Self-assessment of video-recorded presentations: Does it improve skills?

Abstract

The opportunity to give oral presentations is important because it helps develop skills that are necessary for many aspects of professional careers. Competencies for oral presentations include appropriate content, design and organization of the presentation, and delivery skills. Self-assessment has been shown to help students develop meta-cognitive skills that can be used in all aspects of higher education, and it has been shown to improve student achievement in a range of different academic areas. In this study, students were recorded while giving two PowerPoint presentations on a topic of their choice. One section was required to complete a self-assessment rubric of their first presentation, while the other section was encouraged to watch themselves, but it was not required. All students also received instructor and peer evaluations. For their second presentations, the students who completed the self-assessment rubric received higher scores than the other group; significant differences were seen in content explanation, timing, and speech skills. Peer assessment scores correlated moderately well with the instructor scores, whereas the self-assessment scores did not. Despite the lack of congruence between self- and instructor scores, the combination of instructor, peer, and self-assessment resulted in consistently high-quality presentations. The students found the multiple types of feedback, use of video technology, and the opportunity to repeat their presentations useful.