Evaluating a Peer Assessment Approach in Introductory Programming Courses

The present work was devoted to: (a) exploring peer assessment instruments (i.e., assessment sheets) utilized by teachers in teaching expository essay writing for tenth graders of vocational schools; (b) discussing the implementation and (c) the impact of peer assessment of the peer assessment activities. In this study, the data were from information in the peer assessment implementation. Methods of data collection involved observation, interview, and documentation. The results showed that: (a) The peer assessment instruments were in compliance with the competence standards in student assessment. (b) The implementation of expository writing teaching and learning was to find out students’ progress and outcomes; it also aimed to improve learning processes. (c) Peer assessment activities help schools enhance their learning quality and teachers in comprehending the peer assessment processes. On top of that, the assessment provides students with practical experience in assessing their peers’ works, thus boosting students’ concentration in learning. Peer assessment also measures the affective domains of students (by which it eases teachers to select appropriate teaching-learning strategies). In conclusion, the assessment on students’ social attitude fall under a good category based on the students’ average score.

Student pharmacists’ perceptions of the implementation of peer assessment instruction and activities within a didactic course

The study aimed to determine if there is a significant difference between peer and lecturer assessment scores and to explore the relationship between peer assessment scores and the study year of preservice teachers. Furthermore, the study explored the effect of Blackboard Collaborate online group presentations on the development of pedagogical skills of undergraduate pre-service teachers. Two hundred and sixty-two peer and lecturer assessment scores were compared, while 53 students completed the Google form survey. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a statistically significant difference between peer scores and lecturer-moderated scores in different courses. However, the test did not show a statistically significant difference in the course N2. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between the study year and the difference in scores. The data revealed that the group presentations and assessment improved the pedagogical and assessment skills of the pre-service teachers. The findings are expected to inform practitioners about group presentation and peer assessment practices and their potential to improve pedagogical and assessment skills for preservice teachers during a period of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

On-line peer assessment and the role of the peer feedback: A study of high school computer course

Assessment has several advantages like involving students in learning and making them cognizant of their strengths and weaknesses. The effects of peer assessment and self-assessment as two main kinds of assessment have not examined on EFL learners’ self-regulated learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills; therefore, the present research attempted to inspect the impacts of self and peer assessment activities on self-regulated learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills of Iranian EFL learners. To do so, 75 Iranian EFL learners were selected and divided into two experimental groups (peer assessment group (PAG) and self-assessment group (SAG)) and one control group (CG). Then, three questionnaires of self-regulated learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills were administered to the students as the pre-tests of the study. After that, one experimental group received the treatment via using self-assessment and the other experimental group received the instruction through peer assessment. The control group received a teacher-based assessment instruction. After teaching 13 English conversations to all groups, 3 post-tests were given to them to measure the impacts of the treatment on their self-regulated learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. The results of one-way ANOVA showed that there was a substantial difference between the post-tests of the experimental groups and the control group. The results showed that both experimental groups outperformed the control group in the post-tests of self-regulated learning, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, the outcomes revealed that there were no significant differences between the post-tests of the experimental groups. It can be concluded that both types of assessments play a vital role in English language teaching and learning. Based on the results of this study, language teachers, materials developers, and education authorities can concentrate on using self and peer assessments as one of the main strategies to develop the language learning ability of Iranian EFL learners.

Feedback has a powerful influence on learning, but it is also expensive to provide. In large classes it may even be impossible for instructors to provide individualized feedback. Peer assessment is one way to provide personalized feedback that scales to large classes. Besides these obvious logistical benefits, it has been conjectured that students also learn from the practice of peer assessment. However, this has never been conclusively demonstrated. Using an online educational platform that we developed, we conducted an in-class matched-set, randomized crossover experiment with high power to detect small effects. We establish that peer assessment causes a small but significant gain in student achievement. Our study also demonstrates the potential of web-based platforms to facilitate the design of high-quality experiments to identify small effects that were previously not detectable.

