Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Click Or Clique? Using Educational Technology To Address Students' Anxieties About Peer Evaluation, Ruth Walker, Graham C. Barwell

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) - Papers

Peer bias is recognised as a primary factor in negative student perceptions of peer assessment strategies. This study trialled the use of classroom response systems, widely known as clickers, in small seminar classes in order to actively engage students in their subject’s assessment process while providing the anonymity that would lessen the impact of peer pressure. Focus group reflection on the students’ impressions of the peer evaluation process, the use of clickers, and their anxieties about potential peer bias were analysed in the light of the results of teacher and class evaluations of each individual student presentation. The findings revealed …