There was a great thread about Peer evaluation in
January, which was informative, but truthfully, I did not appreciate the
discussion at the time.
We have just completed our first peer evaluation process
and I have some questions. We believe in the peer evaluation process and
will not abandon it, but there have been some
issues.
In the TBL book there are two forms of peer evaluation
described (percentage and maintenance). Several pros and cons are listed,
but mostly ending with a suggestion of a positive learning note. Of the
two methods described, selfishly I chose the percentage one because it made more
sense to me and was easier to calculate. The students however, are
incensed (well maybe too strong of a word, but upset) that it is a zero-sum
game. They don't mind giving points to those who contribute, but they do
not want to take points away from those who contribute less.
·
How do you rationalize the zero-sum
concept?
·
How does one explain the value of
moderating the scores? Maybe it is a cultural thing - being nice, but the
idea of taking away something they believe they have earned is painful. How do
you tell them that they have not really earned the group scores unless they
participate in the group?
·
When the group size results in a
proportion that is not easily divisible by 5 – and they want to give the team
equal marks – but can’t. For example a team of 7, with 6 ratings can only
give 16.7 and 16.6 – someone will be a bit higher and a bit
lower.
Using the maintenance method might solve the logical
problem by making the peer assessment an added component to the grade - not
subtractive (on the surface). If I were to switch to that method,
·
How do you decide what % of the
final grade should the peer assessment be?
·
Is it really any difference – or
does it just appear that way to the students because they see it as adding not
subtracting?
·
How do faculty feel about inflating
grades by making portion of success be solely on peer points?
·
Will I exchange a student fight for
a faculty one?
This is quite a contentious topic, and I can see why
people give up on it – or move away to more feedback rather than grade
moderation – but we really feel that it is important to keep – so any advice on
how to deal with student’s anxiety is most
welcomed.
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Sandy COOK, PhD | Associate Dean, Curriculum Development
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