Group and peer assessment - Supporting your students
Supporting your students to understand the value in group and peer assessment is crucial to their on-going learning and skills development.
How to support your students
Be specific about the purpose of peer and group assessment activities and allow for discussion so that students can understand the reasons.
Embed peer involvement through course processes; create a course climate where the giving and receiving of peer feedback is a normal part of teaching and learning. These skills will improve student outcomes within group and peer assessment.
Involve students as much as possible in peer feedback processes to allow them to develop expertise in making judgements.
Structure activities with the intention of engaging students in dialogues relating to performance, standards and concepts of quality. “Understanding criteria and the academic discourse in which they may be embedded is challenging and may require training (Hanrahan & Isaacs, 2001), but this kind of understanding is fundamental to collaborative forms of assessment" (Liu & Carless, 2016 p287).
Educate students that feedback quality varies, train them how to rate peers with constructive feedback and how to critically evaluate and incorporate feedback received.
Follow-up group activities with opportunities for students to reflect
What resources and services are available to students
The following resources may be shared with students to assist them with group and peer assessment.
LearnHQ: Collaborate with others
A resource that will guide students with the process, leadership, and possible difficulties around group and team work.
Learn HQ: Provide constructive feedback
A resource that will guide students on giving constructive feedback. The resource includes guidance on giving clear, helpful feedback that highlights strengths, suggests improvements, and avoids vague or unkind comments, and more.
Learn HQ: Learn from feedback
A resource that will guide students on the feedback cycle. The resource emphasises that knowing how to constructively engage with feedback is a valuable asset in studies at university, as well as a transferable skill in life and the workplace.
