A Theoretical Framework for Integrating Peer Assessment in Teacher Education

Sluijsmans, D. M. A., & Prins, F. (2006). A conceptual framework for integrating peer assessment in teacher education. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 32, 6-22.Peer assessment can be a valuable learning tool in teacher education, because it supports student teachers to acquire skills that are essential in their professional working life. In this article a theoretical framework is presented in which the training of peer assessment skills by means of peer assessment tasks is integrated in teacher education courses. Theories about constructive alignment, student involvement, instructional design, and performance assessment underlie the framework. Furthermore, an overview of three empirical studies is provided to illustrate the implementation of the framework in a teacher training context. Results show that the framework offers powerful guidelines for the design and integration of peer assessment activities in teacher training courses. In general, the peer assessment tasks that were embedded in the courses lead to a general improvement in students’ peer assessment skills as well as their task performance in the domain of the course. Implications for course and curriculum design are discussed

Controlling broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) in grass clover mixtures

This article describes three experiments on the control of broad-leaved dock. Experiment 1: Dock seeds were ensiled in grass silages of different dry matter percentages; 23, 34 and 60% respectively. All silages showed a decline of seed vitality in time. Grass clover with dock seeds should be ensiled at a low dry matter percentage or remain in the silage bin for a longer period than 8 weeks. Experiment 2: In a potassium fertilisation trial on grass clover the development of dock was followed. After two years of potassium fertilisation, the number of dock and the root mass was not significant different between the fertilised and the unfertilised plots. It is concluded that potassium fertilisation at a low potassium status does not positively influence the dock development. Experiment 3: In a resown grass clover, dock seedlings were cut at three frequencies; 2, 4 and 6 weeks. After 3 months the number of seedlings had decreased the same in all treatments. However the root biomass of the seedlings was significantly affected. It is concluded that frequent cutting has a negative effect on root biomass but should be practised for a longer period than 12 weeks to have an effect on seedling numbers

Experiences with Supporting Teachers with Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at a Research-Intensive University: Lessons Learned

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a fast-maturing field of study within many research-intensive universities. SoTL improves the quality of teaching, the professional development of teachers, and the recognition and appreciation of education. To encourage SoTL, it is important to know how to support teachers. This study describes two pilot initiatives with the goal to encourage and support teachers at a research-intensive university with their first SoTL project. In both pilots, a community of practice (CoP) approach was used. The experiences with the pilots were investigated with questionnaires and interviews. Based on the feedback of participants, albeit with some caution because of the relatively small sample size of this study, suggestions for future initiatives that support teachers new to SoTL at research-intensive institutes are: 1) the use of a combination of a CoP and individual guidance by experienced SoTL facilitators; 2) the creation of opportunities for formal and informal interaction to strengthen the CoP; 3) encouraging participants to work together on (shared) aligned projects; 4) the provision of structured course elements with guided discussions; 5) the provision of theoretical support regarding the principles of SoTL, for example, finding and interpreting literature, formulating a research question, and choosing the research methodology; 6) structure the inclusion of students’ participations, perspectives, and roles in SoTL; 7) some form of obligation, such as an official status of the initiative; and 8) institutional support, such as providing recognition, time, and financial support. The lessons learned in this study have relevance for all universities seeking to embrace, encourage, and support SoTL, especially for those initiating their first SoTL-supporting activities

Awareness of group performance in a CSCL-environment: Effects of peer feedback and reflection

Phielix, C., Prins, F. J., & Kirschner, P. A. (2010). Awareness of group performance in a CSCL-environment: Effects of peer feedback and reflection. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(2), 151-161. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009.10.011This study investigated the effects of a peer feedback tool and a reflection tool on social and cognitive performance during computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL). A CSCL-environment was augmented with a peer feedback tool (Radar) and a reflection tool (Reflector) in order to make group members aware of both their individual and their group behavior. Radar visualizes how group members perceive their own social and cognitive performance and that of their peers during collaboration along five dimensions. Reflector stimulates group members to reflect upon their own performance and the performance of the group. A 2x2 factorial between-subjects design was used to examine whether Radar and Reflector would lead to better team development, more group satisfaction, lower levels of group conflict, more positive attitudes toward problem-based collaboration, and a better group product. Results show that groups with Radar perceived their team as being better developed, experienced lower conflict levels, and had a more positive attitude towards collaborative problem solving than groups without Radar. The quality of group products, however, did not differ. The results demonstrate that peer feedback on the social performance of individual group members can enhance the performance and attitudes of a CSCL-group

Group Awareness of Social and Cognitive Behavior in a CSCL Environment

Phielix, C., Prins, F. J., & Kirschner, P. A. (2010). Group awareness of social and cognitive behavior in a CSCL environment. In K. Gomez, L. Lyons, & J. Radinsky (Eds.), Learning in the Disciplines: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2010): Volume 1 (pp. 230-237). Chicago IL, USA: International Society of the Learning Sciences.This study investigated whether a peer feedback tool and a reflection tool would enhance group performance in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment. The underlying assumption was that group performance can be positively influenced by making group members aware of how their social and cognitive behavior is perceived by themselves, their peers, and the group as a whole. Participants were 120 fourth-year high school students working, with or without the tools, in dyads, triads and groups of 4 on a collaborative writing task. Results show that groups using tools perceived their team as being better developed, experienced higher levels of group satisfaction and lower levels of conflicts, than groups not using the tools. Results demonstrate that awareness, stimulated by peer assessment and reflection tools, enhances the social performance of a CSCL-group

