University students\u2019 perceptions towards using exemplars dialogically to develop evaluative judgement: the case of a high-stakes language test

Sin Wang Chong

doi:10.1186/s40862-021-00115-4

Abstract

The revived interest in the notion of ‘evaluative judgement’ in higher education is motivated by commitment of researchers and practitioners to effectively implement learning-oriented assessment and cultivate this high-order cognitive ability to develop students’ capacity for self-regulated learning. Recent studies have examined the affordances and constraints of using exemplars to develop students’ evaluative judgement in the fields of Education, Nutrition, Biology, and English for Academic Purposes. The present study, which focuses on use of exemplars in IELTS, analyzes patterns of teacher-students dialogues and 129 university students’ perceptions of using exemplars to develop their understanding of assessment standards of IELTS academic writing tasks. Qualitative data were collected through an online questionnaire, individual semi-structured interviews, and workshop observations. Findings suggest that the IELTS instructor/researcher utilized various interactive strategies to develop students’ hard, soft, and dynamic dimensions of evaluative judgement. Students identified affordances and limitations of using exemplars for language test preparation. Implications related to dialogic exemplar use to develop students’ evaluative judgement are discussed in light of the findings.

Highlights

Assessment in higher education is broadly categorized into formative and summative (Carter, Salamonson, Ramjan, & Halcomb, 2018); others have attempted to conceptualize assessment in a more fine-grained manner to encompass three forms: assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning (Chong, 2018a; Lee, 2017)
Given the constraint that the context of the present study is a one-off, three-hour workshop, it was not possible for the teacher/researcher to introduce a range of exemplars to illustrate different facets of the rubrics and the range of question types of International English Langauge Testing System (IELTS)
Short exemplars could be introduced near the end of each lesson after a piece of domain-specific knowledge is taught as a consolidation task

Summary

Introduction

Assessment in higher education is broadly categorized into formative and summative (Carter, Salamonson, Ramjan, & Halcomb, 2018); others have attempted to conceptualize assessment in a more fine-grained manner to encompass three forms: assessment of learning, assessment for learning, and assessment as learning (Chong, 2018a; Lee, 2017). Learning-oriented assessment (LOA) (i.e. assessment for and as learning), has been attributed an important role in the learning process of university students because it enhances students’ learning through their engagement with and reflection on assessment tasks. While both assessment for and as learning are regarded as a type of LOA, the former capitalizes the mediating role of. Using exemplars as a student-centered assessment activity, teachers develop students’ feedback literacy (Carless & Boud, 2018) and refine their understanding about what ‘good work’ looks like with reference to a set of assessment rubrics (Dawson, 2015), a ‘high-level cognitive ability’ known as evaluative judgement (EJ) Using exemplars as a student-centered assessment activity, teachers develop students’ feedback literacy (Carless & Boud, 2018) and refine their understanding about what ‘good work’ looks like with reference to a set of assessment rubrics (Dawson, 2015), a ‘high-level cognitive ability’ known as evaluative judgement (EJ) (Tai, Ajjawi, Boud, Dawson, & Panadero, 2018, p. 470)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion