scholarly journals The illusion of knowing in college: A field study of students with a teacher-centered educational past

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 789-807
Author(s):  
Maura A. E. Pilotti ◽  
Khadija El Alaoui ◽  
Huda Mulhem ◽  
Halah A. Al Kuhayli
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
Assessment Practice ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Practice Condition ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Illusion Of Knowing ◽  
Teacher Centered

In the present study, the tendency to overestimate performance (illusion of knowing) was examined in college students whose educational past experiences had emphasized verbatim learning. Female students enrolled in core curriculum classes were sampled. Classes taught by the same instructor were randomly assigned to a self-assessment practice condition, where students predicted their test and class performance and were asked to reflect on discrepancies between predictions and actual performance, or to a control condition. At the end of the semester, irrespective of condition, as performance declined on the final test, predictions of final test grades became more inflated, but less confident, indicating that students were aware of their own deficiencies. Overall, students in the practice condition displayed not only greater prediction accuracy, but also greater final test performance than students in the control condition. Practice, however, benefited the most self-assessment accuracy of students whose final test grades were just above the passing grade. Although the responses to self-assessment practice of students with a teacher-centered educational past were largely similar to the responses of students from Western countries reported in the extant literature, differences in impact and meaning could be inferred.

A Close-Up on a Predictive Moment: Illusion of Knowing or Lack of Confidence in Self-Assessment?

2020 ◽  
pp. 002205742094484
Author(s):  
Maura A. E. Pilotti ◽  
Khadija El Alaoui ◽  
Huda Al Mulhem ◽  
Muamar Hasan Salameh
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Prediction Accuracy ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
The Past ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Illusion Of Knowing

Prediction allows learners to adjust behavior toward the future by exploiting information pertaining to the present and the past. Through a field study, we examined whether poor performing students are truly unaware of not knowing their deficiencies as the illusion of knowing (IoK) phenomenon implies. College students’ ability to predict their final test performance was surveyed as a function of experience (before and after the test), performance level, and self-efficacy. In this study, high performers’ prospective and retrospective predictions were more accurate and confident than those of poor performers. Although poor performers overestimated their grades (as predicted by IoK), they were less confident in their predictions. Furthermore, both their prediction accuracy and confidence benefited from the experience of taking the test. These findings, coupled with the lower self-efficacy of poor performers, suggest that prediction errors involving inflated estimations reflect the wishful thinking exhibited by students who are aware of their lack of competence but may have little confidence in their abilities.

scholarly journals Causal Attribution Preferences and Prospective Self-Assessment: The Unknowns of the Middle Eastern Learner

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
Maura A. E. Pilotti ◽  
Khadija El Alaoui ◽  
Kerstin Hamann ◽  
Bruce Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Causal Attribution ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Metacognitive Awareness ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Metacognitive Control ◽  
Subjective Confidence ◽  
Illusion Of Knowing

In the present field experiment, we examined the effects of a self-assessment exercise conducted in the middle of the semester on metacognitive awareness (i.e., the accuracy of self-assessment and its subjective confidence) and final test performance of college students of Middle Eastern descent. Effects were measured in the classroom against a business-as-usual control condition. It was hypothesized that if the exercise focuses students’ attention on internal causes (e.g., effort) in response to specific task demands, metacognitive awareness, metacognitive control, and, ultimately, final test performance would be enhanced. In poor performers, the exercise indeed improved the accuracy of self-assessment (as measured by grade estimates) and final performance. There was no evidence of the illusion of knowing phenomenon (i.e., the unrealistic belief that one knows or is able to perform a given task) among poor-performing students as their confidence in estimates remained low. Furthermore, the exercise did not change students’ causal attribution preferences, thereby suggesting that other dynamics are responsible for the effects of the self-assessment exercise.

scholarly journals Retrieval practice facilitates memory updating by enhancing and differentiating medial prefrontal cortex representations

eLife ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifang Ye ◽  
Liang Shi ◽  
Anqi Li ◽  
Chuansheng Chen ◽  
Gui Xue
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Medial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Retrieval Practice ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Final Test ◽  
Memory Updating ◽  
Practice Condition ◽  
Memory Integration

