Alicia Bolívar-Cruz

Is University Students’ Self-Assessment Accurate?

The paper’s main objective is to evaluate the self-assessment accuracy of university students. Specifically, the study analyzes the self-assessment of oral communication skills. It was carried out in a Firm Labor Organization course included in the Labor Relations and Human Resources Degree. The literature on self-assessment in Higher Education does not provide clear evidence about its accuracy, as a number of methodological problems have been detected. To reduce them, we have taken a number of precautions. Thus, a rubric was designed, and students were trained to use it. Several teachers and peers were introduced as referents, and a segmented analysis was conducted based on gender and the students’ level of competence from the teachers’ point of view. Results show that self-assessment accuracy is low. Moreover, regardless of the degree, men’s self-assessments are higher than women’s. Moreover, the findings suggest that the scoring rubric improves self-assessment accuracy when the speaker has good oral communication skills, but not when these skills are poor. These results lead us to propose the development of correction factors that can be adapted to any situation, thus allowing self-assessment to be used for summative purposes.

Valoración de la competencia de comunicación oral de estudiantes universitarios a través de una rúbrica fiable y válida

El nuevo modelo formativo de ensenanza universitaria promueve dotar a los estudiantes de las competencias adecuadas. La competencia de comunicacion oral es una de las mas importantes para la empleabilidad de los titulados universitarios. Hay varios criterios para evaluar esta competencia, por lo que es importante unificarlos. Por tanto, es crucial desarrollar rubricas validadas. Las rubricas permiten valorar la calidad de las contribuciones de los estudiantes, asi como orientarlos en su desempeno al especificar los factores que seran evaluados. Para alcanzar el objetivo principal de este trabajo se describe el proceso de elaboracion de una rubrica y se analiza su validez y fiabilidad mediante su implementacion. Para ello se lleva a cabo una experiencia en la asignatura “organizacion industrial y administracion de empresas” de la titulacion de ingenieria industrial. Como consecuencia, los resultados revelan que la rubrica disenada es una herramienta valida y fiable para evaluar la competencia de comunicacion oral.

Do self-efficacy, incentives and confidence in public speaking influence how students self-assess? / ¿Influyen la autoeficacia, los incentivos y la confianza para hablar en público en cómo se autoevalúan los estudiantes?

Abstract The development of a critical spirit as well as the capacity to self-assess and oral presentation competence are essential in relation to students’ future employability. This study examines the influence of confidence, self-efficacy and the existence of incentives on student self-assessments of their oral presentation competence during an educational activity, taking into account the students’ gender. Data from 201 self-assessments was analysed using different statistical techniques. The results show that the existence of rewards is the only variable that has a significant influence on the self-assessment of male students, while those of female students are determined, above all, by their self-efficacy. The results suggest the need to increase student training on self-assessment, taking these differences into account. They also highlight the need to implement initiatives aimed at improving speakers’ confidence in public speaking as well as self-efficacy levels.

La cooperación tecnológica universidad-empresa: el rol de la comunicación

El trabajo aborda la cooperacion tecnologica entre universidad y empresa bajo el enfoque de redes, discutiendo la importancia del comportamiento de comunicacion. Se analiza como la comunicacion se relaciona con el exito de la transferencia de conocimiento y si existen diferencias en la relacion entre ambas variables en funcion de la modalidad bajo la que se desarrolla la cooperacion. La aplicacion empirica en Espana evidencia que una comunicacion adecuada, oportuna, completa y creible entre los miembros de la empresa y del equipo de investigacion universitario se asocia positivamente con el exito de la transferencia de conocimiento. Ademas, cuando el acuerdo se desarrolla bajo la forma de investigacion cooperativa, se observa una mayor asociacion entre el comportamiento de comunicacion y el exito de la transferencia de conocimiento. Asi, se deriva la necesidad de que directivos e investigadores participantes en acuerdos de cooperacion presten especial atencion a la comunicacion interorganizativa e intraorganizativa.

