Perceptions of Prospective Teachers about Peer Assessment as a Tool for Reflective Practices

Abstract

Peer assessment is a collaborative learning method that assists students to have a control of their learning and involve them in reflective process. This study focuses on exploring the perceptions of prospective teachers about use of peer assessment as a reflective tool in classrooms of teacher education programs. This study was quantitative in nature and used descriptive research design. All prospective teachers enrolled in the bachelor programs of teacher education programs (i.e., BS and B.Ed. Hon. Elementary) of public sector universities of Pakistan served as population of the study. Using multistage purposive sampling technique, a sample of 1374 prospective teachers was selected. For seeking prospective teachers’ opinion, a questionnaire comprising 17 items on a five-point Likert scale, was developed. Questionnaire was validated by experts. Reliability of questionnaire was ensured with Cronbach alpha value of 0.79. For data analysis, both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. From analysis of data, it was found that prospective teachers perceive that they are sometimes equipped with necessary skills for involving in peer assessment and occasionally their teachers provide them necessary tools to carry out peer assessment for the reflective learning. It was also found that majority of students agree that peer assessment helps them in identifying their weaknesses and strengths more effectively. While prospective teachers reported that peer assessment is an activity that takes a lot of time and it carries biasness with its procedure. It is, however, recommended that peer assessment might be an important component of classroom teaching and learning practices. It is further recommended that promotion of peer assessment in classrooms may be used as a tool for creation of reflective teaching and learning environment.