Updating old memories with new, more current information is critical for human survival, yet the neural mechanisms for memory updating in general and the effect of retrieval practice in particular are poorly understood. Using a three-day A-B/A-C memory updating paradigm, we found that compared to restudy, retrieval practice could strengthen new A-C memories and reduce old A-B memory intrusion, but did not suppress A-B memories. Neural activation pattern analysis revealed that compared to restudy, retrieval practice led to stronger target representation in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) during the final test. Critically, it was only under the retrieval practice condition that the MPFC showed strong and comparable competitor evidence for both correct and incorrect trials during final test, and that the MPFC target representation during updating was predictive of subsequent memory. These results suggest that retrieval practice is able to facilitate memory updating by strongly engaging MPFC mechanisms in memory integration, differentiation and consolidation.

scholarly journals Self-assessment based on language learning outcomes: a study with first year engineering students

2010 ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pilar Durán Escribano ◽  
Joana Pierce McMahon
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Bologna Process ◽  
First Year ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Assessment Practice ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Language Courses ◽  
The Bologna Process

As the Bologna Process moves forward, changes in European systems of higher education are expected. The introduction of the ECTS focussing on the students’ achievements described in terms of the learning outcomes and competences acquired is one of the innovations. This process, encouraged by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, signifies a change in teaching focus, from an input model to an output one, which promotes self-assessment in a flexible curriculum, in this case adapted to student’s language profile. To illustrate this new approach in language learning, a pilot experience with Technical English mining engineering students is discussed, with special attention to learner reflection and self-assessment practices. Students’ progress in self-assessment, based on the introduction of learning outcomes in specific language courses, is analysed to conclude that personal engagement and clear purpose -specified in terms of learning outcomes- seem to have become relevant components to student's self-assessment practice.

scholarly journals Exploring a Rural English Teacher’s Lived Experiences of Assessment Practices in a Blended Learning Enactment: A Narrative Inquiry

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Haris Sugianto
Keyword(s):  
Blended Learning ◽  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Alternative Assessment ◽  
Portfolio Assessment ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Assessment Practice ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
Shed Light

Although a large number of studies have put a focus on the enactment of blended learning in English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom, there is a paucity of research into the teacher’s lived experiences of how they enact assessment in the blended learning activities. To fill such a gap, this paper reports on a narrative inquiry of an EFL teacher’s lived experiences of conducting assessment during blended learning in the pandemic era. The finding of the study shed light on the ineffectiveness of the assessment practice during the blended learning enactment, particularly in the context of rural schools. Albeit the participating teacher in this study was fully engaged to conduct assessment from his past experiences, two major problems hinder such a practice: students’ unsubmitted assignments and poor Internet connection. Based on these findings, teachers are encouraged to find an alternative assessment practice during the blended learning, portfolio assessment can be an option. This suggestion is anchored by the fact that the assessment practice was not technically supported during the blended learning activities.

Foundations of Statics: An Assessment Study and Feedback Implementation

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amitabha Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Multiple Choice Questions ◽  
Testing Procedures ◽  
Human Aspects ◽  
Rochester Institute Of Technology ◽  
Engineering Sciences ◽  
Statics And Dynamics ◽  
Institute Of Technology

This paper highlights some important obstacles in student test performance resulting from different forms of testing procedures in Statics and Dynamics. A group approach dictates the core pedagogy in these classes, which are components of Engineering Sciences Core Curriculum (ESCC) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Our observations indicate that the difficulties start before engineering sciences due to incomplete understanding of mathematics and physics. While the human aspects of this assessment may not be revealed on tests, results of long hours of counseling sessions of students with faculty and academic advisors have now been imbedded in designing of our program. But in spite of our streamlined processes of improved delivery and testing, many good students demonstrate superior test scores on essay type questions but poor understanding of concepts as revealed from the analysis of Multiple Choice (MC) responses. This lack of performance has been tracked to a narrow focus and a lack of retention of prior concepts in their active memory. The paper discusses these topics using a select set of multiple choice questions administered on Statics and Dynamics examinations and offers remedial actions including proposal of a new course.

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