Seeing epistemic order: construction and transmission of evaluative criteria

Abstract

This paper focuses on formative assessment in the field of higher education. It examines Bernstein's work on vertical discourses and knowledge structures with the view to deepening understanding of the concept of assessment for learning. The first part of the paper draws on Vygotsky's work on concept development and Bernstein's work on knowledge structures to explain why 'generalisation' and 'hierarchy' are central in knowledge acquisition. It then explores Bernstein's claim that, within the vertical discourse, different knowledge structures (hierarchical and horizontal) afford greater or lesser visibility of their epistemic structure, and thus of their evaluation criteria of what counts as a legitimate text. The second part of the paper investigates the ways epistemic expectations are signalled through the practice of evaluation to first-year university students in a professional education course and proposes that markers do not offer students stuffiest access to recognition rules necessary for producing legitimate texts in the future. Drawing on Maton's distinction between semantic gravity and semantic density, the paper offers an example of how markers could recast what is present in students' work to offer students access to key ordering principles in vertical discourses.

Making Sense of Assessment Feedback in Higher Education

“…Whether the nature of feedback is fit for purpose relative to the task and lecturers and students are convergent in their expectations of feedback is fundamental. Shalem and Slonimsky (2010) concluded that Markers are focused on what is most observable but, in fact, less conducive for the new learning students need to access . .…”

Recovering Knowledge for Science Education Research: Exploring the “Icarus Effect” in Student Work

“…Our illustrative focus on one small part of the framework is for the sake of brevity. Nonetheless, this concept is being widely adopted in studies of education, including biology and history (J. R. Martin & Maton, 2013), ethnographic methods (Hood, 2014), design (Shay & Steyn, 2014), engineering (Wolff & Luckett, 2013), environmental science (Tan, 2012), jazz (J. L. Martin, 2012), journalism (Kilpert & Shay, 2013), and teacher education (Shalem & Slonimsky, 2010). As this suggests, LCT concepts such as semantic gravity have wide applicability, enabling research into knowledge practices in diverse contexts to cumulatively build on one another.…”

Feedback effectiveness in professional learning contexts

“…Findings from literature suggest that feedback enables learners to take greater control of their learning (Espasa & Meneses, ; Jordan, ) by triggering critical self‐reflection (Hudson, ), helping learners to realise why they are not meeting privileged criteria and considering how they might develop more appropriate performances (Shalem & Slonimsky, ). In contrast, Harms and Roebuck () argue that self‐reflection should precede feedback as this allows the learner to reflect on their thinking prior to confronting an expert opinion. Situating self‐reflection prior to feedback can discourage any potential learner dependency that can undermine the development of learner agency.…”