Peer Assessment In Higher Education Research Articles

Using Social Media for Peer Assessment in Higher Education: A Systematic Review of the Literature

The modern affordances of technology and social media networks' popularity enable unique educational opportunities. In this systematic review, our objective was to outline insights regarding the current use of social media for peer assessment in higher education. Specifically, what does the current research indicate are common characteristics, benefits, and challenges, and how can they guide future research and practice? We searched the OMNI information consortium consisting of 392 databases to gain insights. From 2,450 identified articles, we included 12 consisting of 702 participants in our review. The included articles are empirical and peer-reviewed, focusing on higher education and retrieved through the OMNI information consortium. The results were synthesized through a three-step integrated approach to afford the qualitative assimilation of our findings. Facebook and YouTube were the most commonly used platforms, while educational studies used social media for peer assessment most often. The articles referenced in our review primarily used mixed methods approaches and were of medium quality. We found benefits associated with attaining learning objectives while fostering the co-creation of knowledge, self-awareness, and motivation. In contrast, educators may encounter challenges with implementing peer assessment through social media related to technology issues and student behaviours. We outline further insights into our findings and practical recommendations in our discussion.

Exploring the efficacy of peer assessment in university translation classrooms

ABSTRACT Informed by the effective feedback model, the study explored the efficacy of peer assessment (PA) regarding feedback content, strategy, and uptake along with their intertwined relationships in translator education. Multiple sources of data, including students’ translation drafts and their revised work, audio recordings of PA presentations and discussions, questionnaires, and teaching materials were collected. The results revealed that the students tended to provide direct correction and reformulation on lower-level language issues. While they positively responded to the peer feedback they received, the explicitness of the feedback and solutions to the problems significantly influenced their responses. The study also discovered associations between content and strategy, as well as between strategy and uptake, while no connection was found between content and uptake. The study contributes to the extant research on PA in higher education by investigating its efficacy from a multidimensional perspective and provides practical implications for its effective implementation in translation classrooms.

The Use of Digital Peer Assessment in Higher Education—An Umbrella Review of Literature

Increasing student numbers in higher education, particularly in engineering and computer science, make it difficult for motivated lecturers to continue engaging in active teaching methods such as Flipped Classrooms and Work-Based Learning. In these settings, digital Peer Assessment can be one approach to provide effective and scalable feedback. In Peer Assessment, students assess each other’s performance whilst gaining useful reflection and judgment skills at the same time. This umbrella review of 14 review papers on the use of digital (peer) assessment in education provides a comprehensive overview of design choices and their consequences open to educational practitioners wishing to implement digital Peer Assessment in their courses, the type of tooling available and the possible effects of these choices on the learning outcomes as well as potential pitfalls and challenges when implementing Peer Assessment. The paper will inform and assist educators in finding or developing a tool that fits their needs.

The Relationship between Self- and Peer Assessment in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

Background: To promote a student-centered approach and sustain the development of a self-regulated attitude toward academic achievement, assessment in higher education should integrate different perspectives: teachers’ feedback is crucial, but it needs to be supported by self-assessment and peer assessment activities. Methods: The aim of the current systematic review is to examine the most recent literature (from 2011 to 2022) on these topics, considering the relevant findings that may have theoretical and practical applications in higher-education settings. Three of the broadest online databases for educational research (ERIC EBSCO, Science Direct, Web of Science) were considered for the search, which resulted in 30 documents being retrieved and considered in the analysis. Results: Self- and peer assessment seems to be two distinct processes that may complement and influence each other; although they seem particularly accessible, effectively assessing one’s own work and giving one’s peers useful feedback is not an easy task, due to several specific cognitive and social issues. Conclusions: The findings show an increasing interest in these topics, with particular attention to the potential benefits that could be derived from a combined and effective use of these assessment processes in higher education.

GRADUATE STUDENTS’ VOICES TOWARD PEER ASSESSMENT IN ACADEMIC WRITING CLASS

Peer assessment is the alternative assessment used by a teacher/ lecturer in assessing process and product in English language teaching and learning. The practice of peer assessment in higher education fosters graduate students more actively in the assessment process. This article aimed to explore graduate students' perceptions of the practice of peer assessment in an academic writing class conducted in the first semester of the English department graduate program at a University in Surakarta. This research was a case study, and the sampling technique in this research was purposive sampling, where 24 graduate students in academic writing class participated. A focused interview was conducted to explore graduate students' views on the practice of peer assessment for academic writing, which covered the feeling and challenges during peer assessment activity. The data were analyzed through the stages of examining, categorizing, tabulating, and recombining data. This study's result reveal that the peer assessment practice in academic writing class helps graduate students find the weaknesses in their writing that the they could not see by themselves. Feedback from peers during peer assessment practice completed the understanding of things the graduate students needed for revision. This research is expected to contribute to educational development by encouraging English writing lecturers' awareness to optimize peer assessment practice for assessing students writing. Keywords: peer-assessment, scientific writing, students’ perception.

