Abstracts - Earli

N 1631 August 2007 16:00 - 17:20Room: 0.100BPaper SessionStudent learning in higher educationChair:Richard Joiner, University of Bath, United KingdomThe influence of instruction and assessment on the acquisition of oral presentation skillsLuc de Grez, Vlekho Business School, University of Leuven, BelgiumMartin Valcke, Ghent University, BelgiumIrene Roozen, Vlekho Business School, University of Leuven, BelgiumIn this study we have analysed the effect of ‘modes of feedback’ and investigated if a standardisedinstruction on computer can enhance presentation skills and if ‘assessment by peers’ is analternative for ‘assessment by the teacher’. Participants (n=59 first year university students)delivered three presentations in standardised conditions and filled in two questionnaires wherebyseveral characteristics and perceptions of students were measured. In the instructional part westudied the effect of a standardised multimedia instruction and the effect of three modes offeedback (by professional, peers and self-assessment) on performance. For the assessment part allthe videotaped presentations were assessed by professional assessors (four members of the facultyand one student-researcher) and some also by peers and by the participants. A rubric with ninecriteria was used for the assessment. Results of the instructional part show that performance wassignificantly better after the instruction than before, but we could not find a significant impact of‘mode of feedback’ on performance. As for the assessments, the average total rubric score ofprofessional assessments is significantly lower than self assessments and significantly lower thanpeer assessments, although there is a positive correlation between professional assessments andpeer or self-assessments (even significant correlations for about half of the criteria). Theassessments of the student researcher are in line with the assessment scores of the professionals:no significant difference could be found. A regression analysis gave two significant predictors ofperformance: self efficacy and the likeability of instruction and learning. Some of the results couldmean a lot for teachers if they are confirmed in future research. Peer assessments and even selfassessmentscould replace some of the time consuming teacher assessments and the standardisedmultimedia instruction could help the teacher.Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (5): implications for assessment.Ray Land, University of Strathclyde, United KingdomJan H. F. Meyer, University of Durham, United KingdomSian Bayne, University of Edinburgh, United KingdomThe analytical framework of threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge (Meyer and Land2006) has argued that, in student learning terms, there is posited variation in progressive stages ofa student’s journey towards a conceptual portal, and through a liminal state of transformedunderstanding. This paper argues that such a perspective now requires a more nuanced andgenerative model of assessment to help us purposefully identify variation in progress andunderstanding at preliminal, liminal, postliminal and subliminal stages of conceptual andepistemological fluency. A further sufficient condition of such a revised assessment practice is itsaccommodation of the shifts in epistemology and the more complex forms of textual mediation– 755 –