The present study focused on investigating the effectiveness of integrating peer assessment (PA) and non-scripted role-play (NSRP) activities on the oral performance and motivation of Thai EFL high school students. Recognizing the importance of developing effective English language communication skills, the research was situated within the context of a public secondary school in Bangkok, targeting Grade 12 students. The study employed a mixed methods approach, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, and centered its course development and NSRP activities on “Research Methods and Presentation Skills”. The nine-week implementation involved pre- and post-speaking tests, training sessions, a speaking rubric, video recordings, attitude inventory, semi-structured interviews, and learning logs. By incorporating both high- and low-proficiency level students, the study contributed insights into the potential benefits of integrating PA and NSRP activities in enhancing oral performance and motivation among EFL learners in a diverse linguistic context.The findings revealed significant improvements in both high- and low-proficiency level students’ oral performance, validated through high inter-rater reliability. Additionally, the integration of PA and NSRP activities positively influenced students’ motivation, as indicated by overwhelmingly positive sentiments and attitudes towards integrated activities. Future suggestions include cross-cultural examinations to explore the generalizability of the findings, longitudinal investigations to assess sustainability, controlled comparative research to isolate unique contributions, and quantitative exploration of technology’s role in language learning for enhanced pedagogical strategies.

The authors have previously reported the effectiveness of using self and peer assessment to improve learning outcomes by providing opportunities to practise, assess and provide feedback on students’ attribute development. Despite this work and the research of others, a significant number of students and, indeed, many academics focus on the free-rider deterrent capability of self and peer assessment, rather than its capacity to provide opportunities for developing judgement and facilitating reflection and feedback to complete the learning cycle. The advent of web-based tools such as SPARKPLUS allows the frequent and efficient implementation of self and peer assessment activities even in large classes. This article reports the results of an investigation into whether the regular use of self and peer assessment in different contexts promoted effective peer learning, increased engagement and encouraged students to learn.

The use of peer assessment to assist student learning has been widely employed in educational settings. Wiki has been used as an environment to hold peer assessment activities because of its interactive nature of supporting collaboration among multiple users. This paper presents a multi-cycle peer-assessment activity where postgraduate students explore various Web 2.0 tools to develop learning objects and use a wiki for presenting their work, performing the evaluations, evaluating their assessors and presenting their revisions. The study concludes that the context of the peer-assessment activity served the roles of author and assessor adequately, the students valued the use of the wiki, and wikis are an effective tool for conducting peer-assessment activities and fostering interaction.

Assalamu’alaikum Wr. Wb. and Greetings.I am pleased and honored to welcome you at the First International Conference on Computer Science and Applied Mathematic (ICCSAM 2018), which was held this year by AMIK and STIKOM Tunas Bangsa Pematangsiantar in collaboration with the Indonesian Computer and Information Professional Association (IPKIN), Indonesian Mathematical Society (INDOMS) and Bank Muamalat. As Chair of the Foundation, I would like to convey a greeting Welcome to Parapat City Lake Toba to presenters from various countries and especially those I respect for the presence of scientists in the field of Computer and Mathematical Sciences and industry practitioners in the 2018 ICCSAM event.I see that this activity is designed to enhance the exchange of knowledge and new discoveries in computer science and mathematics and related fields in industry. I hope that scientists in the field of computer science and mathematics and those who work in the industry can share knowledge and work together as a team that has mutual relations with each other. I am very pleased to say that the theme of this conference, “Advancing Computability Innovation” is very much in line with the objectives of AMIK and STIKOM conferences and missions, namely “to become a Science and Technology based Study Program that meets industrial needs and functions as a research center in Information Data Science. The conference was held in response to output and aoutcame which had a significant contribution in the field of computer science and mathematics as an inseparable unit of science towards the development of local and global industries. It is our happiness and honor to welcome distinguished professors present to convey their expertise at this conference.I hope this meeting will enable the development of productive dialogue between participants from various countries. They also provide invaluable opportunities for networking among participants, institutions and industries. I also hope that diversity in these fields can reveal more opportunities for researchers and practitioners from all over the world to start a lot of research related to the industry in the future.I would like to congratulate AMIK and STIKOM Tunas Bangsa for starting this conference with a synergistic contribution from dedicated partners namely the USU Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, USU’s Faculty of Computer and Information Technology, the Indonesian Computer and Informatics Professional Association (IPKIN), Indonesian Mathematical Society (INDOMS), Bank Muamalat, Malaysia Pahang University (UMP), University of Essex, United Kingdom, Ankara, Turkey and Institute of Applied Mathematics Middle East Technical University to all delegates for their full support, cooperation and contribution to the 2018 ICCSAM. I also want to thank the Organizing Committee for their perseverance and extraordinary efforts. Various sponsors are also rewarded for their contributions. I really hope that all participants will get a pleasant stay here at NIAGARA HOTEL and bring back unforgettable experiences and valuable knowledge from this conference.Thanks.H. Ahmad Ridwansyah Putra

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore self-, peer-, and tutor assessment of performance in tutorials among medical students in a problem-based learning curriculum. Methods: 117 students enrolled in the third year of the Doctor of Medicine Program at Fudan University were recruited to participate in a study of self, peer, and tutor assessment. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the assessment of PBL performance within the tutorial setting. Results: The students scored themselves and peer higher than their tutor. The Bland Altman plots showed both self and peer scores agreed well with tutor scores. However, the correlation between self and tutor scores, between peer-averaged and tutor scores, both showed no statistical significance. Conclusion: Self and peer assessment showed poor accuracy but they had the potential to enhance students' self- awareness, reflection ability, and their ability to evaluate.

