Selfassessment and Peerassessment

1
Self-assessment and Peer-assessment

• Developing cognitive, affective and social
  learning skills

2
Rationale

• if we see education as fostering achievement
  in a personal sense then an emphasis on
  personal achievement, focussing on
  self-knowledge, self-assessment, and
  self-regulation (the true meaning of autonomy)
  appears long overdue.
• (Lier, L. Van (1996) Interaction in the Language
  Classroom Awareness, Autonomy Authenticity.
  Harlow Addison Wesley Longman p.119)

3
More

• Self-assessment encourages the student to
  become part of the whole process of language
  learning, and to be aware of individual
  progress.
• Harris, M. (1997). Self-assessment of language
  learning in formal settings. ELT Journal Vol.
  51/1, pp. 12-20. Oxford Oxford University Press.
  P. 15.

4
Even more

• Assessment leading towards evaluation is an
  important educational objective in its own right.
  
• Training learners in this is beneficial to
  learning.
• Self-assessment is a necessary part of
  self-determination.
• Self-assessment is one way of alleviating the
  assessment burden on the teacher.
• Dickinson, L. (1987). Self-Instruction in
  Language Learning. Cambridge. Cambridge
  University Press.

5
Osscarson (1989) gives a rationale of
self-assessment procedures in language learning

• promotion of learning
• raised level of awareness
• improved goal orientation
• expansion of range of assessment
• shared assessment burden
• beneficial postcourse effects
• Oscarson, M. (1989). 'Self-assessment of language
  proficiency rationale and implications. In RELC
  Journal, Vol. 19. No. 1 pp. 75-93

6
Self-assessment in the school classroom

• Self-assessment is a practical tool that can
  make students more active and can assist them
  with the daunting task of learning how to
  communicate in another language (Harris (1997,
  p. 19).
• Harris, M. (1997). Self-assessment of language
  learning in formal settings. ELT Journal Vol.
  51/1, pp. 12-20. Oxford Oxford University Press.
  
• this kind of self-appraisal would be
  particularly helpful in the case of (false)
  beginners (Blanche 1988, p. 86).
• Blanche, P. (1988). Self-assessment of foreign
  language skills implications for teachers and
  researchers. In RELC Journal Vol. 19. No. 1,
  pp.75-93.

7
Reliability and Validity

• the validity of learner judgements can in fact
  be quite high (Oscarson 19892).
• "...a majority of students find it easier to
  estimate their purely communicative competence
  level than their mastery of grammar (Blanche
  198875).

8
Peer-assessment

• Haughton Dickinson (1989) found "a relatively
  high level of agreement between the peer
  assessments and the marks given by the lecturers"
  in their study of a collaborative post-writing
  assessment
• Students were able to assess their own work
  realistically, even though most felt
  inexperienced as testers (lack of reliability)
  and were not comfortable with being tested by
  classmates (fear of losing face).
• Students were sincere.
• Students demonstrated a similar level of
  assessment to that of the lecturers.
• The scheme did not result in a lowering of
  standards.
• The students benefited in their understanding of
  and attitude towards assessment by taking part in
  the study.
• Miller, L. Ng, R. (1996). Autonomy in the
  classroom peer assessment, (p. 142). In R.
  Pemberton, S.L. Edward, W.W.F. Or, and H.D.
  Pierson (Eds.), Taking Control Autonomy in
  Language Learning. Hong Kong Hong Kong
  University Press, pp. 133-146.