ASSESSING STUDENT PRESENTATIONS FROM THREE PERSPECTIVES
Assessing Student Presentations
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by Donna R. Sterling
nalyzing student presentations from three perspectives—expert, peer, and
self—provides extended feedback and opportunities to learn. All three of these are
helpful and serve different purposes. The expert (teacher) feedback shows how
the teacher views student work and often assigns a grade. Peer analysis provides
students doing the analysis an opportunity to determine what makes the most difference in
clarity of science, interest in examples, or quality of work; while providing students receiving the feedback with different perspectives to consider. Self-assessment encourages critical-thinking analysis and improvement (NRC 1996).
Structuring individual or group presentations so that students receive feedback from multiple
perspectives helps students to develop an understanding of what makes an effective presentation.
SCIENCE SCOPE
ASSESSING STUDENT PRESENTATIONS FROM THREE PERSPECTIVES
Expert analysis
Experts are particularly helpful in helping students accurately understand the nuances of science. In the case
of presentations, teachers are there to provide requirements ahead of time and feedback after the presentation is complete (see Figure 1). However, scientists and
other experts could provide feedback, too. At least once
a year, consider who in your community can assist in
providing constructive feedback to students, whether it
is scientists on science, writers on writing, or newscasters on presentation techniques. This adds authenticity
to feedback and shares another perspective with students. Parents can be a great resource, but so too can
local professionals who are often encouraged by their
companies to participate in developing the next generation of scientists. Before they participate in class, share
with them the goals of the assignment, any written
FIGURE 1
instructions you provided students for the project, and
the rubric. Remind them that they should give compliments as well as areas to grow. Ask them to participate
in at least two classes. After the first class compliment
them on the feedback you felt was particularly informative for students and if needed describe how to provide
feedback in a less critical way. By the end of the second
class they tend to feel more confident in the level of
feedback they are providing students and hence leave
on a positive note that they have helped.
Peer analysis and feedback
Analysis of others’ work is a way to help students focus in on different aspects of their presentations and
identify what makes a difference in communicating information (see Figure 2 for a peer-assessment guide).
Having students analyze the work of others helps
Science-presentation and poster rubric
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ASSESSING STUDENT PRESENTATIONS FROM THREE PERSPECTIVES
Traditional presentations
FIGURE 2
Peer-assessment guide
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them to plan their own presentations. By comparing
how their peers display or explain science information,
they confirm their understanding or identify science
inconsistencies that need clarification. This analysis
includes the presentation style of providing information, the science information itself, and the clarity of
any visual information such as use of color, size of
object and text, and interest of the examples. This
analysis helps students to become aware of multiple
facets and make decisions about planning and producing presentations. A second aspect of peer analysis is
providing feedback to peers in a supportive manner.
Providing feedback not only helps the person giving
it, but also the individuals receiving the feedback are
often able to improve based on the information they
receive. Though inappropriate feedback is always a
concern, in my experience it is seldom a problem. To
guard against this, establish ground rules about providing constructive feedback that include both areas
to “grow” and “glow.” Also, read the feedback peers
provide to each other and eliminate anything you consider misleading or not helpful.
Self-assessment
Because self-assessment is new for most students, provide a rubric or set of questions to focus their thinking
(see Figure 3 for a group-presentation-based example).
The questions can be about the collaboration and planning as well as the actual delivery of the presentation or
project. This sets the stage for individual analysis and will
give the teacher insight into the workings of the group
(if it is a group project) and whether they perceive that
everyone is contributing equally. Analyzing the work of
others and applying what you have learned to your own
work contributes to developing self-assessment skills.
Self-assessment is an ongoing process that develops
throughout a student’s experience and becomes more
self-initiated and sophisticated over time.
SCIENCE SCOPE
Presentations provide a perfect opportunity for implementing these three assessment strategies. When assigning presentations, have students include a visual aid because this provides an additional form of communication
beyond verbal. It allows students to succeed in different
formats with which they may feel more comfortable. Furthermore, it provides multiple formats for learning and is
more interesting for the listener. In addition, it provides reminders to the presenters of what they are talking about.
This can minimize or eliminate overdependence on notes.
