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Consensus marking as a grading method for the development of evaluative judgement: Comparing assessor and students
Bridget Henderson1, Lucy Chipchase1, Robyn Aitken2
1Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Australia.
Postgraduate nursing students experienced less anxiety and higher satisfaction with consensus marking, a novel grading method, compared to traditional assessment. This innovative approach fosters self-evaluation and lifelong learning skills in nursing education.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Assessment Methods
- Student Evaluation
Background:
- Evaluative judgement in nursing students can be developed through reflection, self-evaluation, and feedback.
- Consensus marking is a novel grading method that supports student self-reflection, self-evaluation, and grade negotiation.
- This method aids students in calibrating their self-evaluation to required standards, fostering lifelong learning skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore postgraduate nursing students' perceptions of consensus marking, an innovative grading method for online vivas.
- To compare student anxiety and satisfaction levels between consensus marking and traditional assessor judgement.
- To evaluate the impact of consensus marking on the development of evaluative judgement in nursing students.
Main Methods:
- A convergent mixed-methods parallel research design was employed.
- Postgraduate nursing students underwent two online viva assessments: one with traditional assessor judgement and another with consensus marking.
- Student perceptions were gathered via semi-structured interviews, and anxiety/satisfaction were measured using validated questionnaires.
Main Results:
- Students perceived consensus marking as less hierarchical and more collegial than traditional assessment.
- Student anxiety was significantly lower with consensus marking compared to assessor judgement (p < 0.001).
- Students reported significantly higher satisfaction with consensus marking than with traditional assessor judgement (p < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Consensus marking facilitates student self-evaluation and identification of knowledge deficits prior to external assessment.
- The findings indicate that consensus marking leads to improved student satisfaction and reduced anxiety in nursing education.
- This novel grading method has significant implications for developing and implementing new assessment strategies to enhance evaluative judgement in nursing students.
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