CRADLE Seminar Series: Jiming Zhou on Chinese Students' First Year Experiences in Australian Universities

Assessment shock: Understanding Chinese international students' first year experiences in Australian universities

Dr Jiming Zhou, College of Foreign Languages and Literature, Fudan University

Education practitioners in Australian universities face an ongoing problem: how can we acculturate the large population of Chinese international students to the Australian university learning context? Join Fudan University's Dr Jiming Zhou as she discusses the concept of “assessment shock” as experienced by Chinese international students in their first year in Australian universities, the cognitive and socio-cultural reasons behind the shock, and the pedagogical implications for assessment design and enactment.

This seminar shares findings from a recent project exploring Chinese international students’ perceptions and practices related to assessment tasks in the first year at Deakin University. Ten students were recruited from each of the four broad disciplinary fields most frequently studied by Chinese international students, i.e. management and commerce, engineering and related technologies, information technology, and arts and education. Focus group discussions and individual interviews were conducted to explore students’ understandings and behavior related to various assessment tasks. One unit chair/tutor from each broad discipline was also interviewed to compare and contrast the educators’ perspective.

Findings suggest prior assessment experience mediates students’ perception of assessment tasks and culture. Students reported difficulties in 1) appreciating the values of some higher-order skills assessed in university contexts; 2) developing sophisticated understandings about “abstract” criteria; and 3) interacting with tutors about the meanings of assessment tasks and the way to move forward.

The seminar will conclude with discussions about how understanding “assessment shock” carries the potential to enhance first-year student transition and develop learner assessment literacy.

After Jiming's presentation, join us for afternoon tea to continue the conversation around understanding the experiences of first-year Chinese students in Australian universities.

This seminar will be available across all Deakin campuses via Skype for Business (please select your location via the ticketing options for room details), and will also be accessible to all non-Deakin locations online or over the phone (please select this ticketing option for further details).

Jiming Zhou is a senior lecturer at Fudan University, China. She holds a PhD in education from the University of Hong Kong. Her current research interests include assessment and learning, educational innovation, and students’ school-university transition.