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TitleThe role of feedback from teachers and peers followingschool based assessment (SBA) tasks in improvingstudents' presentationperformance
Author(s) Mak, Wing-shan.;
Citation
Issue Date 2008
URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/51587
RightsThe author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patentrights) and the right to use in future works.
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Abstract of thesis entitled
The role of feedback from teachers and peers following
School Based Assessment (SBA) tasks in improving students presentation
performance: A case study
submitted by
Mak Wing Shan
For the Degree of Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics
at The University of Hong Kong
August, 2008
The introduction of a school based assessment has accelerated the major
paradigm shift from a culture of testing to a learning and assessment culture in Hong
Kong (Hamp-Lyons, 1999). It aims to encourage the use of formative assessment to
improve students learning. Approaches to formative assessment have traditionally
attributed a primary role to feedback, whether generated by a peer or a teacher.
However, studies have shown that the conditions under which feedback is effective
are tremendously complex. Therefore, it is essential to find out the factors facilitating
and constraining the effectiveness of teacher and peer feedback on students learning
since all these can pave the way for the successful implementation of the SBA
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triangular research methodologies, using questionnaires, video recordings of feedback
sessions, peer and teacher assessment forms, interviews and journal entries.
The results of the study suggest that students understanding of feedback may be
more important than the amount of feedback they receive in their learning process.
However, the study provides implications for the essential role of suggestions in
feedback to learning. It is also suggested that students response to feedback is closely
related to students perceptions regarding the feasibility of the feedback given. The
influence of individual, social, cultural, and contextual factors are shown to be
relevant in this regard. These findings have useful implications for pedagogical
practice when feedback is involved.
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The role of feedback from teachers and peers following School Based
Assessment (SBA) tasks in improving students presentation
performance: A case study
by
Mak Wing Shan
B.A. HKU
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the Degree of Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics
at The University of Hong Kong
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this dissertation represents my own work and that it has not been
previously submitted to this University or any other institution in application for
admission to a degree, diploma or other qualifications.
_______________________________
August 2008
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my gratitude to all those who have helped in
accomplishing this thesis in various ways.
My deepest thanks go to my supervisor, Ms. Elizabeth Samson, for her
professional advice, guidance and encouragement throughout my studies.
I would also like to give special thanks to the students who have participated in
this study, for their conscientious effort.
In addition, I am also grateful to my friend, Miss Carol Cheung, who provided
me with valuable insights and comments on the thesis. Special thanks to my panel
head, Miss Almas Choi, for her constant support and inspiring advice on the study.
Finally, I offer my deepest love and appreciation to my parents, sister and spouse for
their unwavering love and support. They are the best source of solace in my own
writing process.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PageDECLARATION . i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .. ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iii
L IST OF TABLES ... vii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background of the research .. 1
1.2 Overall objective of the study and research questions . 4
1.3 Organization of the study . 5
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW . 7
2.1 Review of the development of assessment ... 7
2.1.1 Early assessment paradigms . 7
2.1.2 Changes in the assessment paradigm ... 9
2.1.3 How the development of assessment influences the present study... 10
2.2 Feedback in assessment 11
2.2.1 Feedback in practice . 12
2.2.2 Application of effective feedback 13
2.2.2.1 Quality of feedback ... 14
2.2.2.2 Quantity and timing of feedback ... 15
2.2.2.3 Students response to feedback .. 16
2.2.2.4 Form of feedback .. 17
2.2.2.5 Opportunities of feedback . 18
2.3 Involvement of students in assessment 21
2.3.1 The development of student involvement in assessment . 21
2 32 Benefitsof involvingstudentsinassessment 22
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2.5 Research gaps ... 31
2.5.1 The influence of students perceptions of feedback on its
effectiveness .
31
2.5.2 The influences of teacher and peer feedback on students of
different language proficiency
31
2.6 Chapter summary . 33
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ... 343.1 Overall research design of the study and research questions 34
3.1.1 Research design of the present study ... 34
3.1.2 Research questions ... 34
3.2 Subjects in the study . 35
3.2.1 Selection of subjects for the study 35
3.2.2 Description of subjects . 36
3.3 Procedures of the study and data collection . 37
3.3.1 Procedures of the study 37
3.3.2 Data collection .. 39
CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS. 434.1 Overview .. 43
4.2 Students perceptions towards teacher and peer feedback ... 44
4.2.1 Students experience in teacher and peer assessments . 44
4.2.2 Students perceptions regarding teacher feedback ... 46
4.2.2.1 Results before the assessment period 46
4.2.2.2 Feedback & results during/ after the assessment period ... 48
4.2.3 Students perceptions regarding peer feedback 51
4.2.3.1 Results before the assessment period 51
4.2.3.2 Feedback & results during/ after the assessment period 53
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4.4.2 Amount of feedback received in the four domains .. 63
4.4.3 Students interpretation and response to feedback in the four
domains
65
4.4.3.1 Attribution to teachers feedback? 65
4.4.3.2 Attribution to peer feedback? 67
4.5 Chapter summary . 69
CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION 705.1 Overview .. 70
5.2 Students understanding of feedback 71
5.2.1 Nature of feedback ... 71
5.2.1.1 Quality and quantity of feedback .. 71
5.2.1.2 Form of feedback .. 74
5.2.2 Students language proficiency 75
5.3 Students perceptions regarding teacher and peer feedback . 76
5.3.1 Students understanding of feedback 76
5.3.2 Students experience in teacher and peer assessment ... 77
5.3.3 Students expectations of the social relationships in peer response
groups ..
79
5.3.4 Individual learner differences .. 81
5.3.5 Traditional cultural influences .. 83
5.4 Pedagogical implications .. 84
5.4.1 Implications of involving feedback in assessments . 85
5.4.1.1 Enhancing the quality of feedback 855.4.1.2 Choosing a common language .. 86
5.4.1.3 Reserving time for feedback conferences . 87
5.4.1.4 Changing students perceptions regarding teacher and
peer feedback
87
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APPENDICES 104
Appendix A. Descriptors of the SBA Assessment Criteria .. 104
Appendix B. Parent/ Guardian Consent Form . 110
Appendix C. The Results of Background Questionnaire: Personal Background 112
Appendix D. Assessment criteria Individual Presentation ... 113
Appendix E. Peer Assessment Form 114
Appendix F. Detailed Assessment Criteria for Individual Presentation 115
Appendix G. Assessment Topics 117Appendix H. Background Questionnaire 118
Appendix I. Teacher Assessment Form . 122
Appendix J. Reflective Journal on Teacher & Peer Feedback to SBA Tasks . 124
Appendix K. Interview Questions 125
Appendix L. Excerpts from Journal Entries 126
Appendix M. Excerpts from Follow-up Interviews (Transcription) 135Appendix N. Summary of Teacher and Peer Feedback in the Three Assessments .. 144
Appendix O. Frequency of Positive, Negative Feedback and Suggestions Received
by Students in the Three Assessments
153
Appendix P. Average amount of positive, negative feedback & suggestions
received by students from each assessor in each assessment
156
Appendix Q. Frequency of Positive, Negative Feedback & Suggestions Received by
Students in the Four Domains
157
Appendix R. Average Amount of Positive, Negative Feedback & Suggestions
Received by Students in the Four Domains ...
160
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LIST OF TABLES
Page
TABLE 2.1 Framework of effective feedback 20
TABLE 3.1 Subjects Groupings ... 36
TABLE 3.2.1 Subject Stream 112
TABLE 3.2.2 Language(s) spoken at home 112
TABLE 3.2.3 Number of Years Studying English 112
TABLE 3.2.4 Gender Distribution 112TABLE 4.1 Types of teacher feedback received in assessments in learning English 44
TABLE 4.2 Number of years involved in peer assessment ... 45
TABLE 4.3 Experience in peer assessment in other subjects 45
TABLE 4.4 Types of peer assessment involved ... 45
TABLE 4.5 Perceptions towards teacher feedback... 47
TABLE 4.6 Perceptions towards peer feedback ... 52TABLE 4.7 Teacher Assessment: Scores of Students in the Three Assessments.. 57
TABLE 4.8 Total Amount of Feedback Received by Students in the Three
Assessments
59
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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1Background of the researchAssessment is regarded as an essential component in learning and teaching.
