Peer Assessment

PEER ASSESSMENT

UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE

UNIV1001: ONLINE EDUCATION STRATEGIES

MICHAEL IRVIN

30/6/2021
Peer Assessment

PEER ASSESSMENT

Introduction

Peer assessment is a mode of learning in which students participate in evaluating

other learner’s work. It provides an avenue where colleagues can easily assess and give

feedback to peoples work whether in a discussion or written work.

How peer assessment has been applied in the University of the People

At University of the People, peer assessment happens in two different ways; it

involves assessing the written assessment submitted by the peers and also assessing the group

discussion submissions made on the class discussion forum initiated by the instructor

(University of the People, n.d.).

The university uses this form of assessment to make the students be part of the whole

learning process through being involved in the class work. It also reduces the workload on the

instructors who have a lot of students to attend to and enable them to help in cases where

students feel they have been unfairly rated or in cases where no assessment was made by

other students.

Benefits of peer assessment

This type of learning equips the learner with important knowledge and techniques that

can be applied in real life matters such as assessing other people’s work, whether in class or

in the other life issues (Cornell University, n.d.). The assessor gets to learn that before

embarking on any assessment work, it is key to ensure that adequate research is carried out.

It gives the users techniques of assessing their own life issues making them to be

realistic in judgements. It also helps students to develop skills such as self-monitoring which

increases the motivation in handling matters at school and at workplace.

Expansion of ideas and learning from colleagues is a factor that is very important

when initiating group discussions and online learning. Through peer education, learners are
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able to grasp ideas from their colleagues while assessing. Getting different ideas from

different peers every week is a very important factor that equips students with the required

knowledge for examinations and other skills. It also makes the learners to carry out more

research to ascertain the source of information used by peers in their work (Cornell

University, n.d.).

Challenges of giving peer feedback in peer assessment

Giving feedback to your peers can be a very challenging activity to any learner. This

is because as a student in some cases you are not sure if the person you are assessing have

done more research or has experience more than you do in that particular field. That lowers

the confidence. This can be overcome by being prepared through doing extensive research.

In some cases, you are never sure if the score you give could be the right and expected

one. The instructor maybe could have given a higher score compared to you.

Challenges of receiving peer feedback in peer assessment

A learner risks harsh assessment from a peer. This can happen when the assessor

either isn’t prepared or did not do enough research to be conversant with the topic you have

discussed. You might receive low marks yet you deserve better.

There is a high probability that a learner can be given a higher mark than expected

from his or her assessing peer either by not knowing or just sympathy from the colleague.

Lack of understanding the context of work can also make an assessor to consider your work

perfectly done when actually not the case. This happens when the student assessing you

hasn’t carried out adequate research to prepare him or her to handle the kind of work

submitted by you.
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Strategies I will use to assess written and discussion assignments

Peer assessment requires adequate preparation. I have an understanding that I am in a

class with very informed peers hence it is my duty to carry out research and adequately read

about the work given to enable me fairly assess my colleagues. Another important factor also

shall be to get to understand the work that shall be submitted by my peers. Rushing to assess

without understanding the school of thought or how an idea is presented can lead to poor

rating. It is necessary to have an open mind and handle every point with a lot of caution it

deserves. My strategy will cut across both written assignments and discussion assignments.

Conclusion

Peer assessment in learning institutions is a technique that ought to be embraced and

welcomed by everybody. It is a great resource for learning to the peer assessing the

assignment. Rather than getting information from books and websites, reading your

colleagues work helps one to get the points that he or she didn’t know. Learners should do

proper research, study and reading to ensure that they are always prepared to do justice to

their peers.

Word count: 784 words

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References

Cornell University, (n.d.). peer assessment. Teaching Resources.

https://teaching.cornell.edu/spring-teaching-resources/assessment-

evaluation/peer-assessment

University of the People, (n.d.). Peer Assessment Model. Peer Assessment Office.

https://my.uopeople.edu/mod/page/view.php?id=223360