Evaluation of a formative peer assessment in research methods teaching using an online platform: A mixed methods pre-post study

BackgroundIn higher education settings, there are increasing calls to shift away from traditional summative assessment practices, such end of term written tests, to explore methods of assessing learning in alternative ways. Peer assessment has been advocated as a means of formative assessment to enhance student engagement, empowering students to take responsibility for their own learning. While there is accumulating evidence for the value of peer assessment in higher education, one cannot assume peer feedback will translate appropriately to all settings and educational contexts. ObjectivesThis study evaluated the implementation of formative online peer assessment in a nursing and midwifery research methods module. We explored students' expectations, experiences, and ultimately the acceptability of this approach. DesignA quantitative descriptive study. SettingIreland. MethodsAn online survey to collate expectations and experiences of engagement in peer assessment. Scales were drawn from previous research and non-parametric tests explored changes in perceptions over time. Qualitative content analysis explored patterns evident in open-text responses. ResultsThe response rate was 28% (n = 74) at baseline and 31% at follow-up (n = 81). Peer assessment was a new experience for 95% of respondents. Students initially expressed apprehension, perceiving the task as daunting, and doubting their ability to provide feedback to peers. However, through providing instruction and tools to support students in the activity, high levels of satisfaction with the process and the experience were reported. Significant differences in perceptions of peer assessment were evident over time, including an enhanced belief that respondents had the requisite skills to appraise the work of their peers. ConclusionsIn sum, nursing and midwifery students agreed that peer assessment was a valuable learning experience as part of research methods training and critical skills development.

Formative peer assessment in higher healthcare education programmes: a scoping review

ObjectivesFormative peer assessment focuses on learning and development of the student learning process. This implies that students are taking responsibility for assessing the work of their peers by giving and...

Problem-based learning, self- and peer assessment in higher education: towards advancing lifelong learning skills

ABSTRACT This study sought to delineate the implementation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and peer- and self- assessment in a teacher training programme. This intervention was accompanied by measuring the participants’ perceptions of the PBL environment and the assessment methods used compared with those of other courses they were previously enrolled in. Another aim was to reveal the most effective perceived PBL constructivist activities in enhancing the assessment methods. Data were gathered from 61 second-year students in a M.Ed. study track by the Constructivist Learning in Higher Education Settings Questionnaire (CLHES), the Peer- and Self- Assessment Questionnaire, and reflective journals. Quantitative results have shown that the PBL related activities were more pronounced in the designed intervention than in previous courses the students were enrolled in. Large effect size results were found for the perceptions of the peer- and self- assessment factors. Social interaction was found connected to the peer assessment variable; whereas Cooperative dialogue was related to the self-assessment construct. Analysis of the students’ reflective journals revealed three key categories: 1. Knowledge and lifelong learning skills; 2. Social and cultural aspects of joint learning; 3. Perceptions of peer assessment, self-assessment and instructor’s assessment. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future studies are discussed.

The role of self and peer assessment in Higher Education

ABSTRACT Self-assessment and peer assignment have clear advantages for the training of responsible, critical, and reflective professionals. In recent years, self and peer evaluation have also been shown to be even more effective than lecturer evaluation when we assure anonymity through online platforms learning tools. Therefore, self and peer assessments are to become a core aspect of student-centred evaluation processes in Higher Education. Besides, a high concordance with lecturer evaluation may allow lecturers to also benefit from self and peer evaluation without an increase in their workload. In the present work, we compare the formative evaluation from the lecturer with the self and peer assessments through a virtual learning environment. The subject of study if formed by assessments prepared by students in a first-year course in a Social Sciences degree at the Universidade de Vigo, Spain. We find a strong concordance between peer assessment and lecturer assignment, and a moderate agreement between self-assessment and lecturer assignment. These results show that students perform well as peer evaluators, with peer assignment being a procedure with high validity and reliability.

