Importance Of Peer Review

Introduction

In the last decade, recent developments have stressed the importance of formative approaches and there has been an increased attention towards learner-centered curricula. Learning has now been veered to a more collaborative and participatory culture (Barab, Hay, Barnett, & Squire, 2001). As a result, implementation of alternative modes of assessment in higher education, such as peer review, has grown rapidly (Rourke, Mendelssohn, Coleman & Allen, 2008). This provides them with the opportunity and autonomy to be accountable for their own learning. (Divaharan, 2002).

Peer review is described as a process whereby students assess and evaluate fellow students’ work. As mentioned in Topping (1998), the review could be done quantitatively

effectiveness, reliability and objectivity) of peer review. (Gielen, S. et. al., 2011) However, I feel that studies that have been done so far did not explicitly discuss the effectiveness across different subject disciplines.

I aim to find out how receptive Mathematics (Math) majors are towards the concept of peer review and how effective or useful it has been in their learning. Being a Year 2 Math major, I have experienced peer review across different disciplines and have found each experience to be a different one. Due to the fact that in the hard sciences, the domains are more clear-cut than in humanities, I am interested to see specifically, how peer review would fare in a more objective discipline such as Mathematics, especially when peer review is as an indispensable feature in today’s

It could allow students to think of other possibilities but on the other hand, students may be unfamiliar with a certain method proposed by their peer and deem it to be right merely because the end result is right. Even if respective tutors were to step in and supervise the peer assessment process, as Kao, G. (2013) highlights, they are limited in the extent to which they are able to monitor the quality of peer evaluations.

Lastly, even though it was previously highlighted that Math majors found peer review effective and were more receptive to them as compared to teachers’ feedback, it was a surprise that 90% of them voiced out their preference for tutor marking over peer review, as seen in Figure 3.

S1: I think it would be fairer if the tutor marks our work, as they are more experienced and knowledgeable

S9: we are students whereas the professor is more knowledgeable and experienced in marking, so certain things that we didn’t understand, he’d may be able to understand it and mark it in a proper and better