Should I use co-assessment in higher education? Pros and cons from teachers and students’ perspectives

Co-assessment is a type of participatory assessment in which the teacher and student jointly discuss, negotiate and assess the student’s task or performance. Although the literature on co-assessment is scarce, some authors highlight the benefits for students of participating in co-assessment in higher education, including learning, improved communication, and greater assessment literacy. This study has a double objective: on the one hand, to analyse the strengths and limitations perceived by students participating in co-assessment practices; on the other hand, to explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats perceived by professors participating in the experience. The study was developed in 8 class groups with the participation of 470 students and 4 teachers. The qualitative analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaires and focus groups indicates that the students acknowledged several strengths, among which learning from mistakes was prominent. Students also noted some limitations, particularly the lack of adjusted scoring. Professors offered another perspective that complemented the vision of their students, noting that co-assessment presents opportunities as well as risks that may jeopardise its implementation.     

Impact of question-answering tasks on search processes and reading comprehension

This study examined the effect of (a) high- and low-level questions and (b) reading the text before the questions asked on performance, delayed text recall, and deep text comprehension, as well as on specific text-inspection patterns. Participants were 37 undergraduate students who answered either high- or low-level questions using the software Read&Answer to read and answer questions on the computer screen. Additionally, half of the sample read first a text and then answered the questions (reading-first condition), whereas the other half answered the questions without having read the text in advance (no-reading-first condition). All participants had the text available to search for the answer. Results indicated that high-level questions facilitated deep comprehension but not immediate performance or delayed recall of text, independently of the reading condition, and that high- and low-level questions differentially affected text-inspection patterns.     

Pawns in a Chess Game

The Spanish Service was established in June 1939, two months after the end of the civil war in Spain and shortly before the start of the Second World War. Its implementation was strongly affected by these conflicts in the context of new international relations. Therefore, this study of the Spanish Service during 1939–1945 allows not only a better understanding of the communicational strategies developed by the BBC, but also of the complex Anglo-Spanish relations and the important role played by the Spanish-language broadcasts therein. The study is mainly based on archival documents from the National Archives in London and memoirs.     

Suprasegmental Phonology Development and Reading Acquisition: A Longitudinal Study

Previous studies implicate suprasegmental phonology in reading acquisition. However, little is known about how suprasegmental sensitivity develops or how it contributes to reading. Here, 130 Spanish primary-school children participated in this 2-year longitudinal study. Nonlinguistic rhythm, lexical-stress sensitivity and metrical-stress sensitivity, along with phonological awareness, vocabulary, nonverbal intelligence, and reading aloud, were assessed on five occasions. Results suggest that prosody abilities have different developmental trajectories and that prosody explains unique variance in reading beyond that explained by other factors. There was some evidence that the contribution of each prosody skill occurred at different phases in reading development. Nonlinguistic rhythm, lexical-stress sensitivity, and metrical-stress sensitivity assessed at the end of kindergarten, the start of Grade 1, and the end of Grade 1, respectively, predicted reading performance 6 months later. Nevertheless, sample size and reliability temper the conclusions that can be made. The implications of prosody skills for literacy development are discussed.     

Organisational forms of science communication: the UK and Spanish European higher education systems as paradigms

As key elements in research and development systems, higher education institutions have been taking a leading role when it comes to communicating science and technology, but their performance has been inconsistent so far. In this critical and comparative study of the UK public engagement model and the Spanish scientific culture model, eighteen practitioners from higher education institutions across both regions were interviewed. A mixed qualitative data analysis has been performed identifying similarities and differences that unravelled the science communication management model in the two different higher education systems. This article provides evidence on how the institutionalisation of science communication is strongly influenced by key driving forces in the higher education context as well as the policies of administrations and other agents.

     

Beyond cultural and geographical proximity: delving into the factors that influence the dynamics of academic relationships between students in higher education

Higher Education - Scholars have widely recognised the importance of academic relationships between students at the university. While much of the past research has focused on studying their...     

University students’ strategies and criteria during self-assessment: instructor’s feedback,rubrics, and year level effects

European Journal of Psychology of Education - This study explores the effects of feedback type, feedback occasion, and year level on student self-assessments in higher education. In total, 126...     

Relationship of executive functioning and memory to autism symptomology and adaptive functioning: Implications for reducing future underemployment

Understanding the relationship between executive functioning and its connection to working memory and adaptive functioning can inform planning and employment efforts. This study explored the relationship between memory and adaptive functioning with a sample of Autistic youths/young adults. Participant mean age was 21.3 (SD = 3.0). Of the 22 participants, 17 were male, and 19 white, non-Hispanic/Latina/o/x. All but one lived with their parent(s). Participants were administered a full battery assessing cognitive ability (WAIS-IV), memory and executive functioning (WMS-IV and DKEFS), autism symptomatology (ADOS-II), and adaptive functioning (SIB-R). A multivariate lasso regression model was used. Memory, especially as measured on the WMS-IV, was found to be significantly related to adaptive functioning and autism symptomatology. There appears to be continuing evidence that memory is highly related to adaptive functioning and autism symptomatology. Interventions involving auditory and immediate memory could be helpful in promoting more mutually effective social interactions necessary for positive employment outcomes.