Use of peer assessment in an MSc course

• MSc in Sexually Transmitted Infections & HIV- Basic Science module

• Assessment: 70% end of module essay, 30% peer assessment

• 8 weekly formative peer assessments

• 1 final summative peer assessment

Formative peer assessment

• Each Friday afternoon student presentations are given marks by other students

• Marks are given using SurveyMonkey

• Marking criteria are chosen by students

• Anonymized marks are fed back each week

• Marks given in the first seven weeks are not used in final assessment

Summative peer assessment

• Marks given in week 8 contribute 30% to the final assessment

• The mark given should reflect overall performance throughout the term

• Consistency of marks with earlier assessments will be checked

Advantages

• Choosing marking criteria encourages thought and discussion about what students want from the module

• Formative assessments allow internal and external comparisons through the term and stimulate healthy competition among students

• SurveyMonkey is easy to use and free for surveys up to 10 questions and 100 participants

Problems

• Administration: design, mailing, collecting responses, analysis, feedback each week

• Choosing the best scale, eg 0-10 v. 0-5 and defining scale

• Failing students rescued by generous peer assessment

• Avoiding manipulation of final peer assessment

Future plans

• Transfer to Moodle/Opinio

• Delegate more to course administrator

• Address issue of collusion more effectively