However, it may work for or against learning depending on its underlying principles
and the ways of achieving them. The role of assessment varies in different contexts.
An examination-oriented culture is firmly embedded both in Hong Kong (Pong &
Chow, 2002) and in other Confucian-heritage cultures (e.g. Morrison & Tang, 2002).
Summative tests and examinations have played a dominating role in both internal and
external assessments. Since the last decade, there have been ongoing attempts to
reform teaching, learning and assessment through a Learning to Learn reform in
Hong Kong (Curriculum Development Council, 2001: i) which can be seen as a
paradigm shift from a culture of testing to a learning and assessment culture. In order
to improve students learning skills and to promote their life-long learning abilities,
the education reform policy has highlighted the use of formative assessment in
schools and to reduce excessive tests, examinations and dictations and help to
provide information for both students and teachers to improve learning and adjust
teaching (Curriculum Development Council, 2001: iv & viii).
One of the significant examples in the secondary school context is the
incorporation of a school-based assessment component (SBA) into public
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was even incorporated into the compulsory English language subject and Chinese
language subject in the HKCE Examination. At present, 14 of the 39 HKCE and 11 of
the 24 HKAL subjects have a SBA component, which mainly focuses on internal
assessment of students development of certain skills. The introduction of SBA has
accelerated the paradigm shift from a culture of testing with great emphasis on
assessment of learning to an assessment for learning culture in Hong Kong
(Hamp-Lyons, 1999). Under the assessment for learning principle, assessments are
not mainly used for summative purposes indicating students achievement. At the
same time, they are used for the beneficial washback on teaching and learning.
In the booklet Introduction to the School-based Assessment Component (2005)
which introduces the underlying principles of SBA and provides guidelines to
integrate SBA in teaching and learning, the key component of formative assessment
feedback is highly recommended.
Quality feedback from the teacher is also a very important part of SBA.
Teachers can use the assessment activities not only to make judgments
about student standards (a summative snapshot of students achievement to
date), but also to give feedback to students about specific aspects of their
oral language skills so that they can improve for the next assessment.Feedback should be constructive and specific, i.e. related to the assessment
criteria. It is better to describe the strengths and weaknesses of the
performances first, and the ways to improve, before giving the marks.
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Through peer assessment, students can have a better understanding of the
assessment criteria and their learning goals, and this is a chance for them to learn from
others. However, studies have shown that the conditions that need to apply if feedback
is to function effectively to support student learning are very complex
(Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, Kulik, & Morgan, 1991; Butler & Winne, 1995; Kulhavy &
Stock, 1989). The quality, quantity, form and timing of feedback are essential. The
role of students in feedback is also significant in determining its effectiveness. They
have to take an active role in targeting, generating and interpreting feedback, and in
communicating and engaging with it. All these responses lie in the perceptions of
students regarding feedback.
Attempts at reforming teaching, learning and assessment in Hong Kong have
revealed that assessment has usually been the feature most resistant to reform (Morris
et al., 2000). This has particularly been the case when attempts to introduce
school-based assessments (Yung, 2001) have challenged a traditional emphasis on
fairness and objectivity as the main features of the assessment process (Biggs, 1998).
While studies on the perceptions of teachers and students on the introduction of the
SBA component in the Hong Kong secondary school context abound, there is a lack
of such research studies on feedback and student involvement in assessment which are
the key components in this new assessment culture.
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1.2Overall objective of the study and research questionsThe ultimate purpose of this case study is to provide teachers and researchers an
understanding of the role of teacher and peer feedback in the speaking learning
process of students of different speaking proficiency. It is hoped that through this
investigation, teachers can be more aware of the conditions that facilitate learning
with feedback and the variables changing students perspectives and beliefs of
feedback. Hence, the study will start with one broad question about the students
perception and attitude about teacher and peer feedback, and then move on to study
the influence of teacher and peer feedback given after SBA tasks on students
speaking performance. The following questions will therefore be addressed:
1. Students views regarding teacher and peer feedback What are the students perceptions and attitude about feedback from the
teacher and peers?
Are there any differences in the perceptions and attitude of the students ofdifferent speaking proficiency to teacher and peer feedback respectively?
2. The influence of teacher and peer feedback on students speaking learningprocesses
If there is improvement in the students speaking performance, do they
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Are there any differences in the influence of teacher and peer feedback on thelearning progress of the students of different speaking competencies in the
four domains?
1.3Organization of the studyThis section will provide an overview of how information is organized in this
research.
Chapter One has provided an overview of the present study including the
background of the research and the overall objective of the study and research
questions.
Chapter Two will present a historical overview describing the development of
assessment research and its relationships to learning. It will then move on to describe
the role of feedback in assessment and learning and the development of student
involvement in assessment. A description of formative assessment and its key
component feedback that have been recently implemented in Hong Kong secondary
schools will end the chapter.
Chapter Three will focus on the study by examining the basis for the
th d l i d t i th h i i It ill t t ith th t t f
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peer feedback, and its relationship with their learning progress.
Chapter Five will provide an analytical interpretation of the findings from two
aspects: students understanding of feedback and their response to feedback. It will
analyze the ways students interpret and respond to feedback by considering the nature
of feedback, students language proficiency and other socio-contextual factors. Finally,
it will suggest some implications of the study for teachers in the application of
feedback in both teacher and peer assessment.
Chapter Six will summarize the findings by discussing the major issues arising
out of the study. Finally, it will review the limitations of the study and provide some
possibilities for further research.
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CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
The review of the literature that follows will begin with a brief outline of the
development of assessment research and its relationship to learning is highlighted.
Then the roles of feedback in assessment, and the application of effective feedback
will be discussed. After that, the development of student involvement in assessment,
and the possibilities and problems of peer assessment and feedback will be examined.
It will end with a brief description of assessment practices in Hong Kong, and finally
the suggestion of research gaps the present study will investigate.
2.1 Review of the development of assessment
2.1.1 Early assessment paradigms
Traditionally, teachers are inevitably involved in assessing learners. Assessment
is regarded as an essential component in learning and teaching. However, assessment
may work against, rather than for learning as the underlying principles of assessment
and the ways of achieving them may be conflicting to learning. The complex
relationships between assessment and learning can be found in the development of the
assessment paradigms.
A di t S fi i (2000) A t M t i d d th
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classes, and to report their level of attainment to both parents and the school
administration. These are the characteristics associated with AssessmentofLearning
which is summative in nature as defined by Earl (2003).
Apart from this, researchers of assessment have also identified a number of
important features associated with the traditional Assessment as Measurement:
authoritative (Radnor & Shaw, 1995); an examination of decontextualized knowledge,
which is unrelated to student experience (Dochy, 2001); instruction and testing seen
as separate activities/ methods which do not always reflect aims (Dochy, 2001 &
Edwards and Knight, 1995); learners can avoid taking responsibility for own learning
(Edwards and Knight, 1995); and delayed feedback is provided (Radnor and Shaw,
1995).
The first paradigm was then followed by Assessment as Procedure in which the
primary focus is on assessment procedures rather than the underlying purposes of
assessment. Serafini (2000) argued that this paradigm shared characteristics with its
predecessor, Assessment as Measurement in all aspects except that the procedures
involved qualitative data collection methods.
