REBUILDING
EDUCATION

Abstract

Sometimes standard means of assessment, such as essays and exams, are not well received by students because they are not educationally motivated. This decreases student engagement and shifts focus away from the learning process. This article introduces a new mode of assessment for certain academic courses, by promoting academic conversations among students.

Established modes of assessment are typically result-oriented and extrinsically motivated, which may cause stress and anxiety, as well as shift focus away from the learning process. The TALKS design is process-oriented, which honours and encourages enduring and profound learning, and it is intrinsically motivated, which increases motivation and creativity. The TALKS project is modelled on these facts and on initiatives that are successfully being implemented in different well-regarded institutions.

In the TALKS project, lecturers will ask students to record themselves having an academic conversation. showcasing their understanding and critical thinking abilities about a given topic. This will be assessed by the professor, who can implement this as a simple alternative to a (midterm) exam or essay but could also adjust it to weave through an entire course. TALKS are easily integrated in existing courses and could improve learning and the learning experience at academic institutions.

Analysis

The Problem

When asked to reflect on academic education, a common theme returns  for many students. Most programmes and courses assess students’ performance  and understanding of a topic through exams or essays at the end (and sometimes  mid-point) of a course’s duration. There is little doubt that these two modes of  assessments have benefits; the former is ideal in examining people’s factual  knowledge and the latter provides an opportunity for students to showcase and  improve on their argumentative writing skills, as well as their ability to apply  newly learnt concepts. However, a widely articulated issue with these two modes  of assessment is that students struggle to see and actively appreciate these  benefits, which reflects badly on the overall learning process. The general  educational flaw that was identified is that standard ways of assessment  sometimes are not well received by students because they are not educationally  motivated. The problem is that this decreases student engagement and shifts focus away from the learning process.

Stakeholder’s experience

In speaking to stakeholders in the form of coordinators, lecturers, students  and more people involved in university education, many important facets came  to light. It was clear that there were many perceived constraints set by the  government or the university, which limit the freedom that lecturers have to  design their courses. However, in digging deeper into the formal outlines for  programs, it also became evident that there was more freedom to choose  substandard means of assessment than some stakeholders thought. Many echoed  that lecturers spend little time thinking about which assessments to give students  and motivating their choice and choose familiar modes because they are just that:  familiar. It was suggested that this may be a remnant from the more old fashioned type of education that they had received, and because most students  will end up working outside of academia, the innovative modes of assessment are  likely far better preparation (especially in today’s digital media climate). Stakeholders also provided valuable information about intradepartmental  communication about assessment, and their own insights into improved,  student-oriented means of assessment. The overall sense of these interviews was  enthusiasm for updating the system, while communicating constraints and  considerations on their part.

Redesign

The TALKS project encourages academic conversation between students  by making recorded conversations about academic topics a primary mode of  assessment. The basic form of a TALK is as follows. Pairs of students record  themselves having spontaneous conversations of about 15 to 20 minutes.  This conversation is meant to be an opportunity for the students to display their  understanding of and ability to critically evaluate whichever topic the  lecturer desires to focus on. The lecturer (or teaching assistant) will listen to these  and base their assessment solely on the content of their conversation,  as the form of TALKS is not relevant; students are not expected to create a  recording of high-production value, they must simply display their progress and  their abilities. At the same time, students are allowed to explore ideas and gather  new perspectives during TALKS, meaning that, unlike other means of  assessment, TALKS are extrinsically motivated. This means that students’  motivation and engagement will increase, leading to increased creativity and  reduced stress levels, because it takes away some of the unclarity about why they  are asked to do something. It should also help them spend all their time on critical  thinking and intellectual progress, as opposed to unnecessary or redundant  technicalities that could come with established modes of assessment. 

