Using Computer-Assisted Synchronous Peer Assessment Program in the EFL Formal Presentation Class

Abstract

In order to examine viability of implementing peer assessment practice in an EFL classroom setting, the study addressed two research questions related to (1) reliability of peer assessment and (2) development of peer assessing behavior across two assessments. Fifty-six undergraduate students at a university in Korea participated in the study by both performing individual presentations and assessing their peer performances. The findings on the first assessment showed that peer assessment was different from instructor assessment―the students rated much higher than the instructor. In the second assessment, however, the student evaluators rated peer presentation quality quite similarly to the way the instructor did. Looking at the development of student ability to assess peers over certain period of time, the results indicate that student rating behavior of the first assessment significantly differs from that of the second assessment; the students became more critical in evaluating peer presentations based on better understanding of assessment criteria in the second assessment. It is claimed that student ability to assess peers can be developed.