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SELF-AND PEER-ASSESSMENT: STUDENTS ENGAGEMENT AND MOODLE
Raffaella Fiorini
To cite this version:
Raffaella Fiorini. FOSTERING SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH SELF-AND PEER-ASSESSMENT:
STUDENTS ENGAGEMENT AND MOODLE. MOOCs, Language learning and mobility, design, integration, reuse, Apr 2021, Colloque en ligne, Italy. �hal-03217974�
FOSTERING SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH SELF- AND PEER- ASSESSMENT: STUDENTS ENGAGEMENT AND MOODLE
Raffaella Fiorini
MAECI Language Assistant, Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University, (FRANCE)
Abstract
The article focuses on a pedagogic activity which has unfolded during the present year with a group of students following their second year of bachelor degree in LLCR Italian (Langues, littératures et civilisations étrangères et régionales) at Paul-Valéry University, Montpellier, France. The initiative was implemented using the Moodle
“workshop” tool. The activity required that documents relating to an oral task be uploaded onto the platform in video/audio format. Each student was then asked to assess 2 videos/audios (their own and a fellow student’s) with the aid of a provided grid populated with descriptors from the CEFR. The article focuses on the various stages of the experience with reference to the theoretical framework that has guided it and the results obtained.
Keywords: Self-assessment; Peer-assessment; video-recording; oral skills; task-based approach
1 INTRODUCTION
A complex society such as the one we live in requires individuals to acquire skills sets which enable them to become autonomous learners. School-acquired knowledge, in fact, may easily become insufficient owing to individual’s personal and social changes. It is not by chance that autonomous learning is central in the CEFR which encourages teachers to consider learning to learn an essential part of the linguistic acquisition (CEFR, 2001, p.141). Indeed, as Trim (1978, quoted in Little, 2007) points out to make the process of language learning more democratic one should enable students to steer and control their own progress. According to Diadori (Diadori, Palermo and TroncarellI, 2016) one possible way for students to achieve autonomy is by acquiring the ability to self-assess their own work.
The present situation of global health emergency has further stressed the central role of autonomy as schools and universities have been forced to adopt online teaching and adapt to new types of learning: in terms of foreign language acquisition, this has meant a reduction of students’ exposure to the L2 and less time for teacher-directed learning which has, in turn, led to the necessity to find alternative ways to enhance speaking skills through technology. Indeed, despite an increasingly widespread use of the ICT in the classroom, technology has often been employed - especially in the university - for logistical-managerial purposes (dissemination of materials, communication with students, etc) or “in continuity” with traditional methods, i.e. without any substantial change in the teaching practises (Capogna, 2014). On the contrary, an innovative use of the ICT in the classroom should result into new educational practises and a change in the teacher-student relationship (Wong et al, 2008).
One possible way to achieve this purpose is by engaging students in video-based tasks. In fact, Kearney & Schuck (2006 cited in Nikitina, 2009) hold that video-based projects can prove useful both to encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning process and as a way to involve them in authentic learning experiences
Indeed, various scientific studies have highlighted the benefits of video-recording to:
• develop students’ self-assessment skills (Capre R., Gomez R., Peclard M. et al.,2011)
• improve students’ communication skills (Hee-Kyung, K., 2014; Demouy, V., Kukulska-Hulme, A.,2010)
2 AIMS
The hypothesis underlying the pedagogic activity illustrated in this article is that the use of video- recording associated to peer- and self-assessment might foster oral skills as it encourages students to reflect and take responsibility for their use of the language.
It has been carried out with the aim of verifying if:
1. Video-recording leads to tangible improvement in students’ oral skills and language awareness
2. Peer and self-assessment can effectively contribute to achieve such a goal
The experience has been undertaken in the form of action research which, according to Mertler encourages teachers to reflect on their own teaching practices in order to better understand and consequently improve them (Mertler, 2009).