Peer assessment in graphic design studio: Communication design students' perspectives

Large class-sizes have become a common feature in almost all higher education institutions in developing countries. Consequently, educators have to implement innovative pedagogies and assessment practices to deal with the current challenges in education delivery at that level. The purpose of this study was to examine students’ perceptions of their attitudes during peer assessment practice in graphic design studio in higher education. The study was conducted with 94 students at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. The results showed that the students had a positive experience and perception of the peer assessment process. They also held positive views of the task worth of peer-assessment just like their perception of peer-assessment as an aid to learning. The results revealed that peer learning and objectivity are significantly related to task worth. The findings of this study have confirmed the advantages associated with the use of peer-assessment in higher education instead of a teacher centered approach and reaffirmed the existing unequivocal views held by similar studies.Keywords: Peer assessment; students’ perceptions; studio pedagogy; graphic design

Synchronous discussion between assessors and assessees in web-based peer assessment: impact on writing performance, feedback quality, meta-cognitive awareness and self-efficacy

Research on peer assessment in higher education has been conducted for decades. However, ways to improve the quality of peer feedback and optimise student’ benefits through peer assessment remain a puzzle. The present study aimed to examine the impacts of synchronous discussion between assessors and assessees on writing performance, qualitative feedback quality, meta-cognitive awareness and self-efficacy in web-based peer assessment. A total of 64 undergraduate students participated in the study and were randomly assigned into either the experimental or control group. Participants in the experimental group conducted synchronous discussion after the first round of peer assessment, while students in the control group did not conduct any synchronous discussion. The results revealed that synchronous discussion between the assessors and assessees significantly improved the students’ writing performance, especially content writing skills, affective and meta-cognitive feedback quality, meta-cognitive awareness and self-efficacy. Practical implications, limitations and future directions are discussed based on these findings.

Academics’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of self and peer assessment in higher education

Despite compelling evidence of its potential effectiveness, uptake of self and peer assessment in higher education has been slower than expected. As with other assessment practices, self and peer assessment is ultimately enabled, or inhibited, by the actions of individual academics. This paper explores what academics see as the benefits and challenges of implementing self and peer assessment, through the analysis of interviews with 13 Australian academics. Thematic analysis of our qualitative data identified seven themes of benefits and five challenges. Our academics showed strong belief in the power of self and peer assessment as formative assessment, contrary to past literature which has focussed on the accuracy of students’ marking. This paper therefore brings insights as to not only what academics value about self and peer assessment but also identifies potential inhibitors in practice. Recommendations are made about improving the design and implementation of self and peer assessment in higher education.

Peer assessment in the objective structured clinical examination: A scoping review

Background: The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), originally designed with experts assessing trainees’ competence, is more frequently employed with an element of peer assessment and feedback. Although peer assessment in higher education has been studied, its role in OSCEs has not reviewed.Aims: The aim of this study is to conduct a scoping review and explore the role of peer assessment and feedback in the OSCE.Methods: Electronic database and hand searching yielded 507 articles. Twenty-one full records were screened, of which 13 were included in the review. Two independent reviewers completed each step of the review.Results: Peer-based OSCEs are used to assess students’ accuracy in assessing OSCE performance and to promote learning. Peer examiners (PE) tend to award better global ratings and variable checklist ratings compared to faculty and provide high-quality feedback. Participating in these OSCEs is perceived as beneficial for learning.Conclusions: Peer assessment and feedback can be used to gauge PE reliability and promote learning. Teachers using these OSCEs must use methodology which fits their purpose. Competency-based education calls for diversification of assessment practices and asks how assessment impacts learning; the peer-based OSCE responds to these demands and will become an important practice in health professions education.

Oral presentations in higher education: a comparison of the impact of peer and teacher feedback

In this paper the authors analyse the competency of a sample of economics and business students in orally presenting academic content, as well as the changes that occurred after receiving feedback. The students’ presentations were videotaped, and a total of 96 were analysed at three stages: pre-test, post-test and follow-up. The participants were divided into two groups. In one, each student received feedback from a peer as part of a peer assessment with rubric activity. In the other, they received feedback from the teacher immediately after their presentation. In the post-test, the peer assessment with rubric students improved by 10% in the valuation of their presentation, while the teacher feedback students only improved by 5%. These results support the idea that undergraduates’ evaluations of their peers can be effective in improving oral presentation skills, especially when they are provided with some support instruments (videos and rubrics). However, the improvements in the peer assessment with rubric group were not maintained in the follow-up re-test. This suggests that a single session of peer assessment with rubric is insufficient to generalise any improvements in the said competency. The implications of these results with regard to the implementation of methods of formative peer assessment in higher education are discussed.

Use of WhatsApp in Higher Education

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of WhatsApp application in anonymous peer assessment in higher education. The mobile phone application WhatsApp was used as both an anonymous and nonanonymous peer assessment tool in a classroom environment. The participants of the study were the students of two classes (sophomores and juniors), half of which were assigned to the anonymous peer assessment group and the other half to the nonanonymous peer assessment group for each class. The members of the anonymous groups used the personal messaging function of WhatsApp for assessment, whereas the nonanonymous groups used the group chat function of the application. WhatsApp was confirmed to be a valid tool for peer assessment, and it was shown that the required anonymity of the method was appropriate for the task. The students' perceived attitudes toward the procedure were found to be rather high, with no significant difference identified between the sophomores and junior groups related to the procedure.

