performance-assessment
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- PaperRELC Journal21 Jul 2026
Enhancing English Public Speaking Self-Efficacy and Performance Through a CDIO-Based English Course
Yen-Hui Lu
A quasi-experimental study with Taiwanese EFL university students compared a CDIO-based English public speaking course to traditional instruction. The CDIO group showed significantly higher self-efficacy and superior performance in content, organization, and delivery, but no improvement in language accuracy or fluency. Findings suggest that authentic, project-driven tasks enhance confidence and competence, while language accuracy requires supplementary focused instruction.
Original abstract
This study investigates the impact of integrating the Conceive–Design–Implement–Operate (CDIO) framework into English public speaking (EPS) instruction for English as a foreign language (EFL) university students in Taiwan. EPS has been widely recognized as a critical competence in academic and professional contexts, yet EFL learners often struggle with anxiety, limited practice opportunities and low self-efficacy. To address these challenges, the study implemented a quasi-experimental design with two Freshman English classes: a control group receiving traditional presentation training; and an experimental group engaged in a CDIO-based presentation training. Over an 18-week semester, students’ self-efficacy was measured using a validated EPS self-efficacy scale, while performance was evaluated with a rubric assessing language use, content, organization and delivery. Pre-test results showed no significant differences between groups, ensuring baseline equivalence. Post-test findings revealed that the experimental group demonstrated significantly higher self-efficacy, as well as superior performance in content development, organizational structure and delivery techniques. However, no significant improvements were found in language accuracy and fluency. These results suggest that CDIO-based instruction enhances students’ confidence and competence in public speaking through authentic, project-driven tasks. The findings yield three key pedagogical implications: (a) integrating authentic, product-based tasks such as sustainable innovation pitches can foster mastery experiences and boost learner motivation and self-efficacy; (b) using CDIO's four-phase structure enables instructors to scaffold content and organizational development through guided brainstorming, outlining and rehearsed delivery; and (c) to address limitations in grammar and vocabulary acquisition, supplementary language-focused interventions such as vocabulary mini-tasks and grammar workshops should be embedded within the CDIO cycle to balance fluency with accuracy. These strategies can optimize the effectiveness of CDIO-based EPS instruction in EFL contexts.
- PaperAssessment & Evaluation in Higher Education4 Jul 2026
Observer-based assessment in authentic management simulations: multi-source validity evidence and construct boundaries
Joerg Hruby
This study validates observer-based live assessments in authentic business simulations using Messick's unified validity framework. Multi-source evidence from 42 students in international strategy battles showed strong internal consistency and convergence with peer ratings, indicating that observer ratings effectively capture socially visible strategic performance rather than latent cognition.
Original abstract
Business schools increasingly use experiential simulations to develop applied strategic thinking, intercultural communication, and managerial decision-making. However, the validity of observer-based live assessments remains under-theorised, as existing research has focused mainly on written assignments and presentations. Following Messick’s unified validity framework, this study conceptualised observer ratings as score interpretations that require empirical justification from multiple sources of evidence to be valid. A multi-source, mixed-methods design integrated observer rubric evaluations, peer assessments, pre- and post-program surveys, and reflective reports from multicultural student teams participating in international business strategy battles involving headquarters–subsidiary negotiations (treatment: N = 42; control: N = 31; peer ratings: N = 412; reflection reports: N = 80). The results indicated strong internal consistency, meaningful convergence between observer and peer ratings, and substantial developmental gains across the program’s duration. Convergence patterns suggest that observer and peer systems capture the socially visible dimensions of enacted strategic performance more effectively than latent cognitive processes. The findings position observer-based assessments as a structured validity argument for externally enacted strategic performance in authentic higher-education simulations.