3 METHODOLOGY
The activity has been based on the action-oriented approach of the CEFR according to which “users and learners” of a language are seen as “social agents” who have tasks to accomplish (CEFR, 2001, p.9). According to the Framework, “Communicative pedagogic tasks (as opposed to exercises focusing specifically on decontextualised practice of forms) aim to actively involve learners in meaningful communication, are relevant (here and now in the formal learning context), are challenging but feasible (with task manipulation where appropriate), and have identifiable (and possibly less immediately evident) outcomes.” (CEFR, 2001, pp 157-158)
In the activity students have been asked to carry out 4 tasks each based on a different topic and a different role-playing. It has involved a group of 11 students following their second year of bachelor degree in LLCR Italian (Langues, littératures et civilisations étrangères et régionales) at Paul-Valéry University, Montpellier, France. The group, all female students, is composed of an Italian girl, 2 Italian- speaking girls and 8 French students with different language proficiency levels.
The activity has been divided into 3 phases.
Phase 1: Students have been asked to do some research on a subject previously studied in class using websites provided by the teacher and containing different point of views on the chosen theme.
The subjects were all related to topical issues in contemporary society.
Phase 2: Students have been then asked to present the subject interpreting the role provided by the teacher and to upload the presentation onto the platform in video/audio format. As above mentioned, each task was to be performed with a different role (journalist, teacher, etc) and a different public (students, adults, children, etc) so that students had to adjust their linguistic register accordingly.
Phase 3: Each student has finally been asked to assess 2 videos/audios (their own and a fellow student’s) with the aid of a provided grid populated with descriptors from the CEFR.
4 DATA COLLECTION
In order to collect the data:
1. An assessment grid has been preliminary used to inquire about students’ self-assessment of the knowledge of the language. The grid contained the same competences and descriptors used for the assessment of the videos.
2. At the end of the first 2 tasks, a questionnaire was administered in oral form to the students to investigate their appreciation of the activity in terms of satisfaction and language acquisition.
The same questionnaire will be submitted again at the end of the fourth and last task to see if any change has occurred in the students’ overall perception of the activity.
4.1 The assessment grid
The assessment grid was populated with B2 level competences and descriptors taken from the CEFR.
The competencies assessed have been the following:
• Planning
• Sociolinguistic Appropriateness
• Thematic Development
• Lexical Competence;
• Grammatical Competence;
• Phonological Competence;
• Fluency
For each competency students have been invited to give a grade out of 20 - plus a brief optional commentary - and then to give a total grade for the overall task.
4.2 The questionnaire
The questionnaire administered at the end of the second task contained questions related to the students’ perception of the activity in terms of language acquisition and language awareness. The questionnaire contained 8 questions investigating the following areas:
Linguistic and non-linguistic competences learned through the activity
Advantages and disadvantages of the activity compared to teacher-directed communication practise
Benefits of the peer- and self-assessment activity
4 RESULTS
The results illustrated in this section refer to the first 2 tasks carried out so far.
In the first task, peer assessment’s total mean score for the overall task was 20 on a scale of 20, while it decreased to 16 in the second task with a difference of 4 as shown in table 1.
Table 1: Peer- assessment scores
20 20 20 20
0
20
0 0
20 20
0
18 18
13
17 15 15
19
15 16 15 16
Stud 1 Stud 2 Stud 3 Stud 4 Stud 5 Stud 6 Stud 7 Stud 8 Stud 9 Stud 10 Stud 11
Peer-assessment: total scores for tasks 1 and 2
Atelier 1 Atelier 2
A difference can also be noted in self-assessment’s total mean score which was 20 for the first task and 15.1 in the second task with a decrease of 4.9 (see table 2).
Table 2: Self- assessment scores
20 20 20
0 0
20
0
20 20 20 20
16 16 16 15
12 14 14
19 13
16
Stud 1 Stud 2 Stud 3 Stud 4 Stud 5 Stud 6 Stud 7 Stud 8 Stud 9 Stud 10 Stud 11
Self-assessement: total score for tasks 1 and 2
Atelier 1 Atelier 2
It is also worth noticing that in the evaluation of the first task the total mean score resulting from the mean of the separate scores given to each skill is 3.4 lower than the total mean score given as final grade for the overall task as table 3 shows.
