Triadic Assessment

Abstract

This article describes the findings of, and the conclusions drawn from, a research project sponsored by the University of Plymouth Student Centred Learning Initiative (SCLI) with the intention of gaining an indepth view of self, peer and tutor (triadic) assessment. The research employed an essentially qualitative methodology incorporating the use of questionnaire and semi-structured interview techniques. The research cohort was drawn from groups of students studying at different stages of the BA(Hons) Education and Training programme within the Faculty of Arts & Education at the University of Plymouth. The research project was designed to examine triadic assessment within the context of the formative and summative stages of the assessment process of the programme. Of significance to the research was the fact that triadic assessment was seen to form an integral part of the formative and summative stages of the programme assessment procedures. This involved all students in a collaborative process of setting their own assessment criteria; a process supported through directed study activities and ongoing monitoring and review. While the researchers all subscribed to the view that this process is a key part of triadic assessment, the discourse evaluation that the research also involved ensured that the assessment practices examined were closely and critically evaluated. The ongoing process of interrogation and re-conceptualisation of the epistemological foundations of the research practice were sustained throughout the research process. Questions of power and knowledge were closely examined, alongside a close critical analysis of the way in which the professional identity and assessment practice style of those involved in the research were influenced by the way in which they were situated within a variety of different practice contexts. This article proposes a problematising of triadic assessment and concludes that it is clearly not a transparent activity that reveals easily generalisable and universalisable features and characteristics. Depending upon chosen perspectives, triadic assessment will, therefore, possess strengths and weaknesses. Evidence from the research suggests that notions of self- and peer assessment are contested and negotiated within the context of situated and active discursive construction.