TALKS should be introduced in courses that are ideally theory-heavy and  that include conversations and discussions of the course material  throughout its duration. Whether as homework assignments or in discussion  groups during seminars, students should be comfortable with talking about and  critically evaluating reading material with their peers. This way, the students will  be acquainted, prepared and comfortable when the actual TALKS assessment is  done, and it helps to shift them from a result-oriented outlook on a process oriented one. Because conversations run the risk of being more abstract and less  defined than an exam or essay, it is also crucial that the lecturer creates a clear rubric beforehand and presents this to the students prior to the  TALKS. Moreover, TALKS are assigned by creating a detailed outline  introducing the topic at hand. Lecturers write one (or more) pages  reminding the students of discussed topics, before zooming into one specific topic  or paper that aligns with the course’s focus. This outline may further include some  lines of thinking or questions that students can ask themselves. This is another  opportunity for the lecturer to steer students into the direction that is wanted.  Especially in the early stages of the implementation of the TALKS system, it  should also be clarified how TALKS should be approached, so students  will receive information about what is expected of them (i.e., critical thinking  about X detail of Y topic) and what they may want to avoid doing or talking about  (i.e., do not overthink the form, or do not focus on Z detail). Students should get  about 48 or 72 hours to create the TALKS recording. This means that students  do not have the time to create a full script and “perform” a conversation on the  recording. Moreover, it limits the amount of time that students can (unjustly)  overthink their TALK and reinforces what TALKS are meant to be: a short,  critical, but spontaneous conversation between university-level students about  the topic they are being taught to think about.  

When it comes to integrating TALKS into a course, there are  numerous options to consider. It could be used as a straightforward  alternative to a midterm or final essay or exam, meaning that it could still be  accompanied by another “standard” assessment at some other point during the  duration of the course. However, students may also be asked to record TALKS  multiple times for one course, spreading out five TALKS and basing assessment  exclusively on those. The benefit of this latter scenario is that it is most process oriented and means that students show their understanding of multiple different  topics of a course. Figures 1, 2 and 3 give specific examples of TALKS integrated  in an academic course. The figures also present ideas for the weight a TALK might  have towards a final grade. When grades are assigned, a simply good TALK  should equal an 8; exceptional insights are not required from students,  understanding, critical thinking and creativity are what should be aimed for.  When combining TALKS with another “standard” mode of assessment, grading  is good, because it undercuts excessive pressure on the other moment of assessment. However, when TALKS are the only instance of assessment, a  lecturer should consider a simple pass/fail system. In that scenario, students are  most process-oriented and under least extrinsic pressure. The course would then  be finished without a final grade, and students would only receive the ECTs (if  they passed all TALKS).

Table 1: hypothetical calendar with two TALKS

Table 2: hypothetical calendar with five TALKS

Table 3: hypothetical calendar with one TALKS

The following paragraph presents several adaptations to TALKS, so  lecturers can adjust it for their specific course. To start, alterations can be  made to the participants of a TALK recording. Instead of two students, a  lecturer might prefer groups of three or even more than that. A lecturer could also  opt to join or lead the TALK recording (if they so desire), so as to guide the  conversation as it happens. One consideration to keep in mind, though, (aside  from the time it would take) is that this may increase pressure on students in the  moment. When more students participate, the duration of each TALK would  likely also increase. In general, lecturers may want to adjust the duration of a TALK, if they believe additional time is necessary or desirable for the students to  have a good, comprehensive conversation. Lecturers can also give  specifications on what type of post-recording manipulation is allowed and to what degree. For example, one may allow some editing, but emphasize that too much editing is not allowed (or necessary, for that matter). In that vein, a  reminder that students ideally record their final TALK in only one take could be  included. Adjustments could also be made as to how “academic” the conversation  must be. In certain programmes, such as law degrees where speaking and  communicating is pivotal or courses that teach English for Academic Purposes,  there could be a benefit to asking students to follow certain guidelines of  presentation and articulation. This also points to a larger point that, although  TALKS could be implemented in many courses, it certainly works best  in certain types. As articulated, TALKS are ideal for courses with significant  amounts of theory, but it is also most practical for courses with smaller groups  and at Master level. This is because Master programmes tend to have more  critical evaluation and implementation of concepts that Bachelor programmes. 

