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‘Just enough to make you take it seriously’: exploring students’ attitudes towards peer assessment

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Abstract

The use of peer learning and peer assessment has gained considerable interest in higher education driven by both its educational value and by its ability to provide students with the opportunity to develop important transferrable skills. This paper reports on the use of peer learning and peer assessment with a cohort of four-year undergraduate physiotherapy students and an 18 month taught post-graduate teacher education programme. The study observed the students’ engagement in the process, surveyed their opinions on the activity at the end of the experience and conducted one focus group discussion with a subset of students from each cohort. The study found that the vast majority of respondents felt that the experience was valuable and enjoyable. However, when asked to indicate whether it was a fairer method of assessment there were more varied responses. Similarly when asked whether their peers should have a greater say in their overall grade the majority disagreed. Views on the educational value of the experience appeared to differ between the two cohorts of students. The study highlights the influence of a prevailing assessment cultures on students’ engagement in peer learning which requires consideration when including such pedagogical approaches.

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Conflict of interest

There are no conflicts of interest involved in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Therapes, Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Munster Ireland

    Olliver McGarr & Amanda Marie Clifford

Authors
  1. Olliver McGarr
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  2. Amanda Marie Clifford
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amanda Marie Clifford.

Appendix: Peer assessment questionnaire

Appendix: Peer assessment questionnaire

This questionnaire aims to seek your opinion on the peer assessment element of the module. The questionnaire is anonymous. Please take the time to complete it and remember to return it to your tutor.

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McGarr, O., Clifford, A.M. ‘Just enough to make you take it seriously’: exploring students’ attitudes towards peer assessment. High Educ 65, 677–693 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9570-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-012-9570-z

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