In the Assessment as Measurement and Assessment as Procedure paradigms,
Serafini (2000) argued that objectivity, standardization and reliability take priority
th f t h d t d t i l t ( 2) Th t diti l
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2.1.2 Changes in the assessment paradigm
In the early nineties, a paradigm shift regarding methods for evaluation of
student achievement and performance took place (Klenowski, 1995). The growing
emphasis over the integration of assessment with teaching, assessment of process
rather than product and the evaluation of individual progress relative to each
individuals starting point gave way to a new culture of assessment Assessment as
Enquiry. Radnor and Shaw (1995) suggested some triggers for the changes. They
argued that, pressure was developing for increased integration of assessment with
instruction during the 1980s in the UK. The launch of the Technical and Vocational
Education Initiative (TVEI) by the UK government in 1983 and its focus on skills,
increased emphasis on reliability and validity, and growing concern with
accountability and the use of testing and examinations as performance indicators were
seen as the key events in the assessment development.
Birenbaum and Dochy (1996: xiii) described this shift as being from the culture
of testing to a culture of assessment. Birenbaum (1996: 7) suggested a number of
characteristics of the new culture of assessment:
a meta-cognitive component is included; serves formative function; a psychometric-quantitative approach is challenged by a
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students, the purpose of this approach is to highlight students strengths and
weaknesses and provide them with feedback for improvement. This is Assessment
for Learning (Earl, 2003). In formative assessment, results of assessment are used for
feedback to teachers and students. William and Black (1996) identified feedback as a
key component to formative assessment.
In the new assessment paradigm, students become involved in the process
through a wide variety of alternative assessment devices and methods (Serafini, 2000).
With the increasing emphasis of autonomy among learners, the role of students in the
assessment process has been changed from simply contributors to the assessment and
learning process to critical assessors themselves. This contributes to the development
of Assessment as Learning (Earl, 2003). Self-assessment is at the heart of this
approach. Students have to reflect on their learning progress and evaluate their
learning strategies so that they can make adjustments to their learning agenda.
Throughout this process, students have to be highly self-motivated. To develop skills
for self-assessment, peer assessment is a powerful means. It has been argued that it is
a necessary step towards this end. Peer involvement in assessment has the potential to
encourage learning and develop assessment skills. The value of peers in learning and
development is stressed by many educators and psychologists.
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Assessment as Procedures have firmly embedded in the traditional assessment
culture in Hong Kong where examination results have been seen as the most
important criteria in the placement of students in different classes and emphasis has
been placed on fairness and objectivity in the assessment process (Biggs, 1998). In
view of the close relationship between learning and assessment, there have been
ongoing attempts to reform the assessment culture in contemporary Hong Kong with a
greater focus on assessment for learning. This reform principle has fostered the
introduction of formative assessments and school-based teacher assessments in the
Hong Kong secondary school context in recent years. Feedback and students
involvement in assessment are regarded as the key components in this new assessment
culture assessmentfor learning, which makes them relevant to the present study.
2.2 Feedback in assessment
In the new assessment paradigm, backwash the effect that assessments have on
learning and teaching has become a growing concern among teachers and researchers.
To achieve beneficial backwash, formative assessment has been highlighted.
Feedback plays a crucial role in the new formative assessment component as it helps
encouraging and consolidating learning Feedback is conceptualized as information
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According to Hounsell (2007), well-crafted feedback can enhance learning in three
significant ways:
by accelerating learning, i.e., speeding up what can be learned by thestudents concerned within a given period of time, and so enabling learning to
take place more rapidly, or in greater depth or scope, than would otherwise
be the case;
by optimizing the quality of what is learned, i.e., helping to ensure that thelearning outcomes achieved and evinced by the students meet the standards
hoped for or required;
by raising individual and collective attainment, through enabling the studentsto attain standards or levels of achievement higher than those which they
might other have reached, i.e., without recourse to the scaffolding afforded
by feedback.
(Hounsell, 2007: 101)
2.2.1 Feedback in practice
Feedback is central to the learning process and when handled effectively it can
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after a module is completed (Higgins, Hartley & Skelton, 2001, 2002; Careless, 2006;
Liu, 2005). Much feedback in higher education comes too late for students to be able
to make significant use of it. Surveys in Hong Kong by Carless (2006) have shown
not only significant disparities in student and teacher perceptions of feedback but
student discontent with the level of detail in the feedback provided and with its
contribution to helping them improve their performance. In the survey conducted by
Hounsell et al. (2005) in Britain, results indicated that students concerns about
guidance and feedback ranged widely, including not only the consistency and
helpfulness of teachers comments but the timing and frequency of feedback and the
adequacy of guidance about assessment expectations and criteria.
At the same time, the perceptions of students towards the value of feedback
begin to wane. It is found that teachers who are already hard pressed to mark and
comment systematically on assignments and assessments find growing indications of
students not taking feedback seriously, alongside diminishing evidence that their
feedback has made a difference to the quality of work students produce (Hounsell,
2003).
2.2.2 Application of effective feedback
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2.2.2.1 Quality of feedback
In terms of the quality of feedback, Hounsell (2007) suggests distinguishing
between high-value and low-value feedback (p.103). The focus of the distinction is
the relative potential impact of the feedback being offered in relation to the learning
of the students concerned: that is, to what extent it seems likely to have a significant
effect on the quality of their learning. For instance, feedback in the form of comments
can be regarded as high-value since it is found that it can enhance learning
performance while that in the forms of grades and praise is questioned (Black &
Wiliam, 1998).
In the assessment process, it is expected that students should receive high-value
constructive feedback and have chances to ask questions about specific aspects of
their progress. According to Black and Wiliam (1998), feedback about performance
must contain three elements: identification of the goal, evidence about the current
position and understanding of the way to close the gap between the two. For
constructive feedback, first, it means the feedback should be linked to the assessment
criteria of the task (Freeman & Lewis, 1998). Second, it means the feedback takes the
form of descriptive. According to Gipps, McCallum and Hargreaves (2000),
descriptive feedback tells students what they have achieved and have not achieved,
and provides them with visible and manageable strategies so that they can make
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incorporate what Sadler (1989) has called exemplars of performance. Authentic
illustrations of completed work by students that represents high-quality achievement
in the subject at that level and on that kind of assigned task are crucial in helping
students to come to hold what Sadler would regard as a prerequisite for high
achievement: namely, a concept of quality roughly similar to that held by the teacher
(Sadler, 1989: 121). With the introduction of assessment criteria and then the ways of
providing quality feedback in the teaching and learning process, students will have a
better understanding of the ways of achieving the requirements of the assessment
tasks. This reveals the benefits of formative assessment to teaching and learning.
The integration of assessment into the teaching and learning process has been
increasingly highlighted in the Hong Kong context. However, there is a need to
emphasis the importance of assessment criteria and feedback in the process. Both
teachers and students have to view assessment as a teaching and learning process
instead of a measurement of students achievement in learning.
2.2.2.2 Quantity and timing of feedback
To support learning, sufficient feedback in enough detail is essential. The term
sufficient means that feedback indicating both what students have achieved and have
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act on it. That means the usefulness of feedback given towards the end of a learning
task decreases. It is suggested that a linked chain of assessments which provide
scaffolding steps towards the final learning goal should be arranged within a module
or course unit if that particular assignment or assessment is likely to be repeated so as
to enhance the longevity of feedback.
Theoretically, feedback provided after each assessment is beneficial to students
learning. Nevertheless, the provision of feedback is constrained by the large class size
in Hong Kong. With a class of over 35 or even 40 students, teachers may find it
difficult to provide each student detailed feedback right after each assessment. Instead,
the feedback is usually in the form of grades or marks. To enhance the effectiveness of
feedback to learning, the reduction of class sizes will be needed.
2.2.2.3 Students response to feedback
There has been vigorous advocacy in the formative assessment literature, such as
Boud (1995), Falchikov (2001) and Brew (1999), of the particular benefits of student
involvement in the processes of feedback. The effectiveness of feedback lies in a
transformed role for students in feedback, and in a variety of forms: in targeting,
generating and interpreting feedback, and in communicating and engaging with it.
