Computerized Peer-Assessment: Enhancing Learning Through Fair Evaluation

1. Heriot-Watt UniversityThe Use of Computerized Peer-Assessment Dr Phil Davies Division of Computing & Mathematical Sciences Department of Computing FAT University of Glamorgan

2. General View of Peer AssessmentLecturer or Student? Good for developing student reflection – So what? Where’s the marks Lectures getting out of doing their jobs i.e. marking How can students be expected to mark as ‘good’ as ‘experts’ Why should I mark ‘properly’ and waste my time - I get a fixed mark for doing it The feedback given by students is not of the same standard that I give. I still have to do it again myself to make sure they marked ‘properly’

3. Defining Peer-Assessment • In describing the teacher .. A tall b******, so he was. A tall thin, mean b******, with a baldy head like a light bulb. He’d make us mark each other’s work, then for every wrong mark we got, we’d get a thump. That way – he paused – ‘we were implicated in each other’s pain’ McCarthy’s Bar (Pete McCarthy, 2000,page 68)

4. What will make Computerized Peer-Assessment ACCEPTABLE to ALL? AUTOMATICALLY CREATE A MARK THAT REFLECTS THE QUALITY OF AN ESSAY/PRODUCT VIA PEER MARKING, + A MARK THAT REFLECTS THE QUALITY OF THE PEER MARKING PROCESS i.e. A FAIR/REFLECTIVE MARK FOR MARKING AND COMMENTING

5. THE FIRST CAP MARKING INTERFACE

7. Typical Assignment Process • Students register to use system - CAP • Create an essay in an area associated with the module • Provide RTF template of headings • Submit via Bboard Digital Drop-Box • Anonymous code given to essay automatically by system • Use CAP system to mark

8. Self/Peer Assessment • Often Self-Assessment stage used • Set Personal Criteria • Opportunity to identify errors • Get used to system • Normally peer-mark about 5/6 • Raw peer MEDIAN mark produced • Need for student to receive Comments + Marks

9. CompensationHigh and Low Markers • Need to take this into account • Each essay has a ‘raw’ peer generated mark - MEDIAN • Look at each student’s marking and ascertain if ‘on average’ they are an under or over marker • Offset mark given by this value • Create a COMPENSATED PEER MARK • It’s GOOD TO TALK – Tim Nice but Dim

10. EMAILS THE MARKER .. ANONYMOUS

12. Below are comments given to students.Select the 3 most Important to YOU • I think you’ve missed out a big area of the research • You’ve included a ‘big chunk’ - word for word that you haven’t cited properly • There aren’t any examples given to help me understand • Grammatically it is not what it should be like • Your spelling is atroceious • You haven’t explained your acronyms to me • You’ve directly copied my notes as your answer to the question • 50% of what you’ve said isn’t about the question • Your answer is not aimed at the correct level of audience • All the points you make in the essay lack any references for support

13. Order of Answers • Were the results all in the ‘CORRECT’ order – probably not? -> Why not! • Subject specific? • Level specific – school, FE, HE • Teacher/Lecturer specific? • Peer-Assessment is no different – Objectivity through Subjectivity • Remember – Feedback Comments as important as marks! • Students need to be rewarded for marking and commenting WELL -> QUANTIFY COMMENTS

15. Each Student is using a different set of weighted comments Comments databases sent to tutor

16. Comments – Both Positive and Negative in the various categories. Provides a Subjective Framework for Commenting & Marking First Stage => Self Assess own Work Second Stage (button on server) => Peer Assess 6 Essays

17. Feedback Index • Produce an index that reflects the quality of commenting • Produce a Weighted Feedback Index • Compare how a marker has performed against these averages per essay for both Marking + Commenting – Looking for consistency

20. The Review Element • Requires the owner of the file to ‘ask’ questions of the marker • Emphasis ‘should’ be on the marker • Marker does NOT see comments of other markers who’ve marked the essays that they have marked • Marker does not really get to reflect on their own marking – get a reflective 2nd chance • I’ve avoided this in past -> get it right first time

