Peer Evaluation Lesson COM115

What is peer evaluation?

Peer evaluation is a process through which students and instructors share in the evaluation of student work.
Peer evaluation is often facilitated through the use of rubrics.

Why is peer evaluation a good thing?

Researchers find that peer assessment deepens students understanding of their own learning
Empowers students to become more actively engaged and self-directed in their learning processes.
Allows for increased development of student judgement skills
Provides more relevant feedback to students as it is generated by their peers
While evaluating the work of their peers, students have the opportunity to be exposed to the work of others, explore new
ways of thinking about a topic and both refine and reflect on their own understanding of course content (and the content
of the speeches they are evaluating)

So what are my goals in assigning peer evaluations?

Increase student responsibility and autonomy

Lift the role and status of the student from passive learner to active learner and assessor
Involve students in critical reflection
Develop in students a better understanding of their own subjectivity and judgement

Why do I grade your efforts on peer evaluations?

It allows me to assess how carefully you were paying attention to the speaker
It gives me an idea of how well youre understanding the course content

An example of a poor peer evaluation:

Fred, you didnt do so well. I dont know. Maybe you need more eye contact?

Notice in this evaluation the individual did not give any concrete examples of why Fred was not an effective
speaker. Also, stating that he/she doesnt know and using a question instead of a declarative statement makes
them seem very unsure of their claims against Freds presentation.

An example of a constructive peer evaluation:

Sally, you did a great job with your speech. I noticed in your speech that you did not have any vocal fillers such as um, uh,
you know. That is really great and helped you appear credible and confident in front of your audience. However, you
spoke very quickly and it was hard to follow along with what you were telling us. Perhaps you should practice pacing
yourself several times before our next speech. Oh yeah, you also had strong nonverbal body language.

In this evaluation the individual gave solid examples from the course content to back up his/her claim against
Sallys speech. They also gave examples of what Sally did well and where Sally could use some improvement and
even provided a suggestion!
This is the type of critical listening and critical thinking skills that need to be demonstrated in peer evaluations.