Exploring academic achievement in males trained in self-assessment skills

This paper examines academic achievement of males following formal training in self-assessment. It adds to current literature by proposing a tried-and-tested method of improving academic achievement in males at a time when they appear to be marginalised. The sample comprised 515 participants (233 males), representing 25.2% of that high school leaving cohort in a small Caribbean country. Academic achievement was examined in all subjects taken by participants at a regional examination. Examination results indicate that males who were formally trained in self-assessment skills outperformed their untrained male counterparts. Implications for teaching and learning are explored and several practical suggestions are offered.     

Boosting vocabulary learning through self-assessment in an English language teaching context

This study explores the influence of self-assessment of vocabulary competence on a group of students’ oral fluency. Twenty-four young adult learners participated in a learning process that promoted their oral skills and vocabulary development. Self-assessment was mainly examined through the analysis of students’ learning logs, field notes and artefacts in the form of audio recordings. By contrasting and analysing data sources, and the results obtained from pre- and post-speaking tasks, through a mixed method design approach, it was found that when students self-assess, they are able to acknowledge their learning strengths and drawbacks. This practice enabled students to set learning commitments, use learning strategies that also allow them to raise awareness and take further actions, while self-monitoring them. Consequently, initial improvements in students’ oral fluency development were evinced through the implementation of a systematic cycle that applies self-assessment as a formative assessment source. Thus, the students entered a process in which they gradually become more able to self-monitor, judge and react towards their own gains in language and learning. Findings highlighted the value of goal setting as an essential component in self-assessment. Further longitudinal studies may well support the long-lasting effects of this strategy in similar educational contexts.     

The calibration of student judgement through self-assessment: disruptive effects of assessment patterns

Can extended opportunities for self-assessment over time help students develop the capacity to make better judgements about their work? Using evidence gathered through students' voluntary self-assessment of their performance with respect to assessment tasks in two different disciplines at two Australian universities, the paper focuses on the effects of sequences of units of study and the use of different types of assessment task (written, oral, analysis, and project) in the development of student judgement. Convergence between student criteria-based gradings of their own performance in units of study and those allocated by tutors was analysed to explore the calibration of students' judgement over time. First, it seeks to replicate analyses from an earlier smaller-scale study to confirm that students' judgements can be calibrated through continuing opportunities for self-assessment and feedback. Second, it extends the analysis to coherently designed sequences of units of study and explores the effects of different types of assessment. It finds that disruptive patterns of assessment within a sequence of subjects can reduce convergence between student and tutor judgements.     

Peer and self-assessment applied to oral presentations from a multidisciplinary perspective

This article analyses the use of peer and self-assessment in oral presentations as complementary tools to assessment by the professor. The analysis is based on a study conducted at the University of Girona (Spain) in seven different degree subjects and fields of knowledge. We designed and implemented two instruments to measure students’ peer and self-assessment, and a rubric to guide the assessment process. Results were compared with the marks awarded by the professor. In contrast with studies by other authors, which show a high correlation between these different assessment systems, our study revealed significant deviations. Applying peer and self-assessment to oral presentation activities also demonstrates their formative value above and beyond their summative usefulness.     

互联网英语语音聊天室及对口语学习的作用

介绍了互联网英语语音聊天室的功能和作用,详细分析了互联网英语语音聊天室与大学英语口语学习的密切关系,提出了大学英语口语学习的一种新理念和新方法。     

Enhancing learning in clinical placements: reflective practice,self-assessment,rubrics and scaffolding

Professional preparatory health programmes generally involve clinical placements with a focus on integration of theory into real life practice. Reflective writing is often included in the assessment requirements for clinical placement courses. However enabling students to engage in deeper levels of reflective writing in action, on action and for action requires careful scaffolding and assessment task design within university clinical placement handbooks. The purpose of this case study was to explore iterative refinement of assessment exercises within clinical placement handbook activities. Specifically, the study examined students’ responses to counselling experiences in authentic pharmacy practice, with comparative analysis undertaken for the various versions of the assessment task. Results showed that provision of iteratively developed guidelines, provided to three different groups of students, to support students in the assessment task, increased the marks achieved for individual components of the assessment. The results provide insight into how the design of these types of assessment exercises can be improved.     

The impact of interactive engagement methods on students' academic achievement

Interactive engagement (IE) is a process that promotes students' conceptual understanding through activities, combined with immediate feedback from peers and/or instructors. The present study investigates the impact of IE on students' academic performance, using the comprehensive model of educational effectiveness. Engineering students (n?=?158), randomly divided into three groups (self-assessment, collaborative learning, and control) provided the study data on questionnaires as well as with their test scores. Analyses of covariance reveal significant differences across groups, along with significant interaction effects. These findings have notable implications for improving students' academic achievement.     