Effects of Conceptual Knowledge and Availability of Information Sources on Law Students Legal Reasoning

Nievelstein, F., Van Gog, T., Boshuizen, H. P. A., & Prins, F. J. (2010). Effects of Conceptual Knowledge and Availability of Information Sources on Law Students Legal Reasoning. Instructional Science, 38, 23-35. doi:10.1007/s11251-008-9076-3Due to the complexity of the legal domain, reasoning about law cases is a very complex skill. For novices in law school, legal reasoning is even more complex because they have not yet acquired the conceptual knowledge needed for distilling the relevant information from cases, determining applicable rules, and searching for rules and exceptions in external information sources such as lawbooks. This study investigated the role of conceptual knowledge in solving legal cases when no information sources can be used. Under such ‘unsupported’ circumstances, novice and advanced students performed less well than domain experts, but even experts’ performance was rather low. The second question addressed was whether novices even benefit from the availability of information sources (i e., lawbook), because conceptual knowledge is prerequisite for effective use of such sources. Indeed availability of the lawbook positively affected performance only for advanced students but not for novice students. Implications for learning and instruction in the domain of law are discussed

Expertise-related differences in conceptual and ontological knowledge in the legal domain.

Nievelstein, F., Van Gog, T., Boshuizen, H. P. A., & Prins, F. J. (2008). Expertise-related differences in conceptual and ontological knowledge in the legal domain. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 20, 1043–1064.Little research has been conducted on expertise-related differences in conceptual and ontological knowledge in law, even though this type of knowledge is prerequisite for correctly interpreting and reasoning about legal cases, and differences in conceptual and ontological knowledge structures between students and between students and teachers, might lead to miscommunication. This study investigated the extent and organization of conceptual and ontological knowledge of novices, advanced students, and experts in law, using a card-sorting task and a conceptelaboration task. The results showed that novices used more everyday examples and were less accurate in their elaborations of concepts than advanced students and experts, on top of that, the organization of their knowledge did not overlap within their group (i.e., no “shared” ontology). Experts gave more judicial examples based on the lawbook and were more accurate in their elaborations than advanced students, and their knowledge was strongly overlapping within their group (i.e., strong ontology). Incorrect conceptual knowledge seems to impede the correct understanding of cases and the correct application of precise and formal rules in law

Group awareness of social and cognitive performance in a CSCL environment: Effects of a peer feedback and reflection tool

Phielix, C., Prins, F. J., Kirschner, P. A., Erkens, G., & Jaspers, J. (2011). Group awareness of social and cognitive performance in a CSCL environment: Effects of a peer feedback and reflection tool. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(3), 1087-1102. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2010.06.024A peer feedback tool (Radar) and a reflection tool (Reflector) were used to enhance group performance in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment. Radar allows group members to assess themselves and their fellow group members on six traits related to social and cognitive behavior. Reflector stimulates group members to reflect on their past, present and future group functioning, stimulating them to set goals and formulate plans to improve their social and cognitive performance. The underlying assumption was that group performance would be positively influenced by making group members aware of how they, their peers and the whole group perceive their social and cognitive behavior in the group. Participants were 108 fourth-year high school students working in dyads, triads and groups of four on a collaborative writing task, with or without the tools. Results demonstrate that awareness stimulated by the peer feedback and reflection tools enhances group-process satisfaction and social performance of CSCL-groups

Determining the quality of competences assessment programs:: A self-evaluation procedure

Baartman, L. K. J., Prins, F. J., Kirschner, P. A., & Van der Vleuten, C. P. M. (2007). Determining the quality of Competence Assessment Programs: A self-evaluation procedure. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 33, 258-281.As assessment methods are changing, the way to determine their quality needs to be changed accordingly. This article argues for the use Competences Assessment Programs (CAPs), combinations of traditional tests and new assessment methods which involve both formative and summative assessments. To assist schools in evaluating their CAPs, a self-evaluation procedure was developed, based on 12 quality criteria for CAPs developed in earlier studies. A self-evaluation was chosen as it is increasingly used as an alternative to external evaluation. The CAP self-evaluation is carried out by a group of functionaries from the same school and comprises individual self-evaluations and a group interview. The CAP is rated on the 12 quality criteria and a piece of evidence is asked for to support these ratings. In this study, three functionaries from eight schools (N = 24) evaluated their CAP using the self-evaluation procedure. Results show that the group interview was very important as different perspectives on the CAP are assembled here into an overall picture of the CAP’s quality. Schools seem to use mainly personal experiences to support their ratings and need to be supported in the process of carrying out a self-evaluation

Competence Description for Personal Recommendations::The importance of identifying the complexity of learning and performance situations

Prins, F. J., Nadolski, R. J., Berlanga, A. J., Drachsler, H., Hummel, H. G. K., & Koper, R. (2008). Competence Description for Personal Recommendations: The importance of identifying the complexity of learning and performance situations. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 11(3), 141-152.For competences development of learners and professionals, target competences and corresponding competence development opportunities have to be identified. Personal Recommender Systems (PRS) provide personal recommendations for learners aimed at finding and selecting learning activities that best match their needs. This article argues that a clear-cut description of the concept of ‘competence’ is needed for appropriate system-based personal recommendations. We proposed to extend current initiatives on standardization of modelling competences with the concept of ‘Learning and performance situation’ (LP-situation) and claimed that this extension has added value for personal recommendations for adequate selection of learning activities, for determining proficiency levels of competences, for the design of learning tasks, and for accreditation of prior knowledge. Advantages and disadvantages are discussed.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project that is funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org