Figure 1: Handout inclusion for TALKS

Justification

Intrinsic motivation

When considering established and novel modes of assessment, it is  relevant to recognize the difference between extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. The former term describes motivation in the form of some type of  reward, like a grade, whereas the latter implies that the motivation to do  something comes from within (Levy, DeLeon, Martinex, Fernandez, Gage,  Sigurdssin, Frank-Crawford, 2017). When thinking about written assessment in  the form of essays or exams, there is a clear extrinsic motivation; we do it, because  we need the grade, but there is not (always) an internal motivator for doing so.  There is no personal gain in making an exam, and although there can be personal  reward in writing a certain paper, that is also not always the case. Intrinsic  motivation is an important factor in assessment, as it has been shown to be a key  component of creativity and leads to more profound and more enduring learning  (Levy et al., 2017). Moreover, studies show that students have lower levels of  stress and a higher mental wellbeing when they have a clear motivation and  perceive some level of control and self-determination (Baker, 2004; Bailey &  Philips, 2016).  

Process-oriented learning

Similarly, there are the concepts of result-oriented and process-oriented  education. As the names suggest, result-oriented processes are centered around  a final product (and any rewards that it might reap), whereas process-oriented  approaches focus on the process of, in the case of education, learning and  knowledge-acquisition. The former is unideal because it measures the students  in a single instant, which could severely misrepresent their progress, especially if  the student suffers from some type of performance anxiety. In addition, it shifts  focus away from and undermines the instructor’s effort over the course of a  module. By taking the process-oriented approach, that does not happen, and  active back-and-forth between students and teachers is normalized; it becomes  increasingly easier and more normal to evaluate education as it occurs and to  make appropriate changes where necessary (Chen, Chen, Chen, 2014). In other  words, courses may be recalibrated and improved as they are being taught and  both lecturers and students feel more recognition for the work they do during the  extend of a course’s duration.

Better learning

As the psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus discovered in 1880s, forgetting  almost immediately becomes the enemy of memory. He pioneered research in the  field of learning and retention, observing what he called the forgetting curve. The forgetting curve measures the decline of memory retention over time by  showing how information is lost in time. In his experiments, he found that  without any connection or enhancement with prior knowledge, information  would be quickly forgotten 56% within an hour, 66% after one day, and 75% after  six days (Edutopia, 2017). 

So, what measures can be taken to preserve the hard work of teaching?  According to researchers one strategy teachers can implement is promote peer to-peer explanations. When students explain to peers what they have learned, the  memories and their connections will be reactivated, strengthen and consolidated  in their brains. This strategy not only increases retention rates, but also  encouraged active learning. (Sekeres et al., 2016). Therefore, an assessment such  as TALKS project in which students need to have a conversation explaining and  debating their own thoughts and perspectives on an academic topic is likely to  achieve better learning in students since they are expected to retain the  knowledge longer when talking with a peer.

References

Baker, S. R. (2004). Intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivational orientations: Their  role in university adjustment, stress, well-being, and subsequent academic  performance. Current Psychology, 23(3), 189-202. 

Bailey, T. H., & Phillips, L. J. (2016). The influence of motivation and adaptation  on students’ subjective well-being, meaning in life and academic  performance. Higher education research & development, 35(2), 201-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2015.1087474 

Chung-Yang Chen, Pei-Chi Chen & Pei-Ying Chen (2014) Teaching quality in  higher education: An introductory review on a process-oriented teaching quality model, Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 25(1-2),  36-56. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2011.637789 

Levy, A., DeLeon, I.G., Martinez, C.K., Fernandez, N., Gage, N.A., Sigurdsson,  S.Ó. and Frank‐Crawford, M.A. (2017). A quantitative review of  overjustification effects in persons with intellectual and developmental  disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavioural Analysis, 50, 206-221.  https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.359 

Personalised Learning. (n.d.). University of Oxford. Retrieved April 11, 2021,  from https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/student life/exceptional-education/personalised-learning 

Sekeres, M. J., Bonasia, K., St-Laurent, M., Pishdadian, S., Winocur, G., Grady,  C., & Moscovitch, M. (2016). Recovering and preventing loss of detailed  memory: differential rates of forgetting for detail types in episodic  memory. Learning & Memory, 23(2), 72-82. 

https://doi.org/10.1101/lm.039057.115 

Terrada, Y. (2017). Why students forget – and what you can do about it. Title of  article. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-students forget-and-what-you-can-do-about-it 

The Tutorial System. (n.d.). New College Oxford. Retrieved April 11, 2021, from  https://www.new.ox.ac.uk/tutorial-system