, get better grades
and test scores, and become more self-regulated
learners