<b>Learning by Evaluating Strategies in Design Education</b>
Creators: name: Thorne, Scott Tecumseh
Publisher: name: Purdue University Graduate School
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 390102
subject: Curriculum and pedagogy theory and development
classificationCode: 390113
subject: Science, technology and engineering curriculum and pedagogy
classificationCode: 401001
subject: Engineering design
classificationCode: 401002
subject: Engineering education
classificationCode: 390303
subject: Higher education
classificationCode: 390306
subject: Secondary education
classificationCode: 390307
subject: Teacher education and professional development of educators

description: This three-article dissertation explores Learning by Evaluating (LbE), an educational approach that enhances student learning through the process of assessing and providing feedback on peer work. Leveraging principles of comparative judgement, students evaluate pairs of exemplars side-by-side to determine which is better and provide a rational for their decision, actively engaging in the assessment process. Students engage in critical thinking to justify their decisions, enhancing their understanding of the task at hand by discerning quality where they can apply these principles to their own assignments. Teachers may use this as a formative assessment tool to elicit student insights and misconceptions to better utilize teaching strategies and address specific needs. Engaging students in feedback allows teachers and students to communicate about a shared value structure, making the design process more comprehensive and manageable. Importantly, teachers have control over the duration of student engagement with LbE in the classroom. Once students have started the decision-making process, teachers can use a website interface to bring the session to a close, ensuring that all students finish simultaneously. Once these sessions have been created, they can be reused, further enhancing the efficiency of LbE in the classroom.An important part of this process is the selection of exemplars for student evaluation. In my first paper, I engage in a systematic literature review of 33 articles on exemplars and their influence on the student learning experience in secondary and post-secondary education. Through this process, nine key themes were identified: clarity of instruction, learner focus, motivation for learning, student reflection on learning, building student self-efficacy, identifying instructional challenges, providing contrasting cases, the relationship between exemplar quality and student work quality, and raising the bar for learning outcomes. Findings suggest that the selection of exemplars has a significant influence over student motivation, understanding, and application, and that time should be taken not only to identify these items, but to use them as a means to discuss and clarify expectations to enhance the learning experience.After establishing the educational merits in the first paper, I explore how selected pre-engineering teachers integrate LbE into their classrooms. To do this I use a design-based research approach in my second paper to both analyze and optimize the implementation of this method in a secondary STEM education setting through an investigation of student comments and justifications throughout the design process for five teachers after the first year of piloting the program in their classrooms. Findings show diverse student engagement and decision-making patterns, highlighting the importance of strategic integration of Learning by Evaluating for both students and educators.In my final paper, recognizing that much of the research of Learning by Evaluating has focused on student outcomes in groups, I investigate the benefits on students as individuals. Using quasi-experimental research, a conceptual replication study was initiated to investigate the influence of Learning by Evaluating of 325 undergraduate students in an entry-level design thinking course as they prepare for and conduct qualitative research interviews. While the original study used LbE to have students develop PoV statements as a group, this replication study builds on that research by using the same methods and a similar sample of students from the same course, but shifts the focus to individual interviews to inform the PoV problem statement. The findings show that students in the treatment group prepared more open-ended questions, indicating improved interview preparation, however, the actual length of interviews showed no significant improvement. The study used random sampling and independent samples t-tests to compare treatment and control groups, with results suggesting that this is an effective pedagogical strategy for individualized work, highlighting its value for educators and researchers in optimizing comparative judgement to enhance student learning experiences.<br>