Managing Peer-Feedback Resistance In Pre-Service Language Testing And Evaluation Course

Abstract

This study examines the interactional practices of senior-year preservice teachers who are tasked with designing and constructing language tests as part of their coursework in the Language Testing and Assessment course, an essential component of the English language teaching curriculum. Building on the task of test construction, preservice teachers engage in group-based, reciprocal peer feedback sessions to identify potential issues in their test items and improve their overall quality, validity, and reliability. To closely examine the interactional dynamics unfolding during these item-review sessions, the study adopts a micro-analytic approach, conversation analysis, exposing the emotionally laden nature of peer feedback. The findings reveal that emotionally charged moments often gave rise to heightened resistance, rejection, and disagreement among peer feedback groups as a response to detailed peer reviews. Accordingly, the emergence of resistance and interactional misalignment among peers led to sequence expansion, involving iterative cycles of evaluation, justification, and recommendation until a joint consensus is achieved. Despite extensive research on resistance encounters in medical interviews, couples counseling, and service exchanges, the field remains notably deficient in studies examining peer feedback practices in the higher education context. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by exploring the dynamics of peer feedback interactions among preservice teachers, shedding light on how resistance unfolds and is managed through the emergent phenomenon, reference to testing principles.

Keywords

• peer feedback
• preservice teacher education
• language testing and assessment
• resistance resolution
• conversation analysis
• language test construction

References

1. Badem-Korkmaz, F., Ekin, S., & Balaman, U. (2022). Pre-service language teachers’ resistance to teacher trainer advice on task design for video-mediated L2 interaction. Classroom Discourse, 13(2), 212–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2021.2020144
2. Bell, S. T., & Arthur Jr., W. (2008). Feedback acceptance in developmental assessment centers: The role of feedback message, participant personality, and affective response to the feedback session. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(5), 681–703. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.504
3. Beaumont, C., O’Doherty, M., & Shannon, L. (2011). Reconceptualizing assessment feedback: A key to improving student learning? Studies in Higher Education, 36(6), 671–687. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075071003731135
4. Bleakney, J., Mattison, M., & Ryan, J. (2019). “I was kind of angry”: Understanding resistance to feedback in two tutor education courses. Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, 17(1).
5. Boud, D. (2000). Sustainable assessment: Rethinking assessment for the learning society. Studies in Continuing Education, 22, 151–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/713695728
6. Boud, D., & Carless, D. (2018). Developing student feedback literacy: Helping students engage effectively with feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(8), 1315–1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354
7. Boud, D., & Falchikov, N. (2007). Rethinking Assessment in Higher Education: Learning for the Longer Term (1st ed.). London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203964309
8. Brown, H. D. (1996). Resources in language testing and assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 30(4), 781-781. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587936

