This document discusses the use of exemplars in teaching. It notes that exemplars can help students understand what high quality work looks like and promote self-evaluation. However, simply providing exemplars may reduce creativity and lead to copying. The key is managing dialogue around exemplars. Effective dialogue involves students discussing exemplars in groups and as a class to develop their own understanding of quality. Teachers should facilitate discussion and help students engage with criteria for quality work.

1. Managing dialogue around
exemplars
David Carless, Masterclass
AHE Manchester,
June 28, 2017
http://davidcarless.edu.hku.hk/
Twitter: @CarlessDavid
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2. Overview
1. Exemplars: rationale and benefits
2. Challenges and how they might be
tackled
3. Managing dialogue
4. Implementation suggestions
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3. Teaching Enhancement Project
Enhancing dialogic use of exemplars amongst 10
teachers in a Faculty of Education
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4. What are exemplars?
Samples used to illustrate dimensions of quality
Usually assignments from a previous cohort
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5. Why used?
Exemplars convey messages
that nothing else can (Sadler,
2002)
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6. Promotes self-evaluation
Illustrate what good
work looks like
Benchmark for
comparison with
own performance
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7. Benefits for students
Gain experience in making
judgments
Apply insights to own work &
improve learning outcomes
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8. Hendry et al., (2012)
Students positive about exemplars
Balanced teacher-led discussion of exemplars as
crucial
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9. Student views
Rubrics: vague, unclear and do teachers
really use them?
Exemplars: useful & concrete; students
want more of them
(Carless, 2015, 2017)
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11. The University of Hong Kong

12. ‘Model answer syndrome’
May reduce student
creativity
May lead to copying
(Handley & Williams,
2011)
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13. Scaffolded use of exemplars
Students work on assessment task prior to
exposure to exemplars
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14. Scaffolding steps
Instructional sequences combining:
- Student work in progress;
- Interaction with peers and teachers;
- Analysis of exemplars.
(Carless et al., 2018)
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15. Time issues
• Collecting them
• Obtaining consent
• Time taken from
instruction
• How many exemplars?
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16. Content vs process
Too much time spent teaching content,
insufficient attention to learning processes
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17. It’s challenging!
Difficulties for students in evaluating exemplars
accurately
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18. Have I addressed challenges satisfactorily?
Any other thoughts or queries?
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19. DIALOGIC USE OF EXEMPLARS
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20. Key assumption
The quality of dialogue about exemplars is crucial
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21. The University of Hong Kong

22. Research question
What are the main features of a specific
exemplars dialogue and how is it orchestrated?
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23. Context of the case
Participants:
• Trainee Science teachers
• BEd/BSc double degree
Teacher-researcher:
Dr Kennedy Chan
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24. Data collection
• Classroom observation
• Open-ended student survey
• 2 focus group interviews
• Interview with teacher-researcher
• Teacher journal
• Student artefacts: ‘exit slips’, assignments etc.
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25. Coding scheme
Main teacher moves:
- Eliciting student views
- Summarizing student views
- Elaborating student views
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26. Exemplars provided
2 high quality exemplars
– Same format (i.e. reflective essays) but different
content focus
– Design aimed at reducing ‘copying’
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27. Management of dialogue
1. Prior to class, students analyzed exemplars;
2. Students discussed exemplars in pairs;
3. Students elicited views from peers and made
mini-presentations;
4. Teacher-orchestrated dialogue;
5. Students submitted exit slip of reflections.
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28. Dilemmas
Students
constructing
notion of quality
VS
Telling students
about quality
 Time for students
to talk with
peers
VS
Time for
developing shared
understandings

Exemplars as
guide
VS
Exemplars as
model
Using students’
voices
VS
Making
teacher’s voice
explicit

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29. Good Exemplars dialogue
• Airs multiple & divergent viewpoints
• Shows linkages between peer talk & whole-
class discussion
• Evidences development of student views
• Makes explicit some key qualities of exemplars
(Carless & Chan, 2016)
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30. Implications
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31. Implementation blueprint
Assessment task
Students devise or
engage with criteria
for good task
response
Two samples read
before class
Peer discussion
Teacher-led
dialogue
Student ownership
of insights
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32. Exemplars & feedback
By developing capacities to make judgments,
students are learning to decode feedback
(Sadler, 2010)
Analysis of exemplars facilitates student uptake
of feedback (Carless et al., 2018; To & Carless,
2016)
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33. Engaging with quality
Student need to engage with what quality looks
like and develop capacities in making judgments
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34. COMMENTS,
QUESTIONS
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35. References
Carless, D. (2015). Excellence in University Assessment: learning from award-
winning teachers. London: Routledge.
Carless, D. (2017). Students’ experiences of Assessment for Learning. In D.
Carless, S. Bridges, C.K.W. Chan & R. Glofcheski (Eds.), Scaling up
Assessment for learning in Higher Education. Singapore: Springer.
Carless, D. & K.K.H. Chan (2016). Managing dialogic use of exemplars.
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2016.1211246
Carless, D., Chan, K.K.H., To, J., Lo, M. & E. Barrett (2018). Developing
students’ capacities for evaluative judgement through analysing
exemplars. In D. Boud, R. Ajjawi, P. Dawson & J. Tai (Eds), Developing
Evaluative Judgement in Higher Education: Assessment for knowing and
producing quality work. London: Routledge.
Handley, K. & Williams, L. (2011). From copying to learning: Using exemplars
to engage students with assessment criteria and feedback. Assessment
and Evaluation in Higher Education, 36(1), 95-108.
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36. References
Hendry, G., Armstrong, S. & Bromberger, N. (2012). Implementing
standards‐based assessment effectively: Incorporating discussion
of exemplars into classroom teaching. Assessment and Evaluation
in Higher Education, 37(2), 149-161.
Sadler, D. R. (2002). Ah! … So that’s ‘quality’. In P. Schwartz & G. Webb
(Eds.), Assessment: Case Studies, Experience and Practice from
Higher Education (p.130-136). London: Kogan Page.
Sadler, D. R. (2010). Beyond feedback: Developing student capability in
complex appraisal. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education,
35(5), 535-550.
To, J. & Carless, D. (2016). Making productive use of exemplars: Peer
discussion and teacher guidance for positive transfer of strategies.
Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(6), 746-764.
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38. The University of Hong Kong
Productive assessment
task design
Appreciating the nature of
quality work
Student engagement
with feedback
Learning-oriented assessment framework

39. The University of Hong Kong