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fully only if it involves both the evoking of evidence and a response to that evidence
by using it in some way to improve the learning (p.122). Moreover, there are various
ways towards greater student engagement that can help generate rich feedback. Self-
and peer assessment do play a significant role in the learning process.
However, studies of teacher written feedback suggest that feedback is not purely
informational, a means of channeling reactions and advice to facilitate improvements,
but interpersonal considerations do influence the construction and interpretation of
response (e.g. K. Hyland & F. Hyland, 2006). Students vary considerably in what they
want from their teachers in the form of feedback. Some value positive comments,
whereas others discount them as mere dressing. As a result, it is important that
teachers seek to discover the different concerns and agendas of students and, to the
extent possible, address them in their feedback.
Again, this will be rather difficult to be implemented in the Hong Kong context
because of the large class size in general. It will be quite difficult for teachers to cater
for the concerns of individual learners. Usually, teachers may pay more attention to
those higher achievers and lower achievers while the needs of those average achievers
will be neglected.
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more effective than written comments (Boulet, Simard & Demelo, 1990). Written
feedback on assignments and assessments seems to be often brief and ineffective as
students have been found to pay little attention to teachers written comments
(Zellermayer, 1989), or find them difficult to interpret and act upon (Clarke, 2000).
Bauman (1997) points out that students view the written comments with final grades
in writing as grade justification instead of understanding the feedback as suggestions
for improvement. Students may have different attitudes towards grades and written
comments. Even if they view written comments as grade justification, written
comments have their value by providing students the information of their learning
progress and how they can achieve a higher grade a better learning outcome.
According to Freeman & Lewis (1998), good feedback is a two-way process.
Verbal feedback is more likely to involve a two-way process. When giving feedback,
teachers should try to stimulate a response and a continuing dialogue. These can alert
students to the importance of considering and using feedback, and reflect on their
performance and adjust their learning strategies, which is the ultimate goal of
assessment for learning.
2.2.2.5 Opportunities of feedback
The last pathway towards more sustainable feedback lies in creating the
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wider array of contextual influences and the need to take due account of localized
constraints and opportunities, which influence what may be feasible and practicable
in a given institutional setting (as cited in Hounsell, 2007).
Anderson (1997) suggested that well-established small-group tutorials or
seminars can offer rich possibilities for feedback. Another powerful means of creating
feedback-enriched teaching-learning environment is the implementation of
collaborative and on-display assignments in which the end-product or completed
work is not privately and individually handed in to the teacher but openly visible to
some or all of the students (Hounsell, 2003). An example of this is group work in
which students work cooperatively on a shared task, and as a result learn from and
with each other in contributing not only perspectives but also strategies for handling
such task. Another instance is to be found in individual as well as group activities,
where the learning outcomes are shown in an oral or poster presentation.
Teaching-learning environments could become more fertile grounds for feedback if it
were made a much more visible and more central component in teaching and
assessment policies and strategies.
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Effective Feedback
Feedback Givers (Teachers/
Peers)
Feedback Receivers
(Students)
Class Administrative
Structure
Quality of Feedback Provision of
high-value,
constructive and
descriptive
feedback
Quantity & Timing ofFeedback
Detailed & highquality feedback
given at different
learning stages
Form of Feedback Verbal feedback
which involves a
two-way process
Students Response toFeedback
Students taking anactive & substantial
feedback role
Opportunities ofFeedback
Establishment ofsmall-group
tutorials/ seminars
and implementation
of collaborative and
on-display
assignments
Table 2.1 Framework of effective feedback
In conclusion, assessment, teaching and learning are interlinked. Feedback serves
as a bridge linking up these three components. Therefore, the effectiveness of
feedback plays a crucial role in bringing out beneficial backwash on learning. The
present study tries to incorporate the essence of this assessment approach in
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2.3 Involvement of students in assessment
2.3.1 The development of student involvement in assessment
Since the second half of the twentieth century, there has been a new interest in
involving students in assessment. Starting with the 1950s, research on self- and peer
assessment were published. There are various reasons for involving students in
assessment. They change in tune with the changes of the perceptions of researchers
towards assessment over the decades.
In the 1950s, teachers began to involve students in assessment in the form of
grading themselves and/or their peers though their concern was not with either
formative or summative aspects of the process. Instead, statistical issues relating to
reliability or validity of assessing seemed to be the purpose of the limited studies
being published in this decade. The emphasis was firmly on measurement and testing
which is in line with what Serafini (2000) called Assessment as Measurement.
By the 1960s, researchers started to show interest in problems associated with
traditional assessment, and their effects on assessment. Researchers were making
tentative attempts to understand the processes of student involvement (self- and/or
peer assessment in the form of grading) while measurement continued as a rationale
but its proportion decreased. This was due to the progression of perceptions from
Assessment as Measurement to Assessment as Procedure.
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increased demands on teachers time and energy, a proliferation of learning objectives
and widely differing abilities of students, were cited as the rationale for the
introduction of peer assessment.
The benefits of student involvement in assessment were the main themes of a
number of studies in the 1980s though the traditional reasons for student involvement
in assessment remained. It was also recognized that communication skills which are
important in a variety of professions can be developed among students through self-
and peer assessment practice. The particular benefits of involving students in
assessment for formative purposes were being acknowledged, and the usefulness of
student feedback became prominent.
In the 1990s, many more papers about different aspects of student involvement
in assessment were published. The benefits of involving students in assessment were
widely reported throughout this decade. The advocacy of autonomous learners and
lifelong learning was regarded as a reason for involving students in assessment
(Williams, 1992).
With the arrival of the new millennium, there was a development of applying
technology to support student involvement. Assessment studies involving students
working with computers were conducted, first to address concerns with reliability and
lidit th t id tif b fit d bl d tl t i ti t th
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indirect benefits to participants. Though many claims are unsupported, some studies
provide compelling statistical evidence to support their claims. Those studies are
mainly aimed at investigating improved performance in terms of grades or scores on
tests and examinations. Meanwhile, numerous other studies provide information
derived from questionnaires and other forms of student self-reported data.
The benefits claimed to be derived from involving students in assessment are
many and varied. Cognitive and meta-cognitive competencies have been found to
improve, as has the development of a variety of skills: presentation skills (e.g., Price
& Culter, 1995); professional skills (e.g., Topping, 1998); increased involvement in
learning and development of critical and independent thinking skills (e.g., Falchikov,
1986). Some studies point to improvements in performance. For instance, Bangerts
statistical analyses (1995) indicated significantly better performance by peer assessors
than by students who had not participated. Others suggest enhancements to personal
or intellectual development or social competencies; for instance, students were found
to take greater responsibility for their learning (e.g., Dochy, Segers & Sluijsmans,
1999). There are reports on the beneficial effects on affective dispositions
(Birenbaum, 1996: 4), such as confidence (e.g., Lapham & Webster, 1999), and
benefits to the assessment process itself (e.g., Trevitt & Pettigrove, 1995) and to
teachers.
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which we learn with and from one another, may be less easily observed, but it is
rarely absent. However, there have always been those who explicitly value and
understand the role of peers in learning. Lave argued that learning is a function of the
activity, context and culture in which it occurs (Lave, 1999; Lave & Wenger, 1991). It
is also believed that learning is a social activity, requiring social interaction and
collaboration. As a result, peer assessment and feedback plays a contributing role in
the learning process of students.
