Developing evaluative judgement

Episode Summary:In this episode, we move beyond the traditional view of feedback as a "document" and explore it as a developmental dialogue. Inspired by the work of Phil Dawson and David Boud, we dive into the concept of Evaluative Judgement—the capability for a student to judge the quality of their own work and the work of others.

As physiotherapy educators, how do we ensure our students can recognize "good" practice on day one? We discuss the shift from justifying grades to shaping future clinical decisions, the role of peer-assisted learning, and the urgent need for evaluative judgement in the era of Generative AI.

Key Themes:

• Evaluative Judgement: Defining the capability beyond binary "pass/fail" safety.

• Feedback as Effect: Why feedback only matters if it changes the next performance.

• The AI Challenge: Moving from producing answers to interrogating AI outputs.

• Clinical Accountability: Why the responsibility for quality remains uniquely human.

References & Further Reading:

• Gladovic et al. Developing Evaluative Judgement in Higher Education. DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2025.2559635

• Dawson, P et al. What makes for effective feedback: staff and student perspectives DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2018.1467877

• Bearman, M., et al. Developing evaluative judgement for a time of generative artificial intelligence, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2024.2335321

• Vygotsky, L. S. Mind in Society: Development of Higher Psychological Processes.Music Credits:Theme music "Curiosity Bloom" was co-created with Gemini AI (Google, 2026).