The effect of an instructional intervention on middle school english learners' science and english reading achievement

This study examined the effect of a quasi‐experimental project on fifth grade English learners' achievement in state‐mandated standards‐based science and English reading assessment. A total of 166 treatment students and 80 comparison students from four randomized intermediate schools participated in the current project. The intervention consisted of on‐going professional development and specific instructional science lessons with inquiry‐based learning, direct and explicit vocabulary instruction, integration of reading and writing, and enrichment components including integration of technology, take‐home science activities, and university scientists mentoring. Results suggested a significant and positive intervention effect in favor of the treatment students as reflected in higher performance in district‐wide curriculum‐based tests of science and reading and standardized tests of oral reading fluency. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 987–1011, 2012     

Assessment as learning: blurring the boundaries of assessment and learning for theory,policy and practice

This paper explores assessment and learning in a way that blurs their boundaries. The notion of assessment as learning (AaL) is offered as an aspect of formative assessment (assessment for learning). It considers how pupils self-regulate their own learning, and in so doing make complex decisions about how they use feedback and engage with the learning priorities of the classroom. Discussion is framed from a sociocultural stance, yet challenges some of the perspectives that have widely become accepted. It offers three new views to help explore the concept of AaL: understanding feedback; understanding the learning gap; and exploring vocabularies of assessment. Pragmatically, the ideas examined suggest that teachers may need to consider less about focused and directive feedback, but more about how learners interpret and understand feedback from their self-regulatory and self-productive identities and how vocabularies for assessment can be more collaboratively shared in learning contexts.     

Gender differential in self-assessment: a fact neglected in higher education peer and self-assessment techniques

This paper analyses student cross-assessment with a gender perspective in three different courses along several academic years in an engineering school in Spain. The aim of this study is to contribute to a wider understanding of the hidden effect of gender in higher education by testing if gender has any effect on the way students assess others and themselves. Previous research has demonstrated sex differences in self-image and self-confidence, which are both closely related to self-esteem and same- and other-sex esteem. It follows that gender effects might be expected in investigations on peer and self-assessment (PSA), as both techniques are closely linked to self-image and self-confidence. But a critical review of the literature on PSA with a gender perspective reveals that findings on this field are inconclusive, thus more research is needed. The analysis of the results of our study reveals that women judge themselves too harshly. As the literature on PSA does not show great concern for gender issues, some tentative suggestions are proposed to support PSA with gender-awareness sessions.     

大学英语口语强训测试模式：形成性口语评价

通过对英语口语测试的研究,提出了在我校大学英语口语强训中实行形成性口语评价的建议,并在本校本科生中进行了实践。实践结果显示：这一新的口语测试模式可充分激发学生学习口语的热情,能快速提高学生的英语口语交际能力,充分验证了形成性口语评价的积极效应。     

同伴互评在大学英语口语教学中的作用

采用定量分析与定性分析相结合的方法,探讨了同伴互评在普通高校英语专业口语教学中的可行性和有效性。结果表明同伴评分虽然也参照评分量表,但更多地依据评分员的主观感受进行评分。学生与教师的分数分布存在显著差异,教师评分的离散程度更大,而学生分数的同质程度更高。同伴评分反馈在一定程度上提升了学生对评分标准的理解,提高了与教师评分的拟合度。     

大学英语六级考试词汇实践训练策略探析

词汇训练是大学英语六级考试过关的重要保证之一。从词汇变化形成等语言学规律,结合我国英语学习者的实际情况,针对突破大学英语六级考试词汇的策略进行多维度研究,以在一定程度上提高大学英语六级考试的过关率。     

Self-assessment in the process of self-regulated learning and its relationship with academic achievement

Abstract

Despite the theoretical argument and empirical evidence regarding the impact of self- assessment on academic achievement and self-regulated learning (SRL), the mechanism for this impact is understudied. The present study aimed to investigate the characteristics of self-assessment practices at different SRL phases and its relationship with academic achievement. Using a course assignment as the learning task, sixty-three students enrolled in a one-year master programme in a teacher education institute responded to an instrument assessing their self-assessment practices (including four self-assessment actions) at the SRL Preparatory, Performance and Appraisal phases of the task. Their final scores of the assignment were also collected. The results showed that self-assessment is a fundamental skill for SRL and occurs at each SRL phase with different patterns. Autoregressive relationships were found for all self-assessment actions between different SRL phases. Self-reflection at Performance phase was found to influence feedback seeking at Appraisal phase. Self-directed feedback seeking through monitoring at Performance phase was the strongest and positive predictor of academic achievement; and achievement had negative impact on all self-assessment actions at Appraisal phase. This study may assist educators and researchers to better understand the complexity of self-assessment in relation to learning process.     

