Using peer assessments for research and higher order learning in the online learning platform: Reflections and evidence from the Pacific.

Peer assessment is a versatile teaching and learning tool that has been effectively used at different levels of education and assessment tasks with demonstrably positive effects. This study examines the differences between performance of students who participated in a voluntary peer assessment exercise prior to submitting their assignment and students who did not participate and records the benefits and challenges identified by students who engaged in the exercise. Fifty-one students from two online undergraduate research methods courses (one first and one third year course) undertook an online peer assessment exercise for a written assignment and answered open-ended post-exercise reflection questions regarding their experience. For comparison, a matching sample of 51 students was drawn randomly from a class list of students who did not participate in the study. The assignment marks of students who participated in the peer assessment exercise were substantially higher than those students who did not participate (p= 0.0005, d = 1.02). In the post-exercise reflection, students indicated that the peer assessment activity was useful in learning how to do specific aspects of the assignment, learning how to assess using rubrics, and identifying their own misconceptions and errors about assignment criteria, expectations, and performance. We conclude that online peer assessments can be effectively used in online undergraduate courses to enhance research, academic writing, and self-assessment skills, as well as assessment literacy in a Pacific context.