Peer Assessment that Works by McDonald Betty;

Author:McDonald, Betty;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4206503
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

The table allows the student to have an overall view of the spread of marks by question. The peer’s score is juxtaposed to the maximum number of marks for the specific question so that a quick comparison can be easily made. The pertinent comments specific to that given question are given in the last column. This kind of feedback containing concrete advice on how to improve allows the student to pinpoint exactly what went wrong and what could be done better in the future. The feedback also provides specific useful information on what was good about the good response or what was poor about a poor response.

There is additional learning payoff when peers have to explain to each other exactly what was meant by certain comments. The quality of thinking about the work is under scrutiny as well. It is no secret that while explaining something to someone else, the person explaining further clarifies his/her knowledge and deepens his/her understanding of a given concept.

Furthermore, explanations from peers who have just grasped a difficult-to-understand concept tend to be more detailed and filled with excitement and enthusiasm than from a teacher for whom that concept appears to be matter-of-fact, having explained it so many times in the past. I vividly recall my days at high school when I solved a difficult mathematical problem I would go from student to student explaining with great enthusiasm. The thrill and personal satisfaction I enjoyed were beyond my own comprehension. In fact, after a while it seemed like I was doing myself more of a favor instead of helping others even though the latter was the intention.

There is an interesting spin to peer assessment that provides very useful information. For simplicity, let us assume that the question carries four parts. Each part entails a discrete number of steps with approximately the same difficulty level. Each step carries one mark. After the entire class has completed the given question and assigned appropriate marks, all the mark assignments from students are recorded and analyzed in a search for patterns. Each student is assigned a number to preserve anonymity.

The below sample table may be used. There is a column for each question part with the maximum number of marks shown. Part (i) carries a maximum of 5 marks; part (ii) carries a maximum of 4 marks; part (iii) carries a maximum of 5 marks; and part (iv) carries a maximum of 6 marks. The question carries a total of 20 marks. Under each question part there is provision for the student’s mark and the teacher’s mark arranged next to each other for easy comparison. The last column carries the total mark for the entire question.

My research has shown that there is a significant correlation between the student’s mark and the teacher’s mark. Additionally, there is a significant correlation among students’ marks. Such findings increase the validity and reliability of peer assessment.

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