'Now you know what you’re doing right and wrong!' Peer feedback quality in synchronous peer assessment in secondary education

This study explores the effects of peer assessment (PA) practice on peer feedback (PF) quality of 11th grade secondary education students (N= 36). The PA setting was synchronous: anonymous assessors gave immediate PF using mobile response technology during 10 feedback occasions. The design was quasi-experimental (experimental vs. control condition) in which students in one condition received a scaffold to filter out relevant information they received. It was expected that this filter-out scaffold would influence PF quality in subsequent tasks in which they were assessors. PF content analysis showed that offering multiple PF occasions improved PF quality: messages contained more negative verifications and informative and suggestive elaborations after the intervention. However, no effects were found of filtering out relevant information on PF quality. Moreover, students’ perceived peer feedback skills improved which was in correspondence with their actual quality improvement over time. Additionally, the perceived usefulness of the received feedback was rated high by all participants

Anonymity as an instructional scaffold in peer assessment : its effects on peer feedback quality and evolution in students’ perceptions about peer assessment skills

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in European Journal of Psychology of Education 33.1 (2018): 75-99. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10212-017-0339-8Although previous research has indicated that providing anonymity is an effective way to create a safe peer assessment setting, continuously ensuring anonymity prevents students from experiencing genuine two-way interactive feedback dialogues. The present study investigated how installing a transitional approach from an anonymous to a non-anonymous peer assessment setting can overcome this problem. A total of 46 bachelor’s degree students in Educational Studies participated in multiple peer assessment cycles in which groups of students assessed each other’s work. Both students’ evolution in peer feedback quality as well as their perceptions were measured. The content analysis of the peer feedback messages revealed that the quality of peer feedback increased in the anonymous phase, and that over time, the feedback in the consecutive non-anonymous sessions was of similar quality. The results also indicate that the transitional approach does not hinder the perceived growth in peer feedback skills, nor does it have a negative impact on their general conceptions towards peer assessment. Furthermore, students clearly differentiated between their attributed importance of anonymity and their view on the usefulness of a transitional approach. The findings suggest that anonymity can be a valuable scaffold to ease students’ importance level towards anonymity and their associated need for practiceThe first author’s research was funded by Ghent University BOF fund number BOF13/24J/115. The second author’s research was funded by the Spanish Ramón y Cajal program number RYC-2013-1346

Guidelines: The do's, don'ts and don't knows of direct observation of clinical skills in medical education.

IntroductionDirect observation of clinical skills is a key assessment strategy in competency-based medical education. The guidelines presented in this paper synthesize the literature on direct observation of clinical skills. The goal is to provide a practical list of Do's, Don'ts and Don't Knows about direct observation for supervisors who teach learners in the clinical setting and for educational leaders who are responsible for clinical training programs.MethodsWe built consensus through an iterative approach in which each author, based on their medical education and research knowledge and expertise, independently developed a list of Do's, Don'ts, and Don't Knows about direct observation of clinical skills. Lists were compiled, discussed and revised. We then sought and compiled evidence to support each guideline and determine the strength of each guideline.ResultsA final set of 33 Do's, Don'ts and Don't Knows is presented along with a summary of evidence for each guideline. Guidelines focus on two groups: individual supervisors and the educational leaders responsible for clinical training programs. Guidelines address recommendations for how to focus direct observation, select an assessment tool, promote high quality assessments, conduct rater training, and create a learning culture conducive to direct observation.ConclusionsHigh frequency, high quality direct observation of clinical skills can be challenging. These guidelines offer important evidence-based Do's and Don'ts that can help improve the frequency and quality of direct observation. Improving direct observation requires focus not just on individual supervisors and their learners, but also on the organizations and cultures in which they work and train. Additional research to address the Don't Knows can help educators realize the full potential of direct observation in competency-based education

The Power of Giving Feedback and Receiving Feedback in Peer Assessment

Despite well-documented promises of peer assessment, it is still unclear how peer as-sessment works and what contributes to students\u2019 learning gains. In order to identify cognitive processes that lead to learning enhancement, this study examined 41 stu-dents\u2019 responses to online surveys and also their online written interactions when they participated in a peer assessment activity. Data analysis revealed that students were en-gaged in various learning processes in the phases of giving and receiving feedback. While students acknowledged that both phases contributed to their learning, a greater number of students indicated that they perceived more learning benefits from giving feedback rather than receiving feedback. Interpretations and implications were dis-cussed

