Embedding participatory assessment in critical intercultural dialogue course

Abstract

This chapter analyses the pedagogical value of participatory student peer and self-assessment, as a form of critical pedagogy. It discusses feedback received from three cohorts of international students from 15 countries on the optional course Critical Intercultural Dialogue (CID), which is part of a master’s programme on Sociology, offered at the Faculty of Economics at the University of Coimbra. Students’ agency in the CID assessment process was expected to strengthen their commitment and participation in the course. Traditional assessment by professors was changed into three separate components, students were assessed by: (1) their teachers, (2) their peers and (3) themselves. Assuming that assessment is part of the teaching and learning process, students could not be excluded from the critical and participatory approach, which guided the course pedagogy. Therefore, students were invited to be an active and complementary part of the assessment process through peer and self-assessment, which counted between 9% and 12% of the overall assessment. Students in their feedback appreciated this approach and noticed how the assessment criteria fitted the course pedagogy.