Blackboard Learn. Self and Peer Assessment Tool Case Study

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1 Blackboard Learn Self and Peer Assessment Tool Case Study Engaging students in feedback production not just its receipt can add significantly to student learning interrogating others work and producing feedback results in students generating feedback on and improving their own work as it is being produced Software is necessary to support peer review students generally value anonymity which would be difficult to achieve without software support it would be unreasonable to expect academic staff to administer peer review manually due to the extra workload this would necessitate. (JISC PEER Project, Final Report, 2011) The Blackboard Learn Self and Peer Assessment Tool allows questions and criteria to be set up by the instructor for students to complete and then allows the students to assess their peers according to set criteria. CASE STUDY Instructor Dr Liming Chen School School of Computing and Mathematics Course MSc Computing Academic year 2011/12 Semester 1 Cohort Eight students (mix of full-time and part-time) Mode of teaching Face-to-face, web supplemented Assessment 100% coursework: Coursework 1 (40%) & Coursework 2 (60%) The instructor used the Blackboard Learn Self and Peer Assessment Tool to support peer assessment as part of the Coursework 1 assessment task. This was the first time the instructor implemented peer assessment in practice and the first time using the Self and Peer Assessment Tool. ASSESSMENT DESIGN (for Coursework 1 assessment task) Week 2 Week 6 Week 7 Students given assessment instructions Submission of individual Project Report (hardcopy and via Blackboard Learn) Individual presentation (5 mins) about Project Report in class Upload presentation to Blackboard Learn Peer review (10 mins per student) each others Project Report in class immediately after the presentations, based on set criteria (using the Self and Peer Assessment Tool) Students receive results in class (including peer feedback, instructor feedback and overall mark) Notes: - The final mark is the average of the instructor mark and students mark (average of all students, minus the highest and lowest student marks) - Students are encouraged to continue on with their projects in coursework 2 and subsequent course modules, e.g., dissertation. 1

2 SELF AND PEER ASSESSMENT TOOL (to support Coursework 1) The instructor set up the tool in a Content Area (selecting Self and Peer Assessment from the Create Assessment button on the top action bar menu). The instructor defined the name, instructions, submission date, evaluation date and self and peer evaluation options. 2

3 In the resulting Assessment Canvas, the instructor defined the Question (upload your Project Report and presentation slides) and marking Criteria (worth 40 points, based on 4 key areas). 3

4 The students were instructed to submit their Project Reports and presentations using the Self and Peer Assessment Tool. The submission deadline was set before the start of class in Week 6 (the class started at 6:15pm and the deadline was set at 4pm - as can be seen from the earlier screenshot). The students were later instructed to peer review (mark and feedback) each other s work using the Self and Peer Assessment Tool, during class (in computer lab), after the oral presentations. 4

5 After the class, the instructor was able to view all the submissions and evaluations via the Control Panel > Course Tools > Self and Peer Assessment link. The students would also have been able to view their reviews online, however the instructor chose to give this to the students via hardcopy along with their final marks in Week 7. Notes: - By default, students will automatically see the peer reviews about their work after the end of the evaluation period via their My Grades. - Ensure you select Allow anonymous evaluation in the assessment properties if you don t want the students to see who give each review. - The evaluation period must be after the submission period. - It isn t possible to change the evaluation and submission dates once students have started to engage with the online assessment. 5

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8 OUTCOMES Student Perspective The students completed a Peer Assessment Survey in Blackboard Learn after class in week 6 and week 7. Survey findings relating to peer assessment and the Self and Peer Assessment Tool are shown below. To review and mark fellow student s coursework helps me deepen and widen my knowledge and understanding of wider topics. To reflect on a number of peer students' comments and feedback on my work helps me learn and improve from multiple objective third-party perspectives. The learner-centred, self and peer assessment approach improves learning engagement. The comments and feedback from peers are constructive and helpful. Verbal communication and interactive discussion about coursework assessment and feedback is a more effective learning approach that traditional note-based written comments and feedback. I like the way Coursework 1 is designed and executed, including the way it is assessed. What did you find most useful: - Feedback from fellow students. - Constructive feedback. - Seeing other people ideas and how they structure their presentation slides. General comments on the coursework design and peer assessment practice: - It is good. I found it enjoyable. - I didn't like the idea of coursework design and peer assessment practice at the beginning but I have to say that I was wrong and this kind of approach surprised me. - I think the coursework is a clear layout and received a fair assessment feedback. - It is interesting to see how differently other students have organised and presented their ideas. - The design of the coursework is very well thought out and encouraging for more interactive study. - It s a good idea to develop mind and innovating ideas, and also get to know more about other student s passion for innovation as well and also learn from fellow mates. 8

9 Instructor Perspective (Reflections) About Self and Peer Assessment (SPA) - SPA is more than just an assessment activity. It is an effective, enjoyable learning process. This may be the most important reason students like it. - By playing the role of an assessor, students develop skills and capabilities for critical thinking. This is equally important as learning knowledge. - SPA does require careful set-up of the process, from the design of the assessed content, clear specification of marking criteria, to the execution of the practice. - The majority of students engage with the process with enthusiasm and dedication. - The majority of students are positive towards the process and provide constructive feedback. - SPA may not be suitable for all types of assessment, or may be more suitable for some but not for others. Multiple considerations need to be taken into account. About SPA results - The majority of the student s review comments are similar to the instructor s comments. - The majority of the students give the right marks corresponding to the quality of the assessed work. - The students were more generous with their marking than I would be maybe due to student anonymity not being highlighted to students. - The comments could have been more extensive if more time had been given for this perhaps next time I will allot them more time to complete the peer review however it was fresh in their minds directly after the presentations and doing it in class time ensured that it was completed. About the system and tools - Effective tools are necessary to undertake and manage SPA, in particular, for large classes. - The tool made it easy to manage the peer assessment, especially as each student was evaluating all other students. Using the tool had the advantage of automatic marking, statistical analysis of marks and easy management of grades. It enabled anonymity of the peer marks and comments, even though I had to manually print and give it to the students, due to not selecting the anonymity setting. - I would use the tool again, with a few adjustments based on this initial experience e.g. make sure to select the anonymity setting, extending the time period for both submissions and providing longer for peer evaluations. - The tools for SPA provided by the Blackboard system supports many features. While there is a learning curve, once mastered, it is easy to use. ULSTER PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK FOR LEARNING The assessment design aligns with the newly adopted Ulster Principles of Assessment and Feedback for Learning. 1. Clarify good performance 2. Encourage time and effort on task 3. Deliver timely high quality feedback 4. Provide opportunities to act on feedback 5. Encourage positive motivational beliefs 6. Develop self-assessment and reflection 7. Encourage interaction and dialogue 9