Despite great effort in research and teaching as well as in raising women’s quotas in the public sector and in enterprises, a gender gap in computer science can still be observed. The reasons are manifold, including the lack of interest of girls because of existing stereotypes of male nerds, misconceptions in the field of computer science, and concrete differences in students’ self-concept and performance. Girls do not choose schools or studies in the field of computer science because working on computers or coding is unattractive to them. Research shows poorer performance, missing interest, and lower self-concept for girls in secondary computing education as well as a high dropout rate of female students in computer science courses at the bachelor’s level. Software development exams contribute to those high dropout rates, and women often choose a different subject or even stop their university education altogether. This leads to fewer female employees in the field of computer science, and this situation calls for special measures at several levels. The current paper provides an overview of the initiatives of our university that aim to address several aspects of the gender gap. The programs offered aim to (1) increase interest in computer science and recruit (highly) gifted girls for our talent programs, (2) recruit and support female bachelor’s and master’s students in computer science, and (3) redesign programming courses and teaching materials to reduce the gender gap in performance and support, especially for female students. This study also describes a cyber tutoring program in which highly gifted girls between 13 and 16 years collaborate with and are supervised by female role models in higher positions in STEM. The evaluation results gained in the first year of this case study are promising and suggest that the extension and further development of the program would be advantageous.

Peer assessment in higher education has been studied for decades. Despite the substantial amount of research carried out, peer assessment has yet to make significant advances. This review identifies themes of recent research and highlights the challenges that have hampered its advance. Most of these challenges arise from the manual nature of peer assessment practices, which prove intractable as the number of students involved increases. Practitioners of the discipline are urged to forge affiliations with closely related fields and other disciplines, such as computer science, in order to overcome these challenges.

Different learning methods such as project-based learning, spiral learning and peer assessment have been implemented in science disciplines with different outcomes. This paper presents a proposal for a project management course in the context of a computer science degree. Our proposal combines three well-known methods: project-based learning, spiral learning and peer assessment. Namely, the course is articulated during a semester through the structured (progressive and incremental) development of a sequence of four projects, whose duration, scope and difficulty of management increase as the student gains theoretical and instrumental knowledge related to planning, monitoring and controlling projects. Moreover, the proposal is complemented using peer assessment. The proposal has already been implemented and validated for the last 3 years in two different universities. In the first year, project-based learning and spiral learning methods were combined. Such a combination was also employed in the other 2 years; but additionally, students had the opportunity to assess projects developed by university partners and by students of the other university. A total of 154 students have participated in the study. We obtain a gain in the quality of the subsequently projects derived from the spiral project-based learning. Moreover, this gain is significantly bigger when peer assessment is introduced. In addition, high-performance students take advantage of peer assessment from the first moment, whereas the improvement in poor-performance students is delayed.

This narrative study explores the cognitive conflicts that pre-service teachers experience during peer-assessment activities in an artificial intelligence (AI) facilitated academic writing course. This study applies a narrative inquiry research design to Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing classes. Three pre-service teachers pursuing an undergraduate degree in English language education at an Indonesian public university were recruited. The data were obtained from participants' stories, follow-up semi-structured interviews, and photos as an artifact to complete the data. The data was then analysed thematically. The participants’ cognitive conflict experiences were gathered during process writing and peer assessment. The findings show that the cognitive conflicts experienced by the participants were mostly from old myths and false beliefs. It brings advantages to pre-service teachers. The cognitive conflicts support the critical thinking of pre-service teachers. They discussed the material in detail, explored the different ideas, and helped them to confirm the incorrect knowledge and misunderstanding among them. This finding also implies the need for pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and teacher educators to critically consider the cognitive conflicts in an L2 writing classroom, particularly in madrasah tsanawiyah (junior high schools), madrasah aliyah (senior high schools) and higher education institutions contexts.