2.3.3.1 Benefits of involving peers in assessment and feedback
With the growing advocacy of the benefits of student involvement in assessment,
students are not only involved in grading themselves and their peers, they are also
increasingly involved in providing written/ oral feedback to their peers. Feedback is
typically provided by teachers, but students themselves can also be effective providers
of timely feedback that can be acted upon. Some students provide insightful feedback
while other less so. Though peer feedback might be of poorer quality than that
provided by teachers, it can contribute to facilitation of learning by prompting the
articulation of goals and the explicit judgments of progress towards the
accomplishment of those goals (ODonnell & Topping, 1998). By involving students
i th t t d t t k i t t t i i t i ith
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There are many studies of peer assessment that emphasize and investigate the
relationship between teacher and student marks. However, grading is not the most
important aspect of involving students in assessment. Similar to teacher assessment,
the essence of peer assessment for formative purposes is providing feedback to their
peers. In Sluijsmans et al.s (2001) study, it was found that many students were not
happy with awarding a score, feeling that feedback would have been more useful. As
Carless et al. (2006) suggested, the heart of peer assessment is not marking or grading.
The important thing is that students are actively reviewing their own work, providing
feedback on their peers work, and receiving and responding to feedback from others.
It helps to develop a collaborative approach to learning.
2.3.3.2 Concerns over peer assessment and feedback
However, there are some concerns over peer assessment and feedback. One of
the problems associated with peer assessment and feedback is students lack the
knowledge and experience in assessment. In a number of studies (Fineman, 1981;
Lapham & Webster, 1999; Sluijsmans et al., 2001), students showed their concern
about their lack of competence and knowledge in assessing each other in a fair and
objective way. Ngu et al. (1995) noted that many students were in favour of including
t t t th h t t t d f f
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peer assessment. There is also evidence showing the relationship between attitude and
achievement. Results in the study by Lin et al. (2001) also indicated that students in
general held a positive attitude towards peer assessment and that those with positive
attitudes had significantly higher achievement than those with negative attitudes.
Quality of feedback by those with favourable attitudes was better than that provided
by students with less positive attitudes. It reveals that students achievement may have
been influenced by students attitudes towards feedback and the quality of feedback
they receive.
It is also interesting to note that students react differently to feedback from peers
and from adults (Bush & Dweck, 1976; Cole, 1991; Henry, 1979). Bush and Dweck
used peer and adult evaluators to examine gender differences in the responses of 108
fifth graders to failure feedback. It was found that boys performance improved with
adult feedback but did not change with peer feedback. In contrast, performance in
girls improved with peer feedback but showed little improvement with adult feedback.
However, it was found that boys were most responsive to peer feedback and girls to
adult feedback in Henrys study (1979) in which first graders were praised for
successful performance. It shows that the conditions for effective peer and teacher
feedback is rather complex.
In peer assessment, students play a dominant role in the learning and teaching
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2.4 Review of the assessment development in Hong Kong context
2.4.1 Traditional assessment culture in Hong KongAssessment as Measurement has been regarded as the main function of
assessment in the traditional Chinese society. An examination-oriented culture is
firmly embedded both in Hong Kong (Pong & Chow, 2002) and in other
Confucian-heritage cultures (e.g., Morrison & Tang, 2002). Summative tests and
examinations have played a dominant role in both internal and external assessments.
It is particularly true with the external examination results which are still the
dominant way students and schools are evaluated and held accountable. In language
pedagogy, assessment is essential to measure students language proficiency so as to
assist the placement of students in different classes, and to report their level of
attainment to both parents and the school administration. As in many other countries
in the region (e.g. Cheah, 1998), the traditional role of assessment in the senior
secondary classroom has been exam preparation. For instance, Davison & Tang
(2003), in a study of writing assessment in senior secondary schools, found that it was
difficult for them to make a difference in teaching and learning, to respond to
individual needs, because of the fundamental summative purposes of assessment. The
traditional nature of assessment has deeply influenced the school culture and the
expectations of teachers, parents and students.
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policy has an aim to encourage the use of formative assessment in schools and to
reduce excessive tests, examinations and dictations and help to provide information
for both students and teachers to improve learning and adjust teaching (Curriculum
Development Council, 2001: iv & viii).
Nevertheless, attempts at reforming teaching, learning and assessment in Hong
Kong have revealed that assessment has usually been the feature most resistant to
reform (Morris et al., 2000). This has particularly been the case when attempts to
introduce formative assessments (Morris et al., 1999) and school-based assessments
(Yung, 2001) have challenged a traditional emphasis on fairness and objectivity as the
main features of the assessment process (Biggs, 1998). Studies of the impact of earlier
reforms in the Hong Kong external examination system in English language (e.g.
Andrews, 1994; Cheng, 1998) noted that changes to summative assessment did not
automatically lead to improvement in learning, as teachers and schools mediated the
nature of the change. Studies of SBA in other subjects in Hong Kong, such as the
Teacher Assessment Scheme (TAS) (Yung, 2001), also suggest that there may be wide
variation in teachers interpretations of student performance and of their role in the
assessment process.
2.4.3 Introduction of school-based assessment in secondary school context
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texts drawn from a programme of independent reading/viewing of print/non-print
fiction/non-fiction. Students choose at least four texts to read or view over the course
of two years, keeping a logbook or brief notes, and undertaking a number of activities
in and out of class to develop their independent reading, speaking and thinking skills.
For assessment they participate in several interactions with classmates on a particular
aspect of the text they have read/viewed, leading up to making an individual
presentation on a specific text and responding to questions from their audience.
SBA is integrated into the teaching and learning process, with teachers involved
at all stages of the assessment cycle, from planning the assessment programme, to
identifying and/or developing appropriate assessment tasks right through to making
the final judgements. Starting in Form 4, teachers now assess their own students oral
English language competencies through a range of authentic classroom-embedded
activities over two years (SBA Consultancy Team, 2005).
Students are assessed according to a set of assessment criteria, consisting of a set
of descriptors at each of six levels across four domains (see Appendix A), which were
developed and trialled by teachers and students from a wide range of Hong Kong
schools. The domainsfor assessing oral language in the classroom are:
Domain I: Pronunciation and Delivery
Domain II: Communication Strategies
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SBA with students. Sharing criteria with students can give them more concrete
framework of the assessment so that they have a clearer direction to their goals of
learning. The use of the assessment criteria as part of self and peer assessment for
formative purposes is also encouraged. Given the criteria, students can make
judgments about their performance and assess what they need to do to reach their
learning goals.
Moreover, it is expected that students should receive constructive feedback and
have chances to ask questions about specific aspects of their progress. At the same
time, teachers are expected to stand back and reflect on their teaching and learning
through observing students performance in the SBA. Feedback does not only assess
students achievement, but also indicate what the next steps they should take in the
learning progress. As a result, teachers can have a better understanding of the needs of
their students.
With the aim to investigate and support the transition from norm-referenced
external language assessment to criterion-referenced school-based assessment in
senior secondary English teaching, 14 SBA Projects are being carried out. The impact
of this new formative assessment process on teachers, students and the curriculum has
been systematically researched and evaluated. SBA has also been a topic in many
studies. The aims of these studies mainly focus on examining the perceptions of
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2.5 Research gaps
2.5.1 The influence of students perceptions of feedback on its effectiveness
As mentioned in Sections 2.1 and 2.4, the paradigm shift from assessment of
learning to assessment for learning in the assessment system is regarded as a
cultural change. Therefore, the introduction of SBA is a major assessment reform
which is a significant cultural and attitudinal change, not just for teachers, but for the
whole school community, including students and parents. It is not surprising that
community confidence and assessment readiness are major concerns. While studies
on the perceptions of teachers and students on the introduction of the SBA component
in the Hong Kong secondary school context abound, there is a lack of such research
studies on feedback and student involvement in assessment which are the key
components in this new assessment culture. As discussed in Sections 2.2 and 2.3,
students do play a role in the new assessment process, teacher and peer feedback in
particular. The effectiveness of both teacher and peer feedback lies in a transformed
role for students in feedback. An active feedback role for students is essential to
improve learning with feedback. It is therefore necessary to investigate students
confidence and readiness in making such a change in the new assessmentfor learning
culture. One of the research gaps that the present study aims to tackle is to what extent
do students perceptions of feedback affect their learning.
