Dr Glyn Thomas
La Trobe University
Assessment for future learning: Improving students’ abilities to monitor quality.
Dr Glyn Thomas
La Trobe University
Staff from the Faculty of Education were invited to participate in a collaborative process encouraging them to design and trial some future-learning oriented assessment processes. Supported by educational designers, the volunteers engaged in a half-day workshop, online discussions, and individual consultations. Self and peer-assessment are the key tools because they require students to develop an understanding about the quality of a piece of work. The added bonus is a stronger alignment between the teacher’s values of learner-centred teaching and his/her assessment practices by shifting the focus off the teacher and onto the subject - as in Palmer’s (1998) Community of Knowing.
The participants will support each other as they implement their innovations this semester and at the conclusion of the project they will share their findings with Faculty of Education staff. Some examples of planned innovations include: using a Wiki for a group project, getting students to conduct peer assessment of each other’s contributions; Peer-reviewed individual presentations; and a mathematical competency test for first year pre-service teachers designed to reduce levels of mathematical anxiety through the use of peer assessment.
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