6.1 Use Peer Assessment

Especially in projects that are returned to students near the end of their programme of study, feedback tends to be ignored, and notice is only taken of the mark awarded.

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This bundle engages students in the process of assessing their own work against given criteria and generating feedback on the work of others against the same criteria. It encourages them to see their work with "others' eyes", appreciating their own strengths and weaknesses, and to evaluate the work of others in a domain (and against criteria) with which they are already familiar.

The way it works is that the project is developed to a set of detailed criteria (effectively a marking scheme). This focuses the students, from the outset on how the work is going to be assessed. When they submit their work, students attach a self-evaluation. They then undertake a peer-evaluation of the work of another group who have done the same project.

Students peer-assessing a project do not receive the self-assessment which goes with it, although they will, of course, be informed by the experience of their own self-assessment.

The final mark awarded for a project is decided by the staff member involved, using the self-assessment to moderate the peer-assessment, and referring to the original project (i.e. re-marking) in cases of gross disagreement. The results of the moderation are included with the peer-assessment, thus the students receive the comments of their peers and of the "trusted" staff member.

It works better if students have some experience of peer-assessment, and if the projects are the same or very similar in nature.

It doesn't work unless assessment criteria (including marking scales) are well understood and shared before the assessment process is begun.

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So: get students to use assessment as part of their learning