Students' self-assessment of assignments - is it worth it?
Self-assessment refers to the involvement of learners in making judgements about their own learni... more Self-assessment refers to the involvement of learners in making judgements about their own learning, particularly about their achievements and the outcomes of their learning (Boud & Falchikov, 1989). Enhanced learning and professional development are the desirable end effect of self-assessment. However, questions are often raised about the reliability (i.e. accuracy and consistency) of students' self-assessment. Recent studies have revealed substantial discrepancies in students' self-assessment performance in terms of accuracy and consistency, potentially leading to the rejection of self-assessment. Hence, understanding the scope and limitations of students' self-assessment is critical.
Students' self-assessment of assignments-is it worth it?
ABSTRACT Self-assessment refers to the involvement of learners in making judgements about their o... more ABSTRACT Self-assessment refers to the involvement of learners in making judgements about their own learning, particularly about their achievements and the outcomes of their learning (Boud & Falchikov, 1989). Enhanced learning and professional development are the desirable end effect of self-assessment. However, questions are often raised about the reliability (i.e. accuracy and consistency) of students' self-assessment. Recent studies have revealed substantial discrepancies in students' self-assessment performance in terms of accuracy and consistency, potentially leading to the rejection of self-assessment. Hence, understanding the scope and limitations of students' self-assessment is critical.
Teaching and learning of mathematics is challenging when lecturer and students are separated geog... more Teaching and learning of mathematics is challenging when lecturer and students are separated geographically. While student engagement and interaction with the course, with other students and with the lecturer is vital to mathematics learning, it is difficult to facilitate this electronically, because of the nature of mathematics. With tablet technology now becoming ubiquitous and many new and inexpensive models entering the market, it is timely to investigate how the distance student experience in mathematics can be impacted by the use of tablet technologies. This paper reports on a case study of a first year mathematics course at a regional Australian university, where distance students were provided with affordable tablet PCs. An investigation of the impact of this technology on engagement and interaction is at the centre of this study. Evidence from journals, students' assessment submissions, screen snippets, student communication and formal student evaluations is analysed. It was found that distance students acknowledged the value of tablets for communicating mathematics, particularly for assignment submission and feedback, but they also recognized the potential for easier interaction with content and the lecturer. This paper highlights the specific benefits and challenges tablet PCs present to the learning experiences in mathematics within the distance context.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 2011
Tablet technology has been shown to support learner-centred mathematics education when this techn... more Tablet technology has been shown to support learner-centred mathematics education when this technology is available to both the lecturer and the students. However, cost is often the barrier to students’ use of tablet PCs for their university studies. This article argues that more affordable netbook PCs with tablet capabilities can be viable alternatives to full-sized tablet PCs to enhance active and collaborative learning in mathematics and statistics. For a whole teaching semester, netbook tablet PCs were given to volunteer students from two different cohorts. Students were enrolled in nursing mathematics or introductory statistics in non-mathematics majors at an Australian university. The aims were to gauge the suitability of this technology and to identify what active and collaborative learning emerged in these first-year classes. While the netbook tablet PCs were actively promoted in their tutorials, of additional interest was students’ use of the technology for any aspect of their studies both inside and outside the classroom. The outcome of this study was to inform a university decision to provide inexpensive tablet technology to larger cohorts of students. The results highlight different approaches required in the mathematics and statistics classes to achieve collaborative and active learning facilitated through the technology. Environmental variables such as the tutor, student, learning space, availability of other technologies and subject content had an impact on the nature of learning. While learner-centred education can be facilitated by inexpensive netbook tablet PCs, we caution that the savings may come at the expense of computing power.
It has been argued that self-assessment deepens student learning. This study examined that propos... more It has been argued that self-assessment deepens student learning. This study examined that proposition through online assessment of an assignment in a first year course, with a large percentage (85%) of students enrolled in a distance mode. The aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of self-assessment in student learning. One hundred and fifty-two students completed a self-assessment of their assignment using assessment guidelines, a marking rubric and model answers. The learning effectiveness of self-assessment was appraised through content analyses of student comments in the self-assessment, and in a survey. In this study, self-assessment of the assignment was found to be effective in enhancing student self-awareness and engaging students in metacognitive processes. Most survey respondents agreed that self-assessment helps students identify the strengths and the weaknesses of assignment answers and highlights areas where performance could be improved. Overall, self-assessment of the assignment was shown to be effective in positively influencing student learning in this learning environment.
Tablet technology has been shown to support learner-centred mathematics education when this techn... more Tablet technology has been shown to support learner-centred mathematics education when this technology is available to both the lecturer and the students. However, cost is often the barrier to students' use of tablet PCs for their university studies. This paper argues that more affordable netbook PCs with tablet capabilities can be viable alternatives to full sized tablet PCs to enhance active and collaborative learning in mathematics and statistics.
