Findings

Student perspective

Assessment dominates students' thinking (Chalmers & Fuller, 1995). This view was reflected in the regular student feedback received by tutors. Students appreciated being involved in the assessment process. By having input into the development of the rubric, the students gained a better insight into the assignment expectations. Through the social context of the group discussions they were exposed to a wide variety of perspectives and viewpoints that they may not have considered, left to their own devices. By sharing their ideas a deeper understanding of the assignment was developed.

In the focus group the students claimed developing the rubric "made you really look at it". Some said that they might not have used it if it had just been in the Unit Handbook. The students preferred being given something to work with (the basic draft rubric) rather than starting from scratch. They liked the idea of modifying, refining and improving a rubric. One student claimed that the original rubric presented to them "wasn't in plain English." It was found that through the tutorial task of developing indicators and descriptors for the rubric, students could devise language which is more meaningful to them. Another student stated that the process "draws your attention to the criteria which you would not otherwise look at so closely." Such negotiations clarified the criteria so indicators could be specific with shared understanding.

The students found it useful having the rubric published on Blackboard before submitting their assignments. This was indicated through comments like:

"It let you know what you need to meet the criteria. I used it as a checklist before I submitted my assignment. It helps improve your assignment."

The students felt strongly that the marks should also be published with the rubric so that students could see the weighting of the sections of the assignment.

The reading time was valued by the students who said they rarely had an opportunity to read their peers' work.

The students suggested extending the time to 20 minutes to allow for more papers to be read. The size of the groups (three) was considered to be good for the peer assessment task. When using the rubric to assess their peers' written work, the students noted that it was "easier to say what they haven't got than what they have. " Assessing the papers individually and then moderating through justification and negotiation was found to be educative and rewarding. "I got a lot out of conversing with others about the work." The students agreed that entering the marks and group comments on the computers in the tutorial room was easy and convenient.

Students commented that group dynamics could cause problems, especially if there was a very dominant person in the group. Another problem noted during the group moderation process, was that although the mark was discussed, often the median was selected as the consensus mark.

By being involved in the whole process, the students found the assessment was clearer so the feedback and results were more meaningful. The professionally presented feedback sheets indicated marks from their peers' perspective as well as their tutor's judgment of their work.

Another point raised in the focus group was that the students would like to receive feedback about the accuracy of their peer marking. They wanted to review the rubric containing both peer and tutor feedback, via the coded numbers of the assignments they marked, so they could gauge the accuracy of their judgments by comparing them to the tutor's mark.

Student feedback from the focus group indicated that they "did not particularly like peer assessment". They felt that they were not really qualified to make professional judgments about their peer's written work. This was reflected in the comment:

"I didn't seriously consider that my peers had the experience to mark my work. I knew they hadn't done it before so I didn't think they had the ability to do it properly."

Students said they would have felt more confident about marking their peers' work if they had "practiced using the rubric to mark an example" either in a tutorial or at home on Blackboard. They claimed publishing "even just a section of an assignment", so they could practice applying the rubric, would be "helpful and increase our confidence".

Another issue that surfaced in the focus group was that the students were very conscious of the fact that, even though the papers were coded, they were discussing the work of someone from their tutorial group who was sitting in the room with them. They said, "You were very conscious of the people around you" and suggested it would be much better to mark another tutorial group's work to eliminate the problem.

When asked their views on tutors using rubrics for assessment, the response was:

"Rubrics are a fairer and more consistent method of assessment because they allow for feedback which specifies what is lacking. It eliminates the problem of tutors who only want to make positive comments."

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

الأمين العام للعتبة العباسية المقدسة يتابع ميدانيًّا خدمات المواكب والأقسام المقدمة لزائري الأربعين

العتبة العباسية المقدسة تحدد موعد إعلان إحصائية زائري الأربعين

مجمع أبي الفضل العباس (عليه السلام) يختتم أعماله الخاصة بزيارة الأربعين بإقامة مجلس عزاء

العتبة العباسية المقدسة تنظم مجلس عزاء بذكرى أربعين الإمام الحسين (عليه السلام)

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

حجم جزء محدد من الجسم يعكس الصحة العامة ومخاطر الأمراض

تفشي عدوى بكتيرية بفرنسا يحتمل ارتباطها بنوع من الجبن الطري

دراسة حديثة تكشف ما تفعله الشاشات بـ"قلوب الأطفال" !

متلازمة المبنى المريض.. هكذا يتحول تكييف الهواء إلى خطر صحي ؟؟

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

كيف تتعامل مع حرارة الطقس أثناء القيادة؟

لماذا يجب عليك إيقاف تكييف السيارة قبل إطفاء المحرك؟

دراسة تكشف سببا محتملا وراء زيادة خطر إصابة الأطفال بالتوحد

تشيلي.. العثور على متحجرة حيوان ثديي صغير من زمن الديناصورات

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Case 2 Online portfolio and group multimedia project

Results, analysis and discussion Case 1 Online role play

Research methodology

The research context

Literature review Characteristics of good assessment practice

Using Online Environments to Promote Assessment as a Learning Enhancement Process

Utilizing an ICT Tool for Moderating, Marking and Managing Assessment in Large Tertiary Classes Conclusions

Response to feedback

Implications for teaching in large classes

Unit coordinator perspective

Tutor perspective

Research methodology