Autonomy and Responsibility Journal of Educational Sciences

Elaborated Peer Assessment of Academic Writing Between Postgraduate Students

2024-04-18T15:20:04+02:00

Peer assessment in higher education has grown enormously in the last decade, but is more commonly used with undergraduates. In this study, reciprocal paired peer assessment of academic writing was undertaken by twelve postgraduate students of educational psychology, who gave elaborated formative feedback on each other’s work, as did staff. Overall, staff and peer assessments showed a very similar balance between positive and negative statements, but this varied according to assessment criterion. However, only half of the content of detailed formative assessment statements made showed correspondence between staff and peers. Nevertheless, there was very little evidence of conflict between the views of staff and peers - rather, they focused on different details. Subjective feedback from students indicated that most found the process time consuming, intellectually challenging and socially uncomfortable, but effective in improving the quality of their own subsequent written work and developing other transferable skills. The reliability and validity of this type of peer assessment thus appeared adequate, and the partiality of overlap in detail between staff and peer assessments suggested that the triangulation peer assessment offers is likely to add value. However, caution is indicated regarding the generalisation of this finding. Implications for action are outlined.

Cooperative Learning and the Catholic Faith

2024-04-18T11:26:47+02:00

Cooperative learning is an educational methodology developed in a secular milieu, yet has strong roots in Western, Catholic, Christian beliefs and affinity with Vincentian (after St. Vincet de Paul) beliefs and expectations about our relationships with the impoverished of all kinds. Recognizing this truth can create a sense of the familiar amongst CL practitioners and their larger communities. It also places the emphasis on the moral and practical aspects of CL in perspective. What is more, culturally, we know that it “feels right” to work with diverse others respectfully and that we are all ultimately engaging in a common project. Using Cooperative Learning turns these beliefs and human intuitions into a daily reality. Cooperative learning research has shown distinct advantages in its application in secular education. These advantages can translate into the realm of Catholic education because the values and practices of cooperative learning are compatible with Catholic education.

Analysis of the Degree of Cooperativity of a Primary Education Classroom Group in Catalonia (Spain)

2024-04-18T15:08:44+02:00

Integration is one of the key challenges facing educational systems as they strive to offer quality education that not only promotes academic progress but also fosters coexistence in an increasingly plural and diverse society. From this perspective, one of the most significant changes that must be made involves shifting the traditional role of the teacher as a mere transmitter of information and granting a leading role to students in their own teaching and learning process. In this context, the importance of cooperative learning methodology is highlighted.

However, it is important to note that not all teamwork is truly cooperative. To determine the quality of cooperation, it is crucial to measure the degree of cooperativeness of teams. This degree refers to the effectiveness of teamwork, where the higher this degree, the more effective both the team and the work they carry out will be. Essentially, the degree of cooperativeness is evaluated considering two aspects: the frequency of teamwork and the quality of teamwork.

The present research focuses on explaining the procedure for calculating the degree of cooperativeness, as well as presenting the instrument designed for this purpose. Additionally, the results of its application are presented, which were carried out with a group of male and female students in third and fourth year of primary education. This instrument is the result of various projects developed in the Research Group on Attention to Diversity (GRAD) at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (Spain). The objective of this article is to present the analysis of the degree of cooperativeness of a primary education class group over two consecutive courses using an instrument (endorsed in subsequent studies, Pujolàs, 2009) with the purpose of identifying to what extent the students' work has the quality of being cooperative.