1.0 Introduction
The topic of self assessment and peer assessment among university students is fueling a lot of debate from scholars and practitioners in the education specialty. This owes to the reality that Nulty (2011) completed a study on the topic in question. It is necessary to define the terms self and peer assessments because their definitions are vital ingredients to the upcoming discussion. Consequently, (White, 2009) reveals that self-assessment requires an individual to evaluate him or herself. In addition, the same author also defines peer assessment as an evaluation where the efforts of a learner are evaluated by his/her peers. This study identifies the reality that even though various scholars have studied the topic in question, there exists little literature on the use of self-assessment and peer assessment among first year University students. It follows that the upcoming discussion explains the peer and self assessment strategies by stating their benefits and problems in first year students.
2.0 Background
It is notable that traditional assessment developed students that were perceived as receivers of information because they were accountable for absorbing the information and reproducing the same information in exams. However, the trend is rapidly changing because students are not only considered as credible sources of self assessment, but also plausible sources of peer assessment. Nulty (2011) argues that there are limited studies on the use of self assessment and peer assessment strategies among first year university students. Consequently, there is a need for scholars and practitioners in the education profession to focus their attention on the topic in question. Being in the team of scholars in this discipli...
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...assessment among first year university students. This owes to the reality that this work reveals that lack of sufficient knowledge in first year university students is a major hindrance to the use of peer and self-assessment.
7.0 Recommendation
The outcome of this study reveals that using self assessment and peer assessments among university students is necessary. Even though first year University students may lack the necessary educational foundation to perform peer and self evaluations tasks, the educator will always be present to provide assistance to the students. Furthermore, introducing peer and self assessments to first year university students will make them better evaluators in their later years of education. Therefore, I recommend that educators should use self and peer assessments among first year University students by closely monitoring their learners.
Even though this article is written about higher education assessment, the information can be applied to any area of education. Boud states that “sustainable assessment encompasses the abilities required to undertake activates that necessarily accompany learning throughout life in formal and informal settings”. He discusses how both formative and summative assessment influence learning and how students need to be better self-accessors. He goes in to great length about the basic resources needed for sustainable assessment, how this way of thinking will affect teaching and assessment practices,
Assessment has been the greatest challenge in my development as a professional. My coursework as supported my growth in this area, especially in understanding the broad range of assessments used to support students’ growth and development. My courses have also supported my understanding of how ongoing observational assessment and standards-based measures can be used to inform instruction and support the cycle of observation, reflection and planning. Coursework
The main argument put forth in this article is that Nolen believes that “we need to better understand the connections between teachers’ assessment practices and students’ motivation and engagement in terms of the social systems in which they exist.” (Nolen, 320). She goes on to discuss the significance of formative assessments providing feedback and how this feedback can be used to measure the gap between current and desired performance. This article took into account the “balance of multiple purposes for assessing and providing feedback”. (Nolen, 321). Nolen goes on to state how teachers provide useful information to students in regards to self-assessment but are often just as concerned with student’s emotional issues such as motivation to learn. This article illustrated the connection and significance of student motivation and feedback in regards to formative assessments. It was also helpful to read that even when the feedback on formative assessments is clear, the assessment may still not produce the desired effect on student engagement and learning. This is the central focus question I have and will find out regarding using formative assessments with my students. This article reaffirmed the validity of my action research topic and gave me a realistic outlook on
Formative assessment to inform instruction and guide student learning is being underutilized. Many students are not given feedback that is effective in helping them see where they are in regard to reaching the learning goals or that provides plan for moving them forward to achieve that goal. Students are not always given the opportunity to take an active role in the learning process by regularly assessing themselves and their peers as they work to achieve their learning goals. The purpose of this study is to determine how the use of formative assessment with immediate feedback using student response systems will impact student learning. This study will also investigate the effect that student involvement in self-evaluation has on learning.
Assessment is defined in the Merriam – Webster Dictionary as “the act of making a judgement about something” and thus connotes a worthwhile activity based on sound, careful thought. In Education, assessment has been variously defined as “any systematic method for obtaining information from tests and other sources, used to draw inferences about characteristics of people, objects or programs” (AERA, APA, & NCME, 1999, p.172); “any purported and formal action to obtain information about the competence and performance of a candidate’ (Schuwirth & van der Vleuten, 2014. p.243). Generally, assessment has three purposes. First, to determine what students do and do not know,
Smyth, K. 2004. 'The benefits of students learning about critical evaluation rather than being summatively judged', Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 369 - 378.