大学生外语学习元认知能力研究

对优秀学生和差生在外语学习中学习策略的调查分析表明,优秀学生在课堂内外都能够较好地使用元认知策略去计划、组织、管理和评价自己的外语学习。因此,在外语教学中培养学生的元认知能力尤其重要。根据对大学生认知能力问卷调查的结果,分析和研究了大学生在外语学习过程中元认知能力的现状,提出了在外语教学中进行元认知能力培养的可行性建议。     

No student left behind: a collaborative and competitive game-based learning environment to reduce the achievement gap of EFL students in Taiwan

How to close the achievement gap in the classroom so that no student is left behind becomes one of the most important issues nowadays. This study aims to construct a collaborative and competitive game-based learning environment to improve English proficiencies and reduce the achievement gap for disadvantaged students. The Wireless Crossword Fan-Tan Game (WiCFG) system was implemented to provide teachers with an innovative approach to guide students’ learning through a positive involvement with the uses of tablet PCs. The experiment was conducted in an elementary school in Taiwan to investigate whether this approach would facilitate students’ learning effectiveness and interactions. Thirty sixth-grade students were randomly assigned into a control group and an experimental group. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from surveys, interviews, observations and video-recordings. The results indicate that integration of the WiCFG system in the collaborative and competitive game-based learning environment leads students to a better interaction between different levels of students. This innovative approach might have the potential to close the achievement gap for disadvantaged students. Moreover, some principles of the classroom strategy are suggested as guidelines.     

Accuracy in student self-assessment: directions and cautions for research

Student self-assessment is a central component of current conceptions of formative and classroom assessment. The research on self-assessment has focused on its efficacy in promoting both academic achievement and self-regulated learning, with little concern for issues of validity. Because reliability of testing is considered a sine qua non for the validity of assessment interpretations, and research into the human ability to self-evaluate work raises concerns about the quality of students’ judgements, it is sensible to investigate the accuracy of students’ self-assessments. This article reviews relevant literature from educational psychology and psychometrics to define the need for a better understanding of accuracy in self-assessment as well as to identify possible pitfalls in measuring accuracy that could undermine its effectiveness by, for example, trading the focus on formative feedback for summative scoring or rating. The article concludes with recommendations for the design of research on accuracy in self-assessment.     

自我评价在英语合作学习中的运用

在英语课堂开展合作学习,通常以小组为单位,教师只对小组的表现进行评价,而学习者个体的表现在评价中没有得到应有的反映.针对这一现象,应把自我评价运用到英语合作学习中,通过个体在合作学习过程中进行自我分析,达到提高学习者的学习意识、改善学习效果的目的.     

大学英语自主学习学生自我评估调查研究

大学英语教学改革成功的一个重要标志就是学生个性化学习方法的形成和自主学习能力的发展。自我评估有助于使学生成为反思型自主学习者。通过问卷调查和访谈的形式对大学英语自主学习中学生对自我评估的看法、开展自我评估的情况进行调查,了解学生自我评估的现状及在自我评估中遇到哪些问题,旨在帮助学生解决问题,让学生自我评估真正促进学生的发展。     

Promoting cross‐cultural awareness and understanding: incorporating ethnographic interviews in college EFL classes in Taiwan

The emergence of the incorporation of culture into EFL education is a growing trend in Taiwan. The purpose of the study was to examine: (1) the effects of the ethnographic interview project on Taiwanese students' cognitive development in understanding native English speakers and their cultures; (2) changes in students' self‐awareness and understanding of both the target culture and their own; and (3) students' perceptions of the ethnographic interview project employed in EFL college classes. Data were collected through pre–post questionnaires, oral and written reports, classroom observation and interviews. Results indicated that participation in the ethnographic interview project helped facilitate the development of cross‐cultural awareness and communication skills by providing opportunities for students to gain insight into the values of target language countries, learn to view their own culture in new ways, increase their confidence in using English to communicate and view authentic communication as the goal of EFL learning. The majority of the participants saw the ethnographic interview project as an effective means of facilitating intercultural/interpersonal communication and understanding.