Table 3: Peer- assessment scores for task 3
Stud1 Stud 2 Stud
3 Stud 4 Stud
5 Stud 6 Stud
7 Stud 8 Stud
9 Stud 10 Stud
11 Evaluation par les pairs 20 20 20 20 0 20 0 0 20 20 0 Moyenne réelle 15,7 19,7 15,5 17,7 16,7 0 16,2 15
0 5 10 15 20 25
Peer-assessment for Task 1: Comparison between total score and actual total mean score
Evaluation par les pairs Moyenne réelle
However, in the second task, this difference decreases to 0.19 (see table 4).
Table 4: Peer- assessment scores for task 2
Stud1 Stud 2 Stud
3 Stud 4 Stud
5 Stud 6 Stud
7 Stud 8 Stud
9 Stud 10 Stud
11 Evaluation par les pairs 18 18 13 17 15 15 19 15 16 15 16 Moyenne réelle 17,7 17,7 13 17,1 15 14,7 19,4 14,8 16,2 14,5 15,8
0 5 10 15 20 25
Peer-assessment for task 2: Comparison between total score and actual total mean score
Evaluation par les pairs Moyenne réelle
As in the peer assessment, in the self-assessment for task 1 the total score resulting from the mean of the separate scores given for each skill is lower than the score given as final grade for the overall task (in this case it shows a decrease of 4.4 as table 5 shows).
Table 5: Self- assessment scores for task 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Auto-évaluation 20 20 20 0 0 20 0 20 20 20 20 Moyenne réelle 16 0 16 0 14,2 14 19,7 14,7 15
0 5 10 15 20 25
Self-assessment for task 1: Comparison between total score and actual total mean score
Auto-évaluation Moyenne réelle
In the second task, though there is little or no difference between the 2 scores (see table 6).
Table 6: Self- assessment scores for task 2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Auto-évaluation 16 0 16 16 15 12 14 14 19 13 16 Moyenne réelle 16,4 0 16,1 16 14,5 11,5 14,1 14 19,2 13,2 16
05 1015 2025
Self-assessment for task 2: Comparison between final score and actual total mean score
Auto-évaluation Moyenne réelle
Data analysis has also shown that while the total mean score for task 1 shows no difference between peer and self-assessment, in the second task, the difference between peer assessment and self- assessment mean score is of 0.9 as tables 7 and 8 show.
Table 7: comparison between peer and self-assessment total mean score for task 1
Table 8: comparison between peer and self-assessment total mean score for task
2
Here again, the mean score resulting from the mean of the separate scores given to each skill was calculated. It has shown that self-assessment score is 1 point lower than peer assessment. Almost the same difference can be noticed in the second task (where it is 0,9).
As regards the appreciation of the activity and the benefits it has brought to students the analysis shows that:
1. 8/11 students think the competence they have improved best is the lexical one
2. 6/11 students have identified content as the non-linguistic aspect they have learned best through the activity
3. Only 2 students think that video recording is more difficult than teacher-directed conversation in class
5 CONCLUSIONS
Although, as above mentioned, the data analysis refers to the first 2 tasks a few reflections can be made and preliminary conclusions can be drawn.
1. Awareness of the knowledge of the language seems to increase. Indeed, the decrease in the score seen in the second task both in peer- and self-assessment might reveal an improvement in the
students’ ability to assess the language which in turn may be interpreted as a higher awareness of the knowledge of the language.
2. Self-assessment tends to be slightly lower than peer assessment.
3. Students think video-recording is useful to enlarge their vocabulary and, as regards the non- linguistic aspects, to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the culture of the target language.
4. Students’ overall impression is that video-recording helps them to reflect on the use of the language More extensive data are needed in order to obtain a more accurate view of the effects of video- recording on the language acquisition process. However, if these findings are confirmed video- recording might prove an effective aid in foreign language acquisition.
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