This presentation delves into the impact of student self-evaluation on critical thinking, anxiety, and compassion among students of diverse backgrounds, focusing on inclusive education practices. Hosted online, it offers an exploration of the research question, context, and rationale behind these methods, along with the findings and proposed next steps for creating a more equitable learning environment. Viewers can access the full presentation, detailed speaker notes, and related blog posts for a deeper understanding of the strategies employed to bridge inclusivity gaps in education.

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Reflection on 9 -2- 4 @ 9.30am of the delivered presentation ( 11.30 am 9-2-24)
Reflecting on my presentation, I see now that providing more context about the project would have made it clearer. I spent a lot of time explaining the ARP process, which I'm still getting used to, and this made my presentation less clear and detailed than it could have been. I also think being more familiar with the process would have helped me be more relaxed and effective in my explanation. Next time, I'll aim to better balance detailing the project's background with understanding the ARP logic for a clearer and more engaging presentation.

Presentation Slides

_{(Slides with speaker notes)}

Growing-Equity

Info

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Each section in blue leads you to the source of the information or expanded blog post

Link to copy and paste into the chat

Presentation Link https://www.beautiful.ai/player/-Npfgnp4xwn5PKGFc7bI
Blog https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/
Presentation Blog Post : https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2024/01/27/1i-presentation/
Website Home | ARP Kim Noce (wixsite.com)

Agenda

Research Question (& Research )

“How can student self-evaluation impact critical thinking, anxiety, and compassion among students of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and needs to bridge inclusive gaps?”
Link to blog: https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2024/01/14/2a-research-question/

Context

The APR was set at the London College of Communication’s MA Animation Course, where we’ve seen some big changes.
Originally set up in 2015 within the design school, it later moved to the screen school, leading to a tighter focus but also a bigger, more diverse student body.
Recently, I revalidated the course, moving the major project to mid-year to focus more on career development and self-actualization towards the end.
This shift aimed to open up the course further, even without extra funding.
Initially, I wanted to include student self-assessment, but due to strict assessment rules, I shifted our approach towards co-creating content with students, aiming for a student-led design of the course’s outcomes and promoting student autonomy.
I then shifted to the option for the student to design the content of the submission to be evaluated with a minimal practical requirement of duration but not quantity or content based on their skills.
Blog post : 1C Rationale – Research (arts.ac.uk)

Background

I’ve been leading the MA Animation program at the London College of Communication since 2015, with a unique educational background that values hands-on and student-led learning, inspired by Steiner and Montessori.
My teaching philosophy centers on inclusivity, drawing from my own diverse experiences and the realization of personal biases, which has led me to embrace and understand open dialogue
My own discovery of being neurodivergent has pushed me to focus on making sure education is accessible and supportive for everyone.

Blog post : 1C Rationale – Research (arts.ac.uk)

Rationale

The project wants to make students more independent and their course work more meaningful by moving from usual tests to more creative and ways of learning.
It looks into how evaluating their own work affects students’ thinking skills, stress levels, and kindness through dialogue
The project makes sure that all students can evaluate their own work, aiming to make education fair for everyone, no matter their background, by following ideas that believe in equal chances for all to learn and grow.

The project’s rationale is rooted in enhancing student autonomy and course outcome relevance through the shift from traditional assessments to co-creation and self-evaluation methods.
It aims to investigate self-evaluation’s effects on critical thinking, anxiety, and compassion, integrating educational psychology, pedagogy, and social justice to improve the academic and emotional well-being of students.
By ensuring self-assessment techniques are accessible to all, the project seeks to democratize education, aligning with Freirean principles to achieve equity in learning opportunities for students of diverse backgrounds and abilities.

Blog Post : 1C Rationale – Research (arts.ac.uk)

Artefact

On December 11th for 1h.30 min, I held a workshop aimed at personal growth and collaborative skills development.

Self-Evaluation Session: The session focused on structured self-assessment, encouraging participants to reflect on their abilities and identify areas for growth.
Grow Your Flower Handout: We provided a visually engaging handout for goal setting, designed to actively involve participants in mapping out their objectives.
Activity and Feedback: Post goal-setting, the workshop featured collaborative projects and concluded with a feedback session to evaluate the session’s impact and learnings.