The impact of goal orientation, self-reflection and personal characteristics on the acquisition of oral presentation skills

Although many educators help others to develop oral presentation skills, little research is available to direct the instructional design activities of these educators. In the present article an explorative study on university freshman is described, in which goal-setting, self-reflection, and several characteristics of the subjects during oral presentations were analysed. The research results emphasize the critical impact of motivational constructs, such as self-efficacy and goal orientation, next to the topic of the oral presentation on the acquisition of oral presentation skills

Peer assessment in popular music

This paper discusses the development of a peer-learning and assessment method involving undergraduate popular music students in group performance modules. What is learned through rehearsing and performing in a band is intrinsically collective and this poses problems where we are obliged to give individual participants discrete scores for their contributions. Peer assessment may assist in this and improve student learning in group work. An approach that involves band members assessing each other on the basis of personal attributes is explored

Measuring What’s Valued Or Valuing What’s Measured? Knowledge Production and the Research Assessment Exercise

Power is everywhere. But what is it and how does it infuse personal and institutional relationships in higher education? Power, Knowledge and the Academy: The Institutional is Political takes a close-up and critical look at both the elusive and blatant workings and consequences of power in a range of everyday sites in universities. Authors work with multi-layered conceptions of power to disturb the idea of the academy as a haven of detached reason and instead reveal the ways in which power shapes personal and institutional relationships, the production of knowledge and the construction of academic careers. Chapters focus on, among other areas, student-supervisor relationships, personal PhD journeys, power in research teams, networking, the Research Assessment Exercise in the UK, and the power to construct knowledge in literature reviews. This chapter does not address which mechanism of research assessment provides a more truthful account of the value of a set of ‘research outputs’. Instead, it focuses on the power of any such mechanism to reinforce particular values and to inscribe hierarchies regarding knowledge. Regardless of what replaces it, the UK's RAE will have been productive, not just reflective of academic values. Some of the negative consequences of the RAE for UK academic life are considered, focusing on the operation of power through processes of knowledge production

Peer support for discharge from inpatient to community mental health services: Study protocol clinical trial (SPIRIT Compliant).

INTRODUCTION: In the period shortly after discharge from inpatient to community mental health care, people are at increased risk of self-harm, suicide, and readmission to hospital. Discharge interventions including peer support have shown potential, and there is some evidence that community-based peer support reduces readmissions. However, systematic reviews of peer support in mental health services indicate poor trial quality and a lack of reporting of how peer support is distinctive from other mental health support. This study is designed to establish the clinical and cost effectiveness of a peer worker intervention to support discharge from inpatient to community mental health care, and to address issues of trial quality and clarity of reporting of peer support interventions. METHODS: This protocol describes an individually randomized controlled superiority trial, hypothesizing that people offered a peer worker discharge intervention in addition to usual follow-up care in the community are less likely to be readmitted in the 12 months post discharge than people receiving usual care alone. A total of 590 people will be recruited shortly before discharge from hospital and randomly allocated to care as usual plus the peer worker intervention or care as usual alone. Manualized peer support provided by trained peer workers begins in hospital and continues for 4 months in the community post discharge. Secondary psychosocial outcomes are assessed at 4 months post discharge, and service use and cost outcomes at 12 months post discharge, alongside a mixed methods process evaluation. DISCUSSION: Clearly specified procedures for sequencing participant allocation and for blinding assessors to allocation, plus full reporting of outcomes, should reduce risk of bias in trial findings and contribute to improved quality in the peer support evidence base. The involvement of members of the study team with direct experience of peer support, mental distress, and using mental health services, in coproducing the intervention and designing the trial, ensures that we theorize and clearly describe the peer worker intervention, and evaluate how peer support is related to any change in outcome. This is an important methodological contribution to the evidence base. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was prospectively registered as ISRCTN 10043328 on November 28, 2016