Exploration of the Workshop activity for peer assessment in online courses of mathematics

Abstract

This paper explores the use of the Workshop activity in teaching mathematics courses. Using a workshop as a learning and evaluation tool for the MPhil in Mathematics Education's Graph and Network course, the study's goal was to find the best way to get st(udents involved in learning and peer assessment. The Workshop activity in Moodle is, to some extent, robust peer assessment activity for mathematics (but not limited to). Based on specified rubrics, students add their assignments/submissions. These assignments/submissions are later allocated randomly amongst their peers, at least three, to assess with anonymity based on the aspects provided by the course facilitators. Likewise, this tool helps to foster students' assessment skills against peers' submissions. Subscribing teaching experiment as a research methodology under qualitative research, this paper explores practical pedagogical uses of the Workshop activity in three episodes of the mathematics education courses. These three episodes were based on planning, intervening, peer assessment, and evaluation. The learning shows that the Workshop activity is helpful in learning and peer assessment. This paper looks at how key affordances can be used to conduct peer and self-assessment, improve learning engagement, and develop skills like self and peer evaluation. The findings of this study show that the Workshop activity engaged the students to become active constructors of knowledge. It acts as an essential assessment tool to transform students into active learners. In the end, the paper provides several possibilities for the students to learn and correct their learning while assessing peers' submissions.