Exemplars

Different ways of using exemplars

(Goh, 2020, pp. 25-26)

Exemplars can be used at different levels: self-marking, sound standard model (Cowan, 2002), and metacognitive reflection (Taras, 2010). At the self-marking level, students mark their own work against a rubric, checklist, or exemplar. A rubric can draw students’ attention to particular criterion-specific examples while an exemplar helps illustrate some or all the criteria in a rubric. In the sound standard model, which operates at a more relational thinking level (Biggs & Collis, 1982), students are provided with not just a model answer, but exemplars of different standards. Students judge their own work against the exemplars. To do so, students would have to first judge and rank the exemplars in terms of standards, before judging where their work stand in relation to the exemplars. The metacognitive reflection model which extends the sound standard model operates at a more extended abstract level (Biggs & Collis, 1982), by having students write down their justifications of why they graded themselves as such by giving a breakdown of their strengths and weaknesses. The teacher then gives feedback on the student work and their reflection.

Of the three ways of using exemplars, the self-marking model is the most common way of using exemplars in the classroom. Taras (2010) however argues that it is a weaker model of self-assessment when placed on a continuum of stronger and weaker models of enabling student decision-making in assessment. The author suggests that the self-marking model can be made stronger by allowing students to participate in deciding the assessment criteria at the beginning of the task assignment. Compared to the self-marking model, the sound standard model is stronger in developing student feedback literacy as it requires students to make a judgment of the exemplars of different standards. As for the metacognitive reflection model, the teacher provides feedback on both the work and the self-assessment. The feedback helps students refine their initial self-assessment to make a robust judgement of their work. Together, these three ways of using exemplars present increasingly stronger ways of developing student feedback literacy.

Reference

Goh, R. (2020, February 5). Engaging students in feedback. Retrieved from MOE Singapore intranet website OPAL. https://www.opal2.moe.edu.sg/csl/content/perma?id=70646