9. Can Daşkın, N. (2017). A conversation analytic study of reference to a past learning event in L2 classroom interaction: implications for informal formative assessment. [Doctoral dissertation, Middle East Technical University].
10. Can, H. (2020). A micro-analytic investigation into EFL teachers’ test item reviewing interactions [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Middle East Technical University].
11. Carless, D., & Boud, D. (2018). The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(8), 1315–1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354
12. Chiu, M. M. (2008). Flowing toward correct contributions during group problem solving: A statistical discourse analysis. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 17(3), 415-463. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508400802224830
13. Clayman, S. E. (2012). Turn-Constructional Units and the Transition-Relevance Place. In The Handbook of Conversation Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118325001.ch8
14. Coleman, E. B. (1998). Using Explanatory Knowledge during Collaborative Problem Solving in Science. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 7(3/4), 387–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.1998.9672059
15. Copland, F. (2010). Causes of tension in post-observation feedback in pre-service teacher training: An alternative view. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, 466–472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.06.001
16. Copland, F., Ma, G., & Mann, S. (2009). Reflecting in and on post-observation feedback in initial teacher training on certificate courses. English Language Teacher Education and Development, 12, 14–23.
17. Cowan, J., & Creme, P. (2005). Peer assessment or peer engagement? Students as readers of their own work. LATISS Learning and Teaching in the Social Sciences, 2(2), 99-119. https://doi.org/10.1386/ltss.2.2.99/1
18. Crook, A., Mauchline, A., Maw, S., Lawson, C., Drinkwater, R., Lundqvist, K., Orsmond, P., Gomez, S., & Park, J. (2012). The use of video technology for providing feedback to students: Can it enhance the feedback experience for staff and students? Computers & Education, 58(1), 386–396. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.025
19. Cushing, A., Abbott, S., Lothian, D., Hall, A., & Westwood, O. M. R. (2011). Peer feedback as an aid to learning – What do we want? Feedback. When do we want it? Now! Medical Teacher, 33(2), e105-e112. https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2011.542522
20. Evans, C. (2013). Making sense of assessment feedback in higher education. Review of Educational Research, 83(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654312474350
21. Falchikov, N. (2001). Learning Together: Peer Tutoring in Higher Education. Psychology Press.
22. Falchikov, N., & Goldfinch, J. (2000). Student peer assessment in higher education: A meta-analysis comparing peer and teacher marks. Review of Educational Research, 70, 287–322. https://doi.org/10.2307/1170785
23. Firth, A., & Wagner, J. (1997). On discourse, communication, and (some) fundamental concepts in SLA research. Modern Language Journal, 81(3), 285–300. https://doi.org/10.2307/329302
24. Goffman, E. (1964). The neglected situation. American Anthropologist, 6(2), 133–136.
25. Hatipoğlu, Ç. (2015). English language testing and evaluation (ELTE) training in Turkey: Expectations and needs of preservice English language teachers. ELT Research Journal, 4(2), 111-128. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/eltrj/issue/28780/308006
26. Hatipoğlu, Ç. (2017), History of language teacher training and English language testing and evaluation (ELTE) education in Turkey. In Y. Bayyurt, & N. C. Sifakis (Eds.), English Language Policies and Practices in the Mediterranean Countries and Beyond (pp. 227-258). Peter Lang.
27. Hatipoğlu, Ç. (2023). Flipped spiral foreign language assessment literacy model (FLISLALM) for developing pre-service English language teachers’ language assessment literacy. In D. Köksal, N. K. Ulutaş, & S. Arslan (Eds.), Handbook of research on perspectives in foreign language assessment (pp. 104-129). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-5660-6
28. Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487
29. Heaton, J.B. (1990). Writing English language tests. Longman.
30. Heritage, J. (1984a). Garfinkel and ethnomethodology. Polity Press.
31. Heritage, J., & Sefi, S. (1992). Dilemmas of Advice: Aspects of the Delivery and Reception of Advice in Interactions between Health Visitors and First Time Mothers. Talk at Work. 359-419.
32. Hepburn, A., & Potter, J. (2011). Designing the recipient: Managing advice resistance in institutional settings. Social Psychology Quarterly, 74(2), 216–241. https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272511408055
33. Hill, J., Berlin, K., Choate, J., Cravens-Brown, L., McKendrick-Calder, L., & Smith, S. (2021). Exploring the emotional responses of undergraduate students to assessment feedback: implications for instructors. Teaching and Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal, 9(1), 294–316. https://doi.org/.20343/teachlearninqu.9.1.20
34. Hoey, E., & Kendrick, K. H. (2018). Conversation analysis. In A. M. B. De Groot & P. Hagoort (Eds.), Research methods in psycholinguistics and the neurobiology of language: A practical guide (pp. 151–173). Wiley. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781394259762.ch8