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1996) has been widely investigated. As mentioned in Sections 2.2.1 and 2.2.2,
research has taken into account the influence of feedback in learning. Many studies
(e.g. Bangert-Drowns, Kulik, Kulik, & Morgan, 1991; Butler & Winne, 1995;
Kulhavy & Stock, 1989) have shown that the conditions under which it is effective
are tremendously complex. Gibbs and Simpson (2004) have provided some guidance
in the application of effective feedback, including the quality, quantity, timing, and
form of feedback, and students response to feedback. The present study will examine
how these individual variables influence students speaking learning progressin the
hope that it can provide some insights of the facilitating and inhabiting factors
impinging on the implementation of feedback in the Hong Kong secondary school
context.
As student involvement in assessment is another major change in the assessment
culture, it is not surprising to find that students respond differently to feedback from
peers and teachers. The gender variable has been a research and pedagogical topic of
investigation since the seventies (Bush & Dweck, 1976; Henry, 1979). As there are
widely differing abilities of students but increasing involvement of students in
assessment, we need to know the relationship of teacher and peer feedback with
students learning. Students of different abilities may have different concerns over
teacher and peer feedback. At the same time, they may have different responses
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2.6 Chapter summary
The importance of teacher and peer feedback has been highlighted since the
introduction of the formative assessment approach the SBA component in the
secondary school assessment system in Hong Kong. It is believed that feedback from
teachers and peers which is central to the assessment and learning processes can lead
to beneficial backwash on learning. While most research focuses on the influence of
the assessment component on the whole, there is a lack of research studies on the
specific role of teacher and peer feedback in students learning.
Feedback from teacher and peers following SBA tasks play an important role in
the effective implementation of the new assessment component. Improvement in
learning only occurs when feedback is received, attended to and acted upon by
students. In order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness
of the implementation of the new assessment component, there is a need to examine
the perception of students towards feedback from teacher and peers.
In this formative assessment, students play a significant role in the learning
process. They are also influential to the efficacy of feedback which is the central
element in formative assessment. Different students may have different perceptions
and understanding towards peer and teacher feedback, and so their response to
feedback from different sources may vary. Like the gender difference examined in
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CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Overall research design of the study and research questions
3.1.1 Research design of the present study
In order to examine the impact of introducing teacher and peer feedback on
students learning under the new assessment culture, the present case study was
carried out. According to van Lier (2005), case studies are valuable tools to examine
educational reality. Yin (1989) defines case study as an empirical inquiry that
investigates a contemporary phenomenon with its real-life context; and multiple
sources of evidence are used. (23). Therefore, it is easily incorporated in the teaching
practice of a real classroom context to investigate the role of teacher and peer
feedback following SBA tasks in improving students presentation performance.
The research design for this study is confined to a naturalistic context, and the
real assessment situation of the students has dictated the way data was collected.
Three groups of students with different English speaking proficiency are studied on
how they perceive and respond to the feedback from teacher and peers after their
individual presentation in the SBA tasks. This is mainly a qualitative research and
supported with quantitative data.
312 R h ti
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Are there any differences in the perceptions and attitude of the students ofdifferent speaking proficiency to teacher and peer feedback respectively?
2. The influence of teacher and peer feedback on students speaking learningprocesses
If there is improvement in the students speaking performance, do theyattribute it to the feedback from the teacher or peers? Which group of
students has greater improvement in their speaking performance?
How do the students interpret and respond to the teacher and peer feedbackin the four domains (i.e., Domain I Pronunciation & Delivery; Domain II
Communication Strategies; Domain III Vocabulary & Language; Domain
IV Ideas & Organization) in the School-based Assessment criteria?
Are there any differences in the influence of teacher and peer feedback on thelearning progress of the students of different speaking competencies in the
four domains?
3.2 Subjects in the study
3.2.1 Selection of subjects for the study
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students in the group were ranked as to their results in the first SBA which was group
discussion on print fiction in the first school term (i.e., the marks submitted to the
HKEAA as one of the components of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education English
Language Examination). Nine students, including the top three students, the median
three students and the bottom three students were invited to be the subjects in the
study. A consent letter (see Appendix B) was signed by their parents before the outset
of the study in order to obtain the agreement for their children to participate in the
study. The parental inform consent letter was used to inform the nine subjects and
their parents what was being studied, how the study was to be carried out, and what
benefits(i.e. the application of different strategies in making use of teacher and peer
feedback in learning) were expected. To protect the subjects identities, each of them
is identified as a letter (i.e., Student A Student I) respectively and they are assigned
to three different groups during the study processes (see Table 3.1).
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Students of Higher Speaking Abilities Student A Student B Student C
Students of Average Speaking Abilities Student D Student E Student F
Students of Lower Speaking Abilities Student G Student H Student I
Table31Subjects Groupings
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However, the selected subjects are mainly studying in the Science stream (see Table
3.2.1 in Appendix C). The nine students are all Hong Kong Cantonese speakers who
use Cantonese in their daily conversation at home (see Table 3.2.2 in Appendix C).
Among the subjects, there are one student of higher speaking abilities who also speaks
English at home and a student of average speaking abilities who also speaks other
Chinese dialects at home. There are more students from the higher speaking ability
group having longer English learning experience than the other two groups (see Table
3.2.3 in Appendix C). For the gender distribution (see Table 3.2.4 in Appendix C),
there are comparatively more female students in the groups with students of higher
and lower speaking abilities.
3.3 Procedures of the study and data collection
3.3.1 Procedures of the study
The research was conducted over a period of 10 weeks, from the end of February
to early May, 2008, in which the weekly speaking lesson was scheduled for the
introduction of the second SBA (i.e., individual presentation on non-print fiction) and
the speaking skills of giving individual presentation. As planned in the school
teaching schedule, students have to participate in three SBA tasks of different topics
ith b th t h d l ti ith i d t i th ki l
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a set of descriptors at each of six levels across four domains (i.e., Domain I
Pronunciation and Delivery; Domain II Communication Strategies; Domain III
Vocabulary and Language Patterns; Domain IV Ideas and Organization), which
were stated in the teachers handbook 2007 HKCE English examination:
Introduction to the school-based assessment component (SBA Consultancy Team,
2005) delivered by the HKEAA was adopted in both the teacher and peer assessments
in this study. To make sure students understand the assessment criteria for individual
presentation, a briefing session was held at the beginning of the assessment process as
a class activity. In the briefing session, the teacher researcher went through the
assessment criteria in the peer assessment form (see Appendix E) with students. A
handout with more detailed descriptors of the assessment criteria was given to
students so as to raise their awareness of the key elements of giving a good
presentation and to provide them the vocabulary and phrases used when giving
feedback (see Appendix F). Sample video clips of individual presentation with
students of different speaking proficiency were shown and students had to complete
the peer assessment form and give both oral and written feedback to the performance
of students in the samples. After class, students were also required to visit a website
run by the HKEdCity on SBA presentation skills and watch the video clips of students
giving individual presentation, judge their performance and see the comments on their
f i b t h With b th i id d t id l ti iti
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group to conduct the three assessment tasks. They were given the presentation topic
(see Appendix G) three days before every assessment practice so that they would have
sufficient time to prepare for the task. For each assessment task, every student was
given two minutes to give the presentation in front of his/ her group members and the
teacher/researcher. After each assessment, each group of students was given about 5
minutes to complete the peer assessment forms in English. After all the three students
in the group had finished their presentations, they were then given a feedback session
with their group members and the teacher researcher. In the feedback session, each
group member has to give verbal comments (both the strengths and weaknesses) on
the performance of their peers and suggestions for improvement, then followed by the
teacher/researcher commenting on their performance and a question-and-answer
session. The feedback session was conducted in Chinese so as to ensure that they
were able and comfortable to give feedback to others.
