Peer and self-assessment in CLIL

Peer Assessment

Why use it?

• Students practice softer skills e.g. constructive criticism.

• Help students learn from each other and place their own work.

• Students naturally compare themselves with their peers.

• Encourage engagement with marking criteria.

• Promote deep learning e.g. evaluation.

• More efficient & timely feedback for large groups.

Self assessment

Why use it?

• Encourage reflection.

• Help teachers focus their feedback  (e.g. not telling students what they are already aware of).

• An important skill in itself – helping students become more autonomous learners.

Tools for peer and self - assessment 

Read the overview

• Rubrics

• Scripts

• Checklists

• Journals

• Portfolios

• Traffic lights

• Exit cards

• Paired marking

• Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time (DIRT)

Collaborative challenge

Use this collaborative slideshow (one empty slide per person), design and create a proposal for peer or self-assessment of this set of CLIL learning activities.

Issues that students (& families) may raise

When you start asking students for peer and self assessment, there are issues bound to come up, not from the students themselves but also from their families too, especially if your students are young learners.

Here you are some of the most common initial issues and some suggestions to sort them out:

Issue 1. Resistance to undertake marking  because they see it as a teacher's role or/and responsibility.

Suggestion: provide information about the pedagogical value of the exercise and reassure students that monitoring procedures will be in place at every stage of the workflow.

Issue 2. Lack of student commitment to complete the exercise.

Suggestion: instructions should include a list of all the stages of the workflow and a clear timescale of the process together with deadlines and the responsibility towards the exercise. Stress to students that failure to complete tasks as required  this will affect other members of the group.

Issue 3. Student inexperience with marking criteria/rubrics/ or providing appropriate constructive feedback.

Suggestion: criteria can be either given by the teacher or devised by the students; in either case students must have the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the criteria before starting the exercise or to discuss them with the teacher. Providing appropriate peer feedback is a key aspect in peer assessment and it’s important that students learn how to provide constructive feedback as well as feedback etiquette.

Issue 4. Students lacking skills or confidence in using the peer assessment system.

Suggestion: provide a brief introductory session to demonstrate the system and answer questions.

Source: University of Bristol and The Education Hub