During the student presentation, provide feedback
and a grade if needed by completing a rubric (see Figure 1). This particular rubric is for presentations about
scientists and how their theories have developed and
changed over time. It is also used to expand on science
as a human endeavor and thus the inclusion of internet
pictures of the scientists.
After the presentation, have students in teams
complete the peer-assessment guide (see Figure 2).
The scientist presentation is intended to help students
obtain new knowledge, hence the questions on the rubrics about what they learned and what else would be
interesting to learn. The actual process of collaboratively completing this sheet helps students to further focus
on what makes an effective presentation. In addition,
the questions are phrased in a way to focus constructive feedback in a positive way.
Follow up by having the presenters complete a selfassessment form (Figure 3). Getting students to analyze
their own thinking is a way to further extend their
learning and self-awareness. Some students are naturally self-reflective, but others aren’t and this helps
them to focus on continuous improvement. Self-assessment can also include a recommendation on the grades
that should be assigned. Both peer reaction and self-assessment provide the teacher with further insight into
student thinking and learning.
Videotape analysis
Video presentations are a good choice when you want to
focus on the science. Using a television-news interview
format, students take on the role of a science expert being
interviewed as a way to focus in on the science understanding. This works especially well for a problem-based
learning unit where students are solving a real science
problem. An interview also provides an opportunity for
students to concisely state what they know. This provides
insight for teachers into what students understand and
their misconceptions.
It is helpful to have a partially private location for
videotaping. Often a hall or room divider can be used
ASSESSING STUDENT PRESENTATIONS FROM THREE PERSPECTIVES
for the interviews so that they do not distract other
students. Though you could conduct the interviews,
it often works best if you have a parent volunteer or
student teacher play the role of newscaster and ask
the questions. To facilitate the interviews, write a list
of questions for the newscaster to ask. The newscaster
randomly selects questions so that each interview is different. If you have students with special needs, you can
identify certain questions for particular students. Interviews can be either individual or group. The camera is
set up on a tripod and the cameraperson only has to
keep the person being interviewed in the center of the
camera. Taping an “X” on the floor also helps the person being interviewed stay in one place and the center
of the camera lens. Each individual interview is 60–90
seconds and usually allows for two or three science
questions. Group interviews can be longer. In addition
to having the students analyze their interview, you can
have them write a response to the same questions. This
forces them to focus on the science and articulate it
accurately and concisely. They can then compare their
interviewed response to their written response. If time
permits you can videotape another interview with the
same and/or new questions.
FIGURE 3
Group presentation
self-assessment
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Applying what they learned
Once a feedback session is complete, the next step for
students is to apply what they have learned from their
analysis. For example, after completing a peer analysis,
ask students, “What did you learn when you analyzed
the work of others?” and “How did you apply this to
your work?” Because students are not used to being
asked this type of question, you may have to prompt
them with questions such as “What made the visual
aids you saw effective?” or “Describe the visual aid you
liked the best.” Doing this as a whole-class discussion
focuses on the positive aspects of the visual aids and
helps students to become aware of aspects that they did
not think about.
Also encourage students to use feedback they
have received on their future work. For many this is
difficult unless the feedback is given in an uncritical
way and focused on continuous improvement, in other
words, how to make it better. Ask them, “What suggestion did you use that you received from someone
else?” Share a few of these with the whole class and
compliment both the student for using the good suggestion and also the student who gave the suggestion.
This will help to focus students on constructive feedback and continuous improvement.
Conclusion
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SFDFJWFBOEXIZ Analyzing and receiving feedback from multiple perspectives increases self-awareness and provides opportunities to grow. Assessing student presentations from
three perspectives is a way to extend students’ critical
analysis of their work beyond the teacher’s perspective.
Not only can students extend their understanding of
science, but they also learn about how to present their
ideas clearly and concisely. Because the primary focus
of teaching should be on student learning and understanding of the topics being studied, not teacher evaluation, it makes sense to have students analyze their
work and receive feedback from multiple perspectives
in order to deepen their understanding of science, communicate ideas, and improve self-awareness. O
Reference
National Research Council (NRC). 1996. National science
education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Donna R. Sterling (dsterlin@gmu.edu) is a professor
of science education at George Mason University in
Fairfax, Virginia.
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