3.3.2 Data collection
During the study period, data were collected from multiple sources in order to
assure data triangulation and verification. Five types of data were used to map out and
explain fully the two dimensions of the research questions from different perspectives
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I. Questionnaire (End of February 1st week of the study)
Students perceptions towards teacher and peer feedback were investigated by
collecting data from the nine subjects using a 6-point Likert scale questionnaire (see
Appendix H). It was used to elicit the students personal particulars, their experience
in peer and teacher assessments. The ratings of different groups obtained from the
questionnaire were compared to capture the subjects perceptions towards peer and
teacher assessments before the assessment procedures started.
II. Video recordings of assessment tasks and follow-up feedback sessions (3
rd
, 7
th
&
9th week of the study)
The presentation performance of the nine subjects in three different SBA tasks
and the feedback sessions after the SBA tasks were video-taped so that the second
examiner could use the video recordings in the rating processes. Feedback gathered
from the feedback sessions was checked against that in the peer and teacher
assessment forms. It was then sorted into three categories (i.e., positive feedback/
praises, negative feedback/ criticisms, and suggestions) and compared among the
three groups of students so as to reveal its influence on students learning progress.
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to assess and rate students performance by viewing the video recordings of the three
assessment tasks so as to provide a more objective judgment of students
performance.
The data from the peer and teacher assessment were analyzed quantitatively and
qualitatively to reveal the learning progress of the subjects in individual presentation.
The average scores to different subjects given by the teacher researcher and the
second examiner in the three assessment tasks were counted so as to provide a more
objective judgment of students learning progress in giving individual presentation.
The changes (i.e., increase/ decrease) of scores in the four domains and the total
scores in the second and third assessments were counted in order to present the
learning progress of students in the four domains and the overall performance during
the assessment period. On one hand, both verbal and written feedback from teacher
and peers was categorized into three types of feedback (K. Hyland & F. Hyland, 2006):
positive feedback/ praises, negative feedback/ criticisms, and suggestions to provide
quantitative data about the influences of different types of feedback on students
learning. On the other hand, the details of both peer and teacher feedback were
analyzed to collect qualitative data from the assessments.
IV J l t i (Th h tth h l t d i d)
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opportunity to write whatever came to their minds when they did the speaking tasks
and had the feedback sessions afterwards: reflections on the presentation performance,
views on the peer and teacher feedback received and their plan for the next
assessment task. This data was chosen to gain additional insights into students
perceptions of the peer and teacher feedback.
V. Follow-up interviews (Early May last week of the study)
Each subject was invited to attend a follow-up interview with subjects of the
same speaking abilities about their perceptions towards peer and teacher feedback
after the whole assessment period. The interview was conducted in Chinese so that
students could express themselves in a more comfortable way. The qualitative data
enabled the teacher researcher to make a comparison for the perceptual difference
between students of different speaking proficiency. All the interview questions were
given to the subjects in advance so that they were able to retrieve the relevant
information from their experience in the three assessment tasks before the interview
(see Appendix K). The content of the interviews were video-taped and was then
translated into English in the transcripts by the teacher researcher.
Thi h t hi hli ht th th d f d t ll ti b d th h
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CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS
4.1 Overview
The central aim of this study is to explore the role of teacher and peer feedback
in students speaking learning processes. On one hand, the nature of feedback from
teacher and peers itself has influential effects on the development of speaking skills
and the way in which it is learnt. On the other hand, the students of different speaking
competencies may bring in different beliefs and practices into the same formative
assessment context in which learning speaking is taking place. The influence of
feedback can be revealed by the changes of students speaking performance after
receiving feedback from teacher and peers. Still, its influence on students
performance cannot be fully comprehended unless we examine the ways in which
students interpret and respond to the feedback. As discussed in Section 2.2.2.3,
feedback to function effectively depends on the actions by students in which their
perceptions and attitudes play a determining role.
This chapter will first provide the characteristic descriptions of the three groups
of students with reference to their perceptions and attitudes towards teacher and peer
feedback both before and during/ after the assessment period. This will provide a
foundation of the relationship between the personal interpretation and perception of
the students of different speaking proficiency and the influence of feedback on them
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4.2 Students perceptions towards teacher and peer feedback
This section will start with a brief description of the students experience in both
teacher and peer assessments in both English learning and other subjects, and then
move on to their perceptions regarding teacher and peer assessments before and
during/ after the assessment period in the subsections.
4.2.1 Students experience in teacher and peer assessments
From the results in the background questionnaire conducted before the
assessment period, feedback from teachers is frequent in their English assessments
among all the students from the three groups (see Table 4.1). However, the types of
feedback they receive in their English assessments are different. For the students of
higher speaking abilities, the most frequent feedback from teachers is marks/ grades
while students of average and lower speaking abilities receive verbal feedback and
written comment most frequently respectively.
Most frequent 2nd Most frequent Least Frequent
Students of Higher
Speaking Abilities
Marks/ Grades Written Comment No feedback
Students of Average
S ki Abiliti
Verbal feedback Pass/ Failure No feedback
t d t f ki biliti i it t T f th h l
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students of average speaking abilities is quite extreme. Two of them have one or less
than one year experience in peer assessment in learning English whereas one of them
has been involved in peer assessment for 8 years or more. Seven out of nine students
even have experience in peer assessment in other subjects (see Table 4.3). The types
of peer assessment students have been involved in are mainly peer assessment in
project work and peer response groups (see Table 4.4).
1 or less 2 - 4 5 - 7 8 or more
Students of Higher
Speaking Abilities
0 3 0 0
Students of Average
Speaking Abilities
2 0 0 1
Students of Lower
Speaking Abilities
0 3 0 0
Overall 2 6 0 1
Table 4.2 Number of years involved in peer assessment
Yes No
Students of Higher Speaking Abilities 3 0
Students of Average Speaking Abilities 2 1
Students of Lower Speaking Abilities 2 1
Overall 7 2
Table 4.3 Experience in peer assessment in other subjects
Peer Peer assessment Peer response
422 St d t ti di t h f db k
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4.2.2 Students perceptions regarding teacher feedback
4.2.2.1 Results before the assessment period
In order to simplify the analysis of the data the degree of students perceptions
regarding teacher and peer feedback, the raw data are rearranged and presented in
Tables 4.5 and 4.6. The numbers of responses from strongly disagree to slightly
disagree and from strongly agree to slightly agree to each item are grouped together
respectively. According to the data gathered from the background questionnaire (see
Table 4.5), students of higher speaking abilities show a very positive view towards
teacher feedback obtained in the first SBA, i.e., group discussion on print fiction,
conducted in the first school term. All of them agreed that they understood and read
the feedback from the teacher researcher. To them, the suggestions given by the
teacher researcher are both clear and attainable, and help them reflect on their
performance. They stated that they tried to follow the suggestions given by the teacher
researcher and their speaking performance had improved with teacher feedback.
Therefore, they welcome teacher feedback in future.
In general, students of lower speaking abilities also show a rather positive view
towards teacher feedback. However, one out of three students of lower speaking
abilities reported that he/she did not understand the teacher feedback and only one of
them tried to follow the suggestions given by teacher. Also, one of the students
Students Disagree Agree
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g g1. I understand the feedback given by
teacher.Top 0 3
Average 0 3
Weak 1 22. I read the written feedback after theassessment tasks.