Assessing oral presentation skills in Electrical Engineering: Developing a valid and reliable rubric

Oral presentation is one of the most important transversal competences for the professional career of Electrical Engineers. To develop and assess this competence, scoring rubrics are useful academic tools. The main purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the learning and assessment of oral presentation skills of future Electrical Engineers by using a scoring rubric as a teaching resource. A pilot experiment was carried out in the 2011/2012 academic year in a course in the ninth semester of Electrical Engineering studies with 64 students. In order to acquire the oral competence, students had to present a marketing plan for an industrial electrical project in front of an audience. Feedback was collected in meetings held with teachers and students after the presentations. As a result, the need to review the rubric was detected, in order to make its use easier. The rubric’s design was improved. In the 2012/2013 academic year, 86 students participated in a new experiment using the improved rubric in the same subject. Intra-rater consistency was shown by the scale’s reliability, measured with Cronbach’s alpha. Regarding inter-rater consistency, two procedures were used: holistic and analytic. The holistic procedure revealed a positive and relatively high correlation between the global scores given by each of the two raters. The analytic procedure showed an acceptable level of inter-rater consensus. Through a questionnaire, quantitative data were collected reflecting students’ satisfaction with the use of the improved scoring rubric. The results reveal the rubric promotes students’ learning by providing them with a clear orientation to improve their performance on current academic assignments and in future professional situations. So, the analyses show that the proposed rubric is valid, reliable and, suitable to teach and assess oral presentations in a simulated professional scenario for Electrical Engineers.

Self-assessment accuracy in higher education: The influence of gender and performance of university students:

Self-assessment activities are increasingly popular in the classrooms. But regarding self-assessment accuracy, mixed results are reported without clear reasons for this. This article addresses the impact of gender and performance on self-assessment accuracy. To evaluate self-assessment accuracy, peer and professor assessments are used as reference. A research project, relating to the assessment of oral presentations using scoring rubrics, is conducted in two university degrees. Data from 155 self-assessments and more than 12,000 peer and professor assessments are gathered. The analysis differentiates by degree, gender and level of performance in the assessed competency. The results show that self-assessment accuracy is low and related to the student’s gender, that men rate themselves higher than women do, and that even using a scoring rubric, students receiving higher marks from professors are more accurate than students receiving lower marks.

ASSESSMENT OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ORAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE THROUGH A RELIABLE AND VALID SCORING RUBRIC

El nuevo modelo formativo de ensenanza universitaria promueve dotar a los estudiantes de las competencias adecuadas. La competencia de comunicacion oral es una de las mas importantes para la empleabilidad de los titulados universitarios. Hay varios criterios para evaluar esta competencia, por lo que es importante unificarlos. Por tanto, es crucial desarrollar rubricas validadas. Las rubricas permiten valorar la calidad de las contribuciones de los estudiantes, asi como orientarlos en su desempeno al especificar los factores que seran evaluados. Para alcanzar el objetivo principal de este trabajo se describe el proceso de elaboracion de una rubrica y se analiza su validez y fiabilidad mediante su implementacion. Para ello se lleva a cabo una experiencia en la asignatura “organizacion industrial y administracion de empresas” de la titulacion de ingenieria industrial. Como consecuencia, los resultados revelan que la rubrica disenada es una herramienta valida y fiable para evaluar la competencia de comunicacion oral.

AVALIAÇÃO DA COMPETÊNCIA DE COMUNICAÇÃO ORAL DE ESTUDANTES UNIVERSITÁRIOS POR MEIO DE UMA RUBRICA VÁLIDA E CONFIÁVEL

El nuevo modelo formativo de ensenanza universitaria promueve dotar a los estudiantes de las competencias adecuadas. La competencia de comunicacion oral es una de las mas importantes para la empleabilidad de los titulados universitarios. Hay varios criterios para evaluar esta competencia, por lo que es importante unificarlos. Por tanto, es crucial desarrollar rubricas validadas. Las rubricas permiten valorar la calidad de las contribuciones de los estudiantes, asi como orientarlos en su desempeno al especificar los factores que seran evaluados. Para alcanzar el objetivo principal de este trabajo se describe el proceso de elaboracion de una rubrica y se analiza su validez y fiabilidad mediante su implementacion. Para ello se lleva a cabo una experiencia en la asignatura “organizacion industrial y administracion de empresas” de la titulacion de ingenieria industrial. Como consecuencia, los resultados revelan que la rubrica disenada es una herramienta valida y fiable para evaluar la competencia de comunicacion oral.