22. Used on Final Year Degree + MSc MSc EL&A • 13 students • 76 markings • 41 replaced markings (54%) • Average time per marking = 42 minutes • Range of time taken to do markings 3-72 minutes • Average number of menu comments/marking = 15.7 • Raw average mark = 61% • Out of 41 Markings ‘replaced’ –> 26 changed mark 26/76 (34%) • Number of students who did replacements = 8 (out of 13) • 2 students ‘Replaced’ ALL his/her markings • 26 markings actually changed mark • -1,+9, -2,-2, +1, -8, -3,-5, +2, +8, -2, +6, +18(71-89), -1, -4, -6, -5, -7, +7, -6, -3, +6, -7, -7, -2, -5 (Avge -0.2)

23. How to work out Mark (& Comment) Consistency • Marker on average OVER marks by 10% • Essay worth 60% • Marker gave it 75% • Marker is 15% over • Actual consistency index (Difference) = 5 • This can be done for all marks and comments • Creates a consistency factor for marking and commenting

24. Automatically Generate Mark for Marking • Linear scale 0 -100 mapped directly to consistency … the way in HE? • Map to Essay Grade Scale achieved (better reflecting ability of group)? • Expectation of Normalised Results within a particular cohort / subject / institution?

25. Current ‘Simple’ Method • Average Marks • Essay Mark = 57% • Marking Consistency = 5.37 • Ranges • Essay 79% <-> 31% • Marking Consistency 2.12 <-> 10.77 • Range Above Avge 22% <-> 3.25 (6.76=1) • Range Below Avge 26% <-> 5.40 (4.81=1)

26. ALT-J journal entitled ‘Don’t Write, Just Mark; The Validity of Assessing Student Ability via their Computerized Peer-Marking of an Essay rather than their Creation of an Essay’ ALT-J (CALT) Vol. 12 No. 3 , pp 263-279. • Took a Risk • No necessity to write an essay • Judged against previous essays from past – knew mark and feedback index • NO PLAGIARISM opportunity • Worked really well

27. Some Points Outstanding or Outstanding Points • What should students do if they identify plagiarism? • What about accessibility? • Is a computerised solution valid for all subject areas? • At what age / level can we trust the use of peer assessment? • How do we assess the time required to perform the marking task? • What split of the marks between creation & marking

28. Summary • Research / Meeting Pedagogical Needs / Improving relationship between assessment & learning • Keep asking yourself WHY & WHAT am I assessing? • DON’T LET THE TECHNOLOGISTS DRIVE THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS!! i.e. Lunatics taking over the asylum  • Don’t let the ‘artificial’ need to adhere to standards & large scale implementation of on-line assessment be detrimental to the assessment and learning needs of you and your students. ‘Suck it and see’. • By using composite e-assessment methods are then able to assess full range of learning + assessment • Favourite Story to finish

29. Personal Reference Sources • CAA Conference Proceedings http://www.caaconference.com/ • ‘Computerized Peer-Assessment’, Innovations in Education and Training International Journal (IETI), 37,4, pp 346-355, Nov 2000 • ‘Using Student Reflective Self-Assessment for Awarding Degree Classifications’, Innovations in Education and Training International Journal (IETI), 39,4, pp 307-319, Nov 2002. • ALT-J journal entitled ‘Closing the Communications Loop on the Computerized Peer Assessment of Essays’, 11, 1, pp 41-54, 2003. • ALT-C 2003 Research stream paper, Peer-Assessment: No marks required, just feedback, Sheffield University, Sept 2003. • ALT-J journal entitled ‘Don’t Write, Just Mark; The Validity of Assessing Student Ability via their Computerized Peer-Marking of an Essay rather than their Creation of an Essay’ ALT-J (CALT) Vol. 12 No. 3 , pp 263-279. • Peer-Assessment: Judging the quality of student work by the comments not the marks?, Innovations in Education and Teaching International (IETI), 43, 1, pp 69-82, 2006.

30. Contact Information pdavies@glam.ac.uk Phil Davies J317 01443 482247 University of Glamorgan

31. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS