"I Choose How I Evaluate Myself". An Experience in Higher Education

Author(s):

Gladys Merma Molina(presenting / submitting)Diego Gavilán Martín(presenting)

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

09. Assessment, Evaluation, Testing and Measurement

Format:

Paper

Session Information

09 SES 10 B, Investigating Student Attitudes on Assessment and Evaluation Practices

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-24

15:30-17:00

Room:

W5.18

Chair:

Jelena Radišic

Contribution

The European Higher Education Area proposes to promote reflection, innovation and the improvement of university teaching through student-centered teaching methodologies, autonomous work and self-regulated learning (Fernández et al., 2012; Merma, Peiró and Gavilán, 2014). In this perspective, García and Pérez (2011), Rosário et al. (2010), Suárez and Fernández (2011), and Zimmerman and Schunk (2008) argue that the variables that have more weight in the training of students at present is the use of self-regulated learning strategies; According to these authors, this type of learning implies an active process in which students establish the objectives that guide their learning, attempted to regulate and control their cognition, motivation and behaviour.

Other researchers have studied the relationship between academic goals, self-regulated learning, and academic performance. Thus, Dupeyrant and Mariné (2005) have shown that students who have high levels of self-regulation achieve good performance. Generally, these students tend to show processes of planning, use of strategies of elaboration and organization, as well as supervision and metacognitive control, that are congruent with their learning goals, whereas students with low levels of self-regulation usually also present low levels Of academic performance (Valle, Cabanach, Rodríguez, Núñez, & González-Pienda, 2006). Likewise, lately Coll, Rochera, Mayordomo and Naranjo (2014) have demonstrated that students do not have competences linked to autonomous learning.

One of the notoriously significant changes in this process of renewal of Higher Education is the changes in evaluation, which can be summarized in the fact that the teacher not only has to know what to evaluate, but also must know how to use procedures and strategies of self-regulation that favours learning. Consequently, the evaluation should focus on the performance of the learner and should include a diversity of holistic and rigorous strategies and should be translated into a set of practices aimed at gathering information about student performance from significant, contextual and real situations. Another feature of the authentic evaluation is that it is carried out throughout the teaching process and is systematically articulated with a wide range of necessary instruments, generates knowledge from the permanent reflection that makes possible the feedback of teaching and self-regulation of learning in students (Coll, Rochera, Butordomo, & Naranjo, 2014).

Few studies have investigated the self-regulation of evaluation in the Spanish context. Self-regulated assessment starts specifically with the identification and activation of internal conditions, the student's prior knowledge of the contents to be learned, his / her repertoire of strategies for such learning, personal conditions and external conditions. Performs the teaching-learning process, all of which will make it possible to achieve the competences.

Based on these premises, in this experience, carried out with students of the Master's in Secondary Education Teaching Staff, our objective has been to integrate the self-regulated assessment in the university teaching of the subject Society, Family and Education, that adapts to the needs of the students, and the learning placed as strategies of evaluation in the mentioned subject. The socioconstructivist perspective (Coll, 2001; Daniels, 2003) and situated teaching (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 2001), vocational training oriented to reflective practice (Henderson, 1992; Schön, 1992) and the (Darling-Hammon, Ancess, & Falk, 1995) have been the theoretical referents of this research.

Method

This empirical research focuses on the practical application of a self-regulated evaluation system in the teaching of the subject Society, Family and Education. The sample consisted of 50 professionals from different specialties (Chemistry, Philologies, Engineering, Business, History and Geography, and Physical Education) that study the Master's Degree in Secondary Education. The selection of the participants was done through intentional sampling (Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2005). The intervention program was conducted during the academic year 2015-2016. More specifically, the experience procedure was as follows: in the first stage the analysis of the results of the evaluation of the mentioned subject corresponding to the academic year 2014-2015 was carried out, where 45% of a similar sample (60 students) reflected their difficulties in the evaluation of the subject. Based on this, the teachers who taught the subject did two meetings to rethink and seek better strategies to teach and change the evaluation system. In this way, it was proposed to carry out this project, during the academic year 2015-2016, including substantial modifications especially in the practical part of the subject and in the evaluation system. At the end of the academic year, a questionnaire was presented to the students with the aim that they could especially value the evaluation system of the subject, which the students responded voluntarily and anonymously. The instrument used to gather the opinions of the students was an 8-item questionnaire: one question referred to the possibility given to them at the beginning of the academic year so that they could freely choose the final evaluation or the continuous assessment. Another question to evaluate both the practices performed as the final work, three questions to assess only the continuous practice in the subject and 3 questions to assess the final work of the subject. The data were stored in an Excel database and analyzed with the SPSSv.22.0 program, with emphasis on descriptive statistics.