Peer-assessment in higher education – twenty-first century practices, challenges and the way forward

Peer assessment in higher education has been studied for decades. Despite the substantial amount of research carried out, peer assessment has yet to make significant advances. This review identifies themes of recent research and highlights the challenges that have hampered its advance. Most of these challenges arise from the manual nature of peer assessment practices, which prove intractable as the number of students involved increases. Practitioners of the discipline are urged to forge affiliations with closely related fields and other disciplines, such as computer science, in order to overcome these challenges.

What if pupils can assess their peers anonymously? A quasi-experimental study

Peer assessment has proven to be a promising assessment form, but there is only limited research about how to decrease the undesirable social effects that are inherent to the process, such as peer pressure and fear of disapproval. In previous research, anonymity has proven to be an important factor in peer assessment in higher education. In the current research, peer assessment was studied in secondary education and classroom response technology (CRT) was introduced as a tool that enables anonymity within face-to-face settings. A quasi-experimental study was set up in four classes to compare traditional non-anonymous peer assessment (raising score cards) with anonymous peer assessment (giving scores using CRT). It was questioned whether students felt more positive towards anonymous peer assessment, and reported to feel less negative social effects. Subsequently, the hypothesis that anonymous peer assessment would be a more valid methodology is verified. Finally, teachers' experiences with both peer assessment interventions were studied. Although some concerns were raised about the validity of anonymous peer assessment, it has been found that pupils felt more positive towards peer assessment and experienced less peer pressure and fear of disapproval when scores were given anonymously using CRT. Teachers reported that using CRT was an objective way of assessing but raised some concerns with regard to the control of the teacher, and the classroom characteristics. In this regard, implications for future research are discussed.

Peer-assessment as a Process for Enhancing Critical Thinking and Learning in Design Disciplines

The purpose of this research was to reflect on how peer-assessment in higher education can enhance critical thinking and learning. In this paper, we will focus on a specific case study; a peer-assessment process organised for a drawing unit in the School of Architecture, University of Portsmouth. The students assessed their colleagues’ drawing portfolios; the body of work that had been created throughout the semester and then submitted for examination. Through this paper I will present the reasons for which the peer-assessment was introduced, how the peer-assessment process was organised, what difficulties and potential benefits emerged, and how students responded to it. One of the main observations was that after the marks moderation carried out by the tutors 93% of the marks did not change. Only 7% of the marks for the drawing portfolios were modified. In this paper I examine this 7% further; I observe the peculiarities of these particular portfolios and the reasons for which the students were having difficulties marking them.

Special Issue: Current Issues in High Music Education

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. The publication of Ernest Boyer's Scholarship Reconsidered in 1990 Boyer, E.L. 1990. Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate, Menlo Park, CA: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. [Google Scholar] is widely considered as a turning point in this regard. 2. One of the first major studies of peer assessment in higher education involved a university music department (Searby and Ewers 1997 Searby, M. and Ewers, T. 1997. An evaluation of the use of peer assessment in higher education: A case study in the School of Music, Kingston University. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 22(4): 371–83. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). 3. We recognise that the distinction drawn here between music conservatoires and college/university music departments may not be directly applicable to all situations – indeed, The Reflective Conservatoire conference series, in spite of what its title might have inferred, included submissions and presentations from participants working in a broad range of institutional settings. It is also acknowledged here that many music courses in higher education set out to integrate practical and academic components of music studies. 4. The titles/subtitles for these publications – ‘Teaching the unteachable?’ and ‘Is it possible to teach composition today?’ – suggest an area of practice that has come to be regarded as inherently problematic.

Goals of peer assessment and their associated quality concepts

The output of peer assessment in higher education has been investigated increasingly in recent decades. However, this output is evaluated against a variety of quality criteria, resulting in a cluttered picture. This article analyses the different conceptualisations of quality that appear in the literature. Discussions about the most appropriate quality criteria for the output of peer assessment should be brought back to the underlying differences in goals. The most obvious goal is its use as an assessment tool, and the learning goal of peer assessment has also been well established. Investigating the literature more closely yields three additional goals: installation of social control; preparation for self-monitoring and self-regulation in lifelong learning; and active participation of students in the classroom. Each goal results in different quality criteria. Only the criteria that are congruent with the goal that one is trying to achieve should be considered when evaluating the quality of peer assessment.