Luc De Grez

How effective are self- and peer assessment of oral presentation skills compared with teachers' assessments?

Assessment of oral presentation skills is an underexplored area. The study described here focuses on the agreement between professional assessment and self- and peer assessment of oral presentation skills and explores student perceptions about peer assessment. The study has the merit of paying attention to the inter-rater reliability of the teachers. Comparison of the teacher and peer assessment rubric scores points at a positive relationship, but also at critical differences. The lower intra-class correlation suggests that peers and teachers still interpret the criteria and indicators of the rubric in a different way. With regard to the comparison of self-assessment scores and teacher scores, we have to conclude that there are significant differences between these scores. Self-assessment scores are, for the most part, higher than the marks given by teachers. The results also reflect a very positive attitude of students towards peer assessment as a relevant source of external feedback.

The Impact of Goal Orientation, Self-Reflection and Personal Characteristics on the Acquisition of Oral Presentation Skills.

Although many educators help others to develop oral presentation skills, little research is available to direct the instructional design activities of these educators. In the present article an explorative study on university freshman is described, in which goal-setting, self-reflection, and several characteristics of the subjects during oral presentations were analysed. The research results emphasize the critical impact of motivational constructs, such as self-efficacy and goal orientation, next to the topic of the oral presentation on the acquisition of oral presentation skills.RésuméBien que beaucoup d’éducateurs aident d’autres pour développer des qualifications orales de présentation, peu de recherche est disponible pour diriger les activités de conception d’instruction de ces éducateurs. Dans l’article une étude exploratoire des étudiants de première année d’université est décrite, dans laquelle ‘goal-setting’. ‘self-reflection’, et plusieurs caractéristiques des participants ont été analysés. Les résultats de la recherche soulignent l’impact critique des constructions de motivation, telles que ‘self-efficacy’ et ‘goal orientation’ en plus de la matière de la présentation orale.

The differential impact of observational learning and practice-based learning on the development of oral presentation skills in higher education

The present study focuses on the design and evaluation of an innovative instructional approach to developing oral presentation skills. The intervention builds on the observational learning theoretical perspective. This perspective is contrasted with the traditional training and practice approach. Two sequencing approaches – learners starting with observational learning versus learners starting with practice opportunities only – were compared. It was hypothesised that learners starting with observational learning would outperform learners in the practice only condition. The results suggest a significant differential impact on development of oral presentation skills. This impact of the observational learning training approach is only found in a limited number of evaluation criteria. Results additionally suggest that students are highly motivated to learn this type of skill. Interaction effects between student characteristics and instructional interventions were not significant.