35. Humă, B., Joyce, J. B., & Raymond, G. (2023). What Does “Resistance” Actually Look Like? The Respecification of Resistance as an Interactional Accomplishment. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 42(5-6), 497–522. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X231185525
36. Hyland, K. (2000). Disciplinary Discourses: Social Interaction in Academic Writing. London: Longman.
37. Kinnell, A. M. K., & Maynard, D. W. (1995). The delivery and receipt of safer sex advice in pretest counseling sessions for HIV and AIDS. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 24(4), https://doi.org/10.1177/089124196024004002
38. Leyland, C. (2018). Resistance as a resource for achieving consensus: Adjusting advice following competency-based resistance in L2 writing tutorials at a British University. Classroom Discourse, 9(3), 267–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2018.1480966
39. Leyland, C. (2021). The interactional construction of the academic reader in writing tutorials for international students: An advice-giving resource. Linguistics and Education, 61, 100900. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.linged.2020.100900
40. Leung, S. (2002). Conflict talk: A discourse analytical perspective. Studies in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, 2(3). https://doi.org/10.7916/salt.v2i3.1643
41. Liu, N.-F., & Carless, D. (2006). Peer feedback: The learning element of peer assessment. Teaching in Higher Education, 11(3), 279–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510600680582
42. Looney, A., Cumming, J., van der Kleij, F., van der Kleij, F., Harris, K. R., & Harris, K. R. (2017). Reconceptualising the role of teachers as assessors: Teacher assessment identity. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(4), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2016.1268090
43. McConlogue, T. (2020). Assessment and Feedback in Higher Education: A Guide for Teachers. UCL Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv13xprqb
44. Metin, M. (2010). Biçimlendirici Değerlendirmeye Yönelik Öğretmen Adaylarinin Düşünceleri. Milli Eğitim Dergisi, 40(187), 293-310.
45. Muntigl, P. (2013). Resistance in couples counselling: Sequences of talk that disrupt progressivity and promote disaffiliation. Journal of Pragmatics, 49(1), 18–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2013.01.003
46. Ngar-Fun Liu & David Carless (2006) Peer feedback: the learning element of peer assessment, Teaching in Higher Education, 11:3, 279-290, https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510600680582
47. Nicol, D., Thomson, A., & Breslin, C. (2014). Rethinking feedback practices in higher education: A peer review perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(1), 102–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2013.795518
48. Nilson, L. B. (2003). Improving student peer feedback. College Teaching, 51(1), 34–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567550309596408
49. Orsmond, P., Merry, S., & Reiling, K. (2002). The use of exemplars and formative feedback when using student-derived marking criteria in peer and self-assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(4), 309–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260293022000001337
50. Park, I. (2014). Stepwise advice negotiation in writing center peer tutoring. Language and Education, 28(4), 362–382. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2013.873805.
51. Park, I. (2017). Questioning as advice resistance: Writing tutorial interactions with L2 writers. Classroom Discourse. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2017.1307125
52. Pastore, S., & Andrade, H. L. (2019). Teacher assessment literacy: A three-dimensional model. Teaching and Teacher Education, 84, 128–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.05.003
53. Pekrun, R., Cusack, A., Murayama, K., & Thomas, K. (2014). The power of anticipated feedback: Effects on students' achievement goals and achievement emotions. Learning and Instruction, 29, 115–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2013.09.002
54. Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., Barchfeld, P., & Perry, R. P. (2011). Measuring emotions in students’ learning and performance: The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ). Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(1), 36–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.10.002
55. Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Titz, W., & Perry, R. P. (2002). Academic emotions in students’ self-regulated learning and achievement: A program of qualitative and quantitative research. Educational Psychologist, 37(2), 91–105. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326985EP3702_4
56. Peräkylä, A. (2004). Conversation analysis. in C Seale, D Silverman, J Gubrium & G Gobo (eds), Qualitative Research Practice. Sage, London, pp. 165-179.
57. Peräkylä, A. (2010). Shifting the perspective after the patient’s response to an interpretation. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 91(6), 1363–1384. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-8315.2010.00323.x
58. Pitt, E., & Norton, L. (2017). ‘Now that’s the feedback I want!’ Students’ reactions to feedback on graded work and what they do with it. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(4), 499–516. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2016.1142500
