The design and form of sample student work
Research suggests that students’ self-assessment capabilities may be enhanced if they are provided with existing solutions to work through and reflect upon. Carroll (1994), for example, replaced students working through algebra problems with students studying worked examples. This was shown to be particularly effective with low-achievers because it reduced the cognitive load and allowed students to reflect on the processes involved.
In our work we have frequently found it necessary to design the ‘student work’ ourselves, rather than use examples taken straight from the classroom. This is often to ensure that the focus of students’ discussion will remain on those aspects of the work that we intend. For example, the work must be clear and accessible, if other students are to be able to follow the reasoning. If each piece of work is overlong, then students may find it difficult to apprehend the work as a whole, so that comparisons become difficult to make. If our created student work is too far removed (too easy or too difficult) from what the students themselves would or could do, then it loses credibility.
It was felt important to use handwritten work, as this communicates to students that the work is freshly created and has not been polished for publication. It reduces the perceived ‘authority’ of the mathematics presented, increases the likelihood that it may contain errors and introduces a third ‘person’ to the classroom who is unknown to the students. This anonymity can be advantageous; students do not know the mathematical prowess of the author. If it is known that a student with an established reputation for being ‘mathematically able’ has authored a solution then most will assume the solution is valid. Anonymity removes this danger. Making ‘student work’ anonymous also reduces the emotional aspects of peer review. Feedback from our early trials indicated that sometimes students were reserved and over-polite about one another’s work, reluctant to voice comments that could be perceived as negative. When outside work was introduced, they became more critical.