Blog post : 3A Artefact – Research (arts.ac.uk)

Research Method Overview : Survey

I used a mixed-methods approach, blending quantitative, qualitative, and thematic analysis, to explore self-evaluation’s diverse impacts comprehensively.
This strategy aimed to enrich education by aligning with Freire’s vision of critical, dialogic learning

Link to blog post 1F Research Methods – Research (arts.ac.uk)

Survey

The survey looked at how students feel about judging their own work, focusing on if it makes them feel comfortable, if it’s clear, and how it affects their thinking, nervousness, and kindness.
The survey can help direct the findings with a simple answer and anonymity.
The result are very clear but harder to interpret

Research Method Overview : Visual Ethnography

Field Notes

Visual ethnography can reveal how students feel and experience self-assessment, showing its importance in their education and development.
Photos from the research can highlight how students’ reactions vary, pointing out the need for flexible self-assessment approaches.
Research stresses the value of creating education methods that match each student’s unique needs, promoting an inclusive learning environment.
Link to blog post 1F Research Methods – Research (arts.ac.uk)

Research Method Overview : Focus Group

Focus Group

Using focus groups to lessen anxiety and improve fairness can be tricky because of the shared participation and possible biases.
The process highlights the value of conversations that help build a supportive community, encouraging critical thinking and kindness.
Through focus groups, we can closely examine students’ stories about evaluating themselves, uncovering how this affects their critical thinking, feelings of anxiety, and ability to be compassionate.
Link to blog post 1F Research Methods – Research (arts.ac.uk)

Mentimeter Survey Summary

The findings show a split: some students are at ease with self-evaluation, grasping the guidelines well, while many others feel uneasy and confused by the instructions.
People’s emotional reactions to self-evaluation scatter across the board, highlighting its deeply personal impact.
There’s a strong call for bettering the evaluation process, making it more approachable and easier for everyone to use.
Blog post – https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2024/01/05/3f-mentimeter-survey-summary/

Field Notes Summary

Students showed a mix of feelings during self-evaluation, from keen interest to worry, showing the different ways it affected them emotionally.
Their body language and reactions varied, revealing how engagement differed among students with diverse backgrounds and needs.
The findings highlight a clear call for extra help and kind support throughout the self-evaluation process, especially important for students from varied backgrounds.
Link to blog https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2023/12/30/4f-field-notes-summary/

Focus Group Summary

Self-evaluation got students thinking deeper, tying their work closely with their goals.
Yet, it also nudged up their anxiety, spotlighting the need for a caring, supportive setting for growth.
My teaching leaned on open, collaborative vibes, really valuing everyone’s input and aiming for constant betterment, all while keeping things inclusive and kind. I
I mixed ChatGPT and visuals to get a clearer picture of our learning space.
Reflecting on it, I saw how my bond with the students could shape our interactions, and I realized I need to listen more during our discussions to truly aid their self-evaluation journey.
Link to blog https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2023/12/16/2f-focus-group-summary/

Summary Findings

Self-evaluation helps sharpen critical thinking but might stress out some students, especially those facing more hurdles.
There’s a call for simpler, clearer self-evaluation steps to help everyone, tailored to each student’s unique journey.
The mix of feelings students have during this process shows I need to be understanding and supportive.
By embracing a bit of the right kind of stress, we can use self-evaluation not just to think sharper but also to bring everyone closer together, creating a more inclusive space through shared efforts.
Link to blog : https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2024/01/21/1g-summary-findings/

Next Steps

Exploring Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” I aim to deeply understand its principles. Donaldo Macedo’s warning about not just turning Freire’s ideas into simple steps has influenced my approach to studying self-evaluation’s impact on students. I’ve realized my focus may have been too process-oriented, losing the transformative goal. My filmmaking aligns with Freire’s dialogue-based ideals, but adapting this to academia has been challenging. This realization encourages me to more effectively incorporate Freire’s concepts into my academic work for genuinely transformative education.

Co-creation: This fall, I plan to transform our self-evaluation into a collaborative effort, inviting students to participate in designing the process. This initiative aims to better align the evaluation with their needs, enhancing the educational experience through collective involvement and ensuring every participant’s perspective is incorporated.
Social Justice Framework: I intend to weave a social justice framework into our self-evaluation practices, focusing on fairness and equity. This step is vital for creating a supportive atmosphere where all students, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, feel empowered and acknowledged, facilitating an environment where diversity in experiences and challenges is addressed and respected.
Inclusivity: My goal is to enhance the inclusivity of our self-evaluation process by breaking it down into more accessible segments and providing personalised support. This approach is designed to foster an environment where every student feels valued and capable of success, celebrating the diversity of our student community and making self-evaluation a universally positive experience
Link to blog : https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2024/01/27/2g-next-steps/

Action Plan

Action Plan link to blogpost https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2023/12/03/1f-action-plan/

Reference & ARP Blog Matrix

This the document with the reference and a blog post matrix with links

Reference blog post https://kimnoce.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2024/01/28/1h-references
References document https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vT96A81L2ifk7sCwUwNx2M2qJB8Dhc0EkCzPMtoF4-xQ6OXDprvJzYlR8qdPNAuCylb3hZODIVTr0yI/pub

Q&A

How do you encourage student self-evaluation to develop critical thinking?
How do you tackle anxiety, and compassion among students of diverse backgrounds, and abilities, to bridge inclusive gaps?

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