59. Pomerantz, A. (1984). Agreeing and disagreeing with assessments: some features of preferred/dispreferred turn shapes. In J. M. Atkinson, & J. Heritage (Ed.), Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis. 57–101. Cambridge University Press.
60. Pudlinski, C. (2002). Accepting and rejecting advice as competent peers: Caller dilemmas on a warm line. Discourse Studies, 4(4), 481–500. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614456020040040501.
61. Pudlinski, C. (2012). The pursuit of advice on US peer telephone helplines: Sequential and functional aspects. In H. Limberg & M. A. Locher (Eds.), Advice in Discourse (pp. 232–252). John Benjamins.
62. Richardson, V. (2005). The diverse learning needs of students. In D. M. Billings & J. A. Halstead (Eds.), Teaching in nursing (2nd ed). Elsevier.
63. Robinson, S. J., Pope, D., & Holyoak, L. (2011). Can we meet their expectations? Experiences and perceptions of feedback in first-year undergraduate students. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(3), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2011.629291
64. Ryan, T., & Henderson, M. (2018). Feeling feedback: Students’ emotional responses to educator feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(6), 880–892. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2017.1416456
65. Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18, 119–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00117714
66. Seckendorf, M. H. (1986). Writing center conferences: An analysis (Publication No. 8625994) [Doctoral dissertation, State University of New York at Albany].
67. Schegloff, E. A. (2007). Sequence organization in interaction. Cambridge University Press.
68. Sidnell, J., & Stivers, T. (2013). The handbook of conversation analysis. Blackwell
69. ten Have, P. (2001). Applied conversation analysis. In A. W. McHoul & M. Rapley (Eds.), How to analyse talk in institutional contexts (pp. 3–11). London: Continuum.
70. Topping, K., & Ehly, S. (Eds.). (1998). Peer-assisted learning (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410603678
71. Topping, K. J. (2009). Peer Assessment. Theory Into Practice, 48(1), 20–27. Published by Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40071572
72. Topping, K. J. (2010). Methodological quandaries in studying process and outcomes in peer assessment. Learning and Instruction, 20(4), 339–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2009.08.003
73. Tseng, S. C., & Tsai, C. C. (2010). Taiwan college students' self-efficacy and motivation of learning in online peer assessment environments. Internet and Higher Education, 13(3), 164–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.06.002
74. Vehvilainen, S. (2001). Evaluative advice in educational counseling: The use of disagreement in the "stepwise entry" to advice. Research on Language & Social Interaction, 34(3), 371–398. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327973RLSI34-3_4
75. Vehviläinen, S. (2009) Problems in the Research Problem: Critical Feedback and Resistance in Academic Supervision, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 53(2), 185-201, https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830902757592
76. Vehviläinen, S. (2012). Question-prefaced advice in feedback sequences of Finnish academic supervisions. In H. Limberg & M. A. Locher (Eds.), Advice in Discourse (pp. 31-52). Amsterdam: Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.221.04veh
77. Verkuyten, M. (2000). School Marks and Teachers' Accountability to Colleagues. Discourse Studies, 2(4), 452–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445600002004003
78. Waring, H. Z. (2005). Peer tutoring in a graduate writing centre: Identity, expertise, and advice resisting. Applied Linguistics, 26(2), 141–168. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amh041.
79. Waring, H. Z. (2007a). The multi-functionality of accounts in advice giving. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 11(3), 367–391. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14679841.2007.00328
80. Waring, H. Z. (2007b). Complex advice acceptance as a resource for managing asymmetries. Text & Talk – An Interdisciplinary Journal of Language, Discourse Communication Studies, 27(1), 107-137. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.2007.005
81. Waring, H. Z. (2017). Going general as a resource for doing advising in post-observation conferences in teacher training. Journal of Pragmatics, 110, 20–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2017.01.009
82. West, M. (2021). ‘I’m Not Going to Tell You Cos You Need to Think About This’: a Conversation Analysis Study of Managing Advice Resistance and Supporting Autonomy in Undergraduate Supervision. Postdigital Science and Education, 3 (1), 198–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-020-00194-5
83. Yang, Y.-F. (2016). Transforming and constructing academic knowledge through online peer feedback in summary writing. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 29(4), 683–702. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2015.1016440
84. Yöney, R. Z. (2021). Assuming learner behavior as an interactional resource in L2 testing and evaluation: Classroom interaction in a teacher education context. [Master thesis, Hacettepe University]. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.20584.34569