Expected Outcomes

First, it should be noted that 97% of the students chose continuous assessment and only 3% the final evaluation. Regarding whether the type of evaluation had been adapted to the needs of the student and their personal situation, 52% of participants agree and 20% strongly agree, with little (2%) answers that say they disagree. As to whether the continuous evaluation adopted in the subject has favoured the learning of the content of the different subjects, 56% of the students indicate that they agree and 22% that they strongly agree. They were also asked if the practices and the final work of the subject had been significant, contextualized and real activities. In relative terms, 62% of students (more than half of the group) agree and 28% strongly agree, and only 2% indicate that they disagree. Likewise, as to whether the continuous practices of the subject have been diverse, participative and active, 64% of the students agree and 28% agree; we found only 2% of students who said they disagreed. They were also asked about the usefulness of the final work of the subject for their future professional performance and if this had allowed him to acquire competences related to teaching. 50% of participants agree and 42% strongly agree, significantly higher percentages. In conclusion, we believe that the transformation of university teaching has to do with both changes in teaching methodology and evaluation, and that the participatory and active approach is a good tool to promote student autonomy, and To promote the achievement of deep learning (Entwisle & Peterson, 2004). Likewise, it has been determined that there is a positive correlation between the characteristics of the student, the practical activities and the professional competences, this could explain in the high level of acceptance of the students regarding the evaluation system of the subject (80%).

References

Coll, C., Rochera, M. J., Mayordomo, R. M., Naranjo, M. (2014). La evaluación continuada como instrumento para el ajuste de La ayuda pedagógica y la enseñanza de competencias de autorregulación. Cuaderno de Pedagogía Universitaria, 8(15), 14-20. Daniels, H. (2003). Vygotsky y la pedagogía. Barcelona: Paidós. Darling-Hammond, L., Ancess, J., & Falk, B. (1995). Authentic assessment in action. Studies of schools and students at work. New York: Teachers College Press. Dupeyrat, C., & Mariné, C. (2005). Implicit theories of intelligence, goal orientation, cognitive engagement, and achievement: A test of Dweck’s model with returning to school adults. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30(1), 43-59. Fernández, E., Bernardo, A., Suárez, N., Cerezo, R., Núñez, J. C. y Rosário, P. (2013). Predicción del uso de estrategias de autorregulación en educación superior. Anales de Psicología, 29(3), 865-875. García, R., y Pérez, F. (2011). Validez predictiva e incremental de las habilidades de autorregulación sobre el éxito académico en la universidad. Revista de Psicodidáctica, 16(2), 231-250. Henderson, J. (1992). Reflective teaching: Becoming an inquiring educator. New York: Mac Millan Publishing Company. Lave, J., y Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Merma, G., Peiró, S. y Gavilán, D. (2014). Una experiencia de integración de competencias y contenidos, y de transverzalización de temas en la docencia. En M. T. Tortosa, D. Álvarez y N. Pellín (Coord.), XII Jornadas de Redes de investigación en Docencia Universitaria. El reconocimiento docente: innovar e investigar con criterios de calidad (pp. 749-759). Alicante: Instituto de Ciencias de Educación. Rosário, P., Núñez, J. C., González-Pienda, J. A., Valle, A., Trigo, L. y Guimarães, C. (2010). Enhancing self-regulation and approaches to learning in first-year college students: a narrative-based programme as-sessed in the Iberian Peninsula. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 25, 411-428. Schön, D. (1992). La formación de profesionales reflexivos. Barcelona: Paidós. Suárez, J. M., y Fernández, A. P. (2011). Evaluación de las estrategias de autorregulación afectivo-motivacional de los estudiantes: Las EEMA-VS. Anales de Psicología, 27, 369-380. Valle, A., Cabanach, R. G., Rodríguez, S., Núñez, J. C. y González-Pienda, J. A. (2006). Metas académicas, estrategias cognitivas y estrategias de autorregulación del estudio. Psicothema, 18(2), 165-170. Wenger, E. (2001). Comunidades de práctica. Aprendizaje, significado e identidad. Barcelona: Paidós. Zimmerman, B. J., y Schunk, D. (2008). Motivation. An essential dimension of self-regulated learning. En D. Schunk, & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Mo-tivation and self-regulated learning. Theory, research and applications (pp. 1-31). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Author Information

Gladys Merma Molina (presenting / submitting)

University of Alicante, Spain

Diego Gavilán Martín (presenting)