The tools and techniques used are comprehensive which helps assess a learner’s development in the area of learning like the ability to understand, analysis, and apply knowledge acquired through creative process that are evaluated. The evaluation section was divided into two broad categories Scholastic that looked at the areas which were subject specific and Co-Scholastic that included activities that were co-curricular like life skills, attitudes and values. The Scholastic evaluations was divided into Summative assessment to help analyse how much the students have learned after teaching through various medium like multiple choice questions, long and short answers , match the following , fill in the blanks and understanding diagrams in science and Formative assessment were to evaluate the students everyday learning situations during teaching to help identify gaps which help provide feedback to teachers to be able take remedial action through the use of various tools like observation, document analysis ,peer reviews ,self-assessment ,tests and implementation of various techniques like projects ,assignments , activities , making of posters ,charts ,collages ,group discussions and seminars. While the life skills activities looked at enhancing the thinking, social and emotional skills, the summative assessment looked at assessing skills like teamwork
Sufficient and current and - Meet internal and external assessment requirement Involve learners in assessment : peer and self-assessment represent an interesting way to involve students in the assessment process as students assess each
Assessments have always been a tool for teachers to assess mastery and for a long time it was just to provide a grade and enter it into the grade book or report card. Through resources in and out of the course, there has been a breath of new life into the research on how to use assessments. They take many forms and fall within the summative or formative assessment category. Sloan (2016) addresses how formative assessments has traditionally been used by teachers to modify instruction, but when we focus on a classroom that is learner-centered “it becomes assessment for learning as opposed to assessment of learning” (slide 4). The fact is, the students are the ones that should be and are the ones using the data we collect through assessments, since it is our way of providing feedback in order
Finally, while Rust, O’Donovan, and Price (2005) found that student assessment was perhaps the single largest influence in students’ approaches to learning, James (2003) cited that student assessment was “one of the least sophisticated aspects of university teaching and learning” (para. 197). Faculty’s perceived non-native authorship in student writing has been associated with a faculty leniency of judgement in assessment (Haswell, 1998; Janopoulos, 1992; Jenkins, Jordan, & Weiland,
In final analysis, my writing has greatly improved during this semester, and having looked at the area's I most need to work on has given me an awareness of what my weaknesses are. Examining what I have learned and what I need to learn allows me to generate a strategy to fortify my writing skills. Critiquing my own work has given me insight into how my writing is progressing in this class and allowed me to see short comings I had missed previously. Self-evaluation is a helpful tool for anyone who wants to continue to learn what areas they can improve upon and how much progress they are making. I believe those who appraise their own work will have a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses then those who do not evaluate themselves.
Self assessment is a process in which you examine yourself in attempt to discover and learn more about yourself. Your likes, dislikes, behaviors, attitudes and habits can be found during this process. You can use the discoveries to your advantage by accepting or changing strengths and weaknesses. I plan on using this course to enhance my personal skills to become a better student and find success in earning my Bachelor of Arts degree at Ashford University in Social Science. Self Assessment is the first step in my successful future.
A good understanding of one’s own metacognition is necessary before aiming to understand that of other people. This is referred to as intrapersonal perception. Self-regulation, which involves self-monitoring and self-motivation, is an essential skill required to achieve academic success at university. It focuses on the concept of individuals being able to accurately judge their level of knowledge and determine the effectiveness of methods implemented for exam preparation. This allows evaluation of strengths and weaknesses, enabling individuals to engage in focused study. Students who can effectively do this will excel in their time at university. Conversely, those who lack in this skill can have major implications, such as overestimating their knowledge, thus hindering their success. Debra A. Bercher’s findings sugg...
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a
Assessment is a tool used in the classroom every day. It is used to measure a student’s mastery of a skill or knowledge of a given subject. It is also what demonstrates to the teacher what the students have learned. Educators use that information to determine if they need to re-teach to a specific student, group, or the entire class. They can also use that information to determine the rate of their teaching. Assessments are important because, as teachers, we need to know what difficulties our students have and what needs to be refined for them. While I do believe in assessment and feel that it is one of the key components of teaching, I am more concerned with a child’s process of learning rather than the overall product that comes from it. This is where grades come in for me. Grades determine the students’ level of mastery on a subject, nothing more. Grades should not be the exclusive indicators that a student has learned the information that is presented to them. It is the things a student learns along the way that truly matter and sometimes cannot be measured.