Students' self-assessment of assignments - is it worth it?
Self-assessment refers to the involvement of learners in making judgements about their own learni... more Self-assessment refers to the involvement of learners in making judgements about their own learning, particularly about their achievements and the outcomes of their learning (Boud & Falchikov, 1989). Enhanced learning and professional development are the desirable end effect of self-assessment. However, questions are often raised about the reliability (i.e. accuracy and consistency) of students' self-assessment. Recent studies have revealed substantial discrepancies in students' self-assessment performance in terms of accuracy and consistency, potentially leading to the rejection of self-assessment. Hence, understanding the scope and limitations of students' self-assessment is critical.
Students' self-assessment of assignments-is it worth it?
ABSTRACT Self-assessment refers to the involvement of learners in making judgements about their o... more ABSTRACT Self-assessment refers to the involvement of learners in making judgements about their own learning, particularly about their achievements and the outcomes of their learning (Boud & Falchikov, 1989). Enhanced learning and professional development are the desirable end effect of self-assessment. However, questions are often raised about the reliability (i.e. accuracy and consistency) of students' self-assessment. Recent studies have revealed substantial discrepancies in students' self-assessment performance in terms of accuracy and consistency, potentially leading to the rejection of self-assessment. Hence, understanding the scope and limitations of students' self-assessment is critical.
Teaching and learning of mathematics is challenging when lecturer and students are separated geog... more Teaching and learning of mathematics is challenging when lecturer and students are separated geographically. While student engagement and interaction with the course, with other students and with the lecturer is vital to mathematics learning, it is difficult to facilitate this electronically, because of the nature of mathematics. With tablet technology now becoming ubiquitous and many new and inexpensive models entering the market, it is timely to investigate how the distance student experience in mathematics can be impacted by the use of tablet technologies. This paper reports on a case study of a first year mathematics course at a regional Australian university, where distance students were provided with affordable tablet PCs. An investigation of the impact of this technology on engagement and interaction is at the centre of this study. Evidence from journals, students' assessment submissions, screen snippets, student communication and formal student evaluations is analysed. It was found that distance students acknowledged the value of tablets for communicating mathematics, particularly for assignment submission and feedback, but they also recognized the potential for easier interaction with content and the lecturer. This paper highlights the specific benefits and challenges tablet PCs present to the learning experiences in mathematics within the distance context.
International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 2011
Tablet technology has been shown to support learner-centred mathematics education when this techn... more Tablet technology has been shown to support learner-centred mathematics education when this technology is available to both the lecturer and the students. However, cost is often the barrier to students’ use of tablet PCs for their university studies. This article argues that more affordable netbook PCs with tablet capabilities can be viable alternatives to full-sized tablet PCs to enhance active and collaborative learning in mathematics and statistics. For a whole teaching semester, netbook tablet PCs were given to volunteer students from two different cohorts. Students were enrolled in nursing mathematics or introductory statistics in non-mathematics majors at an Australian university. The aims were to gauge the suitability of this technology and to identify what active and collaborative learning emerged in these first-year classes. While the netbook tablet PCs were actively promoted in their tutorials, of additional interest was students’ use of the technology for any aspect of their studies both inside and outside the classroom. The outcome of this study was to inform a university decision to provide inexpensive tablet technology to larger cohorts of students. The results highlight different approaches required in the mathematics and statistics classes to achieve collaborative and active learning facilitated through the technology. Environmental variables such as the tutor, student, learning space, availability of other technologies and subject content had an impact on the nature of learning. While learner-centred education can be facilitated by inexpensive netbook tablet PCs, we caution that the savings may come at the expense of computing power.
It has been argued that self-assessment deepens student learning. This study examined that propos... more It has been argued that self-assessment deepens student learning. This study examined that proposition through online assessment of an assignment in a first year course, with a large percentage (85%) of students enrolled in a distance mode. The aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of self-assessment in student learning. One hundred and fifty-two students completed a self-assessment of their assignment using assessment guidelines, a marking rubric and model answers. The learning effectiveness of self-assessment was appraised through content analyses of student comments in the self-assessment, and in a survey. In this study, self-assessment of the assignment was found to be effective in enhancing student self-awareness and engaging students in metacognitive processes. Most survey respondents agreed that self-assessment helps students identify the strengths and the weaknesses of assignment answers and highlights areas where performance could be improved. Overall, self-assessment of the assignment was shown to be effective in positively influencing student learning in this learning environment.
Tablet technology has been shown to support learner-centred mathematics education when this techn... more Tablet technology has been shown to support learner-centred mathematics education when this technology is available to both the lecturer and the students. However, cost is often the barrier to students' use of tablet PCs for their university studies. This paper argues that more affordable netbook PCs with tablet capabilities can be viable alternatives to full sized tablet PCs to enhance active and collaborative learning in mathematics and statistics.
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