Top 0 3Average 1 2Weak 0 3
3. I agree with the feedback given byteacher.
Top 0 3Average 1 2Weak 0 3
4. Suggestions given by teacher are clear. Top 0 3Average 0 3Weak 0 3
5. Suggestions given by teacher areattainable.
Top 0 3Average 0 3Weak 0 3
6. Feedback from teacher helps me reflecton my performance.
Top 0 3Average 0 3Weak 0 3
7. I try to follow the suggestions given byteacher.
Top 0 3
Average 1 2Weak 2 1
8. With teacher feedback, my speakingperformance has improved.
Top 0 3Average 1 2Weak 1 2
9. I welcome feedback from teacher infuture.
Top 0 3Average 1 2Weak 0 3
Table 4.5 Perceptions towards Teacher Feedback
Among the three groups of students, students of the average speaking abilities
are rather negative towards teacher feedback. Only two of them replied that they read
and agreed with the feedback from the teacher researcher. One of them said that
he/shedid not attempt to follow the suggestions given by the teacher researcher and
4222Feedback& resultsduring/after theassessmentperiod
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4.2.2.2 Feedback & results during/ after the assessment period
From the results in the follow-up interviews and students journal entries, the
majority of the students are quite positive towards teacher feedback. Most of the
students from the three groups said that they understood and agreed with the teacher
feedback. They claimed that teacher feedback could reflect their performance. For
instance,
Student A: In teacher feedback, I know which kinds of mistakes I have.
When I know the problems, I can follow teachers feedback to improve
myself.
Student I: I understand the feedback given by teacher. Also the feedback
given by teacher has made me improve a lot since teacher told me that I
should pay attention to the last syllable.
(See Appendix L, Excerpts from journal entries)
Accordingly, teacher feedback can serve three functions in the learning processes
among these students. It can tell them what they have achieved and have not achieved,
and provide them some suggestions to make improvement. Nevertheless, three out of
nine students, pointed out that there were not enough suggestions from the teacher
researcher to guide them how to make further improvement in their speaking. These
three students (two higher-achievers and one average-achiever) claimed that they
They thought that there was still room for them to improve in those areas but
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They thought that there was still room for them to improve in those areas but
they did not know the strategies so that they remained at the same level in the next
assessment. In other words, these students are very clear about the three functions of
feedback so that they could point out their improvement in speaking was limited
because one of the functions of feedback was missing.
Moreover, in terms of the form of feedback, students have different perceptions
towards verbal and written feedback from the teacher-researcher. Most of the students
agreed that both verbal and written feedback was important to help them make
improvement, but some students of the lower speaking proficiency tended to have
different understanding of the verbal and written feedback. Two of the students in
these groups showed doubts about their understanding of the written feedback. They
explained:
Student H (a lower achiever): For some of them I am not very sure
about the meanings. Those written in English I dont understand very
clearly. For some of the sentences, I dont even understand what they are
about. I personally dont understand their meanings.
Student F (an average achiever): I understand the oral feedback. For
written feedback, my understanding is not as much as that in oral
feedback.
(See Appendix M, Excerpts from follow-up interviews)
Accordingly, it implies that theverbal feedback fromteacher is clearer andmore
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Accordingly, it implies that the verbal feedback from teacher is clearer and more
useful than the written feedback to students of lower speaking proficiency. In other
words, they rely more on the verbal feedback given during the feedback sessions to
improve their performance in the next assessment.
When students were asked if they reflected on their performance with the teacher
feedback in the follow-up interviews (see Q.3 in Appendix M), all of the students
reported that they reflected on their own performance with the feedback from the
teacher-researcher. Half of them said that they did the reflection both immediately
after the feedback session and when they prepared for the next assessment. In general,
they explained that they were quite eager to know whether they had made any
improvement in the assessment and which areas they needed to work on in order to
obtain higher scores during the feedback session. During the reflection when they
prepared for the next assessment, they would focus on the areas that they needed to
improve and reminded themselves to pay extra attention to those areas.
Furthermore, all of the students claimed that they attempted to follow the
suggestions provided by the teacher-researcher to improve their speaking
performance during the assessment period (see Q.4 in Appendix M). Each of them
could point out at least one example in which they followed the suggestions given by
the teacher-researcher in the feedback sessions or the teacher assessment form.
both the quantity and the form of teacher feedback.
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q y
4.2.3 Students perceptions regarding peer feedback
4.2.3.1 Results before the assessment period
Compared to the other groups of students, students of higher speaking abilities
are quite positive towards giving and receiving peer feedback (see Table 4.6).
Regarding giving peer feedback, all of them felt comfortable with giving feedback to
their peers and agreed that they could learn from their peers performance. Two of
them reported that they were clear about the assessment criteria and knew how to give
feedback to peers. However, they still show doubts about the usefulness of their
feedback to their peers. Only one of them thought his/her feedback could help his/her
peers improve their speaking performance. Concerning receiving peer feedback, all of
them replied that they understood and agreed with the feedback given by their peers.
Also, they tried to follow the suggestions from their peers. But only two of them
agreed that suggestions given by their peers were clear and attainable.
Attitudes towards Giving Peer Feedback Students Disagree Agree1 I amcomfortablewith givingfeedback to Top 0 3
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1. I am comfortable with giving feedback tomy peers.
Top 0 3Average 1 2
Weak 2 12. I am clear about the assessment criteria. Top 1 2Average 1 2Weak 3 0
3. I know how to give feedback to my peers. Top 1 2Average 2 1Weak 2 1
4. I think my feedback can help my peersimprove their speaking performance.
Top 2 1Average 3 0Weak 2 1
5. I have a better understanding about thelearning goals with the peer assessment.
Top 1 2Average 2 1Weak 3 0
6. I can learn from my peers performance. Top 0 3Average 2 1Weak 2 1
Attitudes towards Receiving Peer Feedback
7. I understand the feedback given by mypeers.
Top 0 3Average 1 2Weak 0 3
8. I read the written feedback after theassessment tasks.
Top 0 3Average 1 2Weak 1 2
9. I agree with the feedback given by mypeers.
Top 0 3Average 1 2
Weak 1 210. Suggestions given by my peers are clear. Top 1 2Average 3 0Weak 1 2
11. Suggestions given by my peers areattainable.
Top 1 2Average 2 1Weak 1 2
12. Feedback from peers helps me reflect onmy performance.
Top 0 3Average 2 1Weak 2 1
13. I try to follow the suggestions given bymy peers.
Top 0 3Average 2 1Weak 3 0
14 Withpeerfeedback myspeaking Top 1 2
The perceptions of students of average and lower speaking abilities towards both
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giving and receiving peer feedback are rather negative. On one hand, they are not very
confident of giving feedback to their peers. Only one student in each of the two
groups reported that he/she knew how to give feedback to peers. None of the students
of lower speaking abilities were clear about the assessment criteria and none of the
students of average speaking abilities thought their feedback could help their peers
improve their speaking performance.
On the other hand, students in these two groups do not perceive peer feedback
very positively even though most of them understood and agreed with the feedback
from their peers. None of the students of average speaking abilities thought that
suggestions given by their peers were clear and only one of them agreed that peer
suggestions were attainable. Therefore, only one of students in the average group and
even none in the weaker group attempted to follow the suggestions given by their
peers. Most of them disagreed that their speaking performance had improved with
peer feedback. One of the students from the average speaking ability group even
stated in the open-ended section in the questionnaire that:
I think some of my peers are not able to give feedback to each other. They
give comments randomly. I have not learnt anything from it.
All of the students from these two groups mentioned that peer feedback was generally
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not comprehensive and not detailed enough to help them make improvement in their
speaking. In terms of the quantity of peer feedback, four of them found that the length
of the peer feedback was usually very short while three of them stated that feedback
from their peers mainly focused on some of the domains, especially Domain I
Pronunciation and Delivery and Domain II Communication Strategies. In terms of
the quality of peer feedback, four of them said that suggestions were always lacking
in the feedback from their peers.
Although many of the students are not satisfied with the feedback they received
from their peers, a majority of the students are positive towards peer assessment. Six
o