Student Engagement with Peer Assessment: A Review of Pedagogical Design and Technologies

The paper summarizes participatory action research that explores student attitudes towards a peer assessment exercise and further reveals a distinctive pattern in student responses. A formative and reciprocal peer assessment exercise was studied to identify possible reasons for low levels of student participation. The target group included students in an undergraduate course in computing. A follow-up questionnaire, undertaken by 36 students, was analyzed and compared against assignment marks. Finally, the access statistics of the virtual learning environment (VLE) were examined. The major results indicate the following: [i] an expectation of more explanatory and supportive tutor intervention; [ii] a student preference towards anonymity; [iii] student interest in accessing peer work; and [iv] that the allocation of marks and in-class activities factors are important in encouraging student involvement.