Peer Assessment: Is It Really Helping Us Learn?

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Published by The Strathclyde Telegraph.

Students have an array of different responses to the subject of group work and peer assessment. Some relish in being ‘the leader’, the driving force of a project where they can showcase their creativity and encourage their team members. Some quietly enjoy group tasks simply because it gives them the opportunity to hide behind the work of others, and contribute little-to-nothing to a project and get away with it. Others, however, dread group work and roll their eyes at the idea of what can sometimes feel like juvenile projects that were more appropriate at primary school.

Through a series of studies carried out in 2012 into the effectiveness of group work and peer assessment as an aid to learning, Maryellen Weimer PhD found that: ‘Our hypothesis of better learning outcomes with peer assessment was not supported. In fact, the data suggests that the opposite pattern may exist’.

Many can understand the initial logic behind allowing students to assess, and provide feedback for, each other. This kind of tasks are designed to push students out of their comfort zone, to boost their confidence when speaking to different people, improve their presentation skills, and their ability to speak coherently to a large group; all of which are traits that are deemed desirable by employers. In this essence, group work and peer assessment would appear to benefit the student body immensely. Unfortunately, however, drawbacks still remain.

As many students will admit, there is almost always one member of the team who will contribute less to the project than everyone else in the group while still receiving an equal portion of the grade and recognition that the group will ultimately be awarded at the end of the task. The solution to this issue seems simple: tell the team member to get more involved, stop slacking, and contribute as much as everyone else. Typically, however, students will be randomly put into groups with classmates they may not know too well, and telling someone you barely know to buck up and work harder isn’t going to be the easiest subject to broach, especially for introverts who may find group work challenging enough in itself.

Another disadvantage of peer assessment – and perhaps the biggest one – is simply that students are not qualified to assess anyone’s work.

While feedback from classmates can be helpful, there is only so much that students can do to help each other. We are not qualified to provide critiques or criticism, and we are certainly not qualified to mark each other’s work. The aspect of peer assessment which arguably bothers students the most is in the instances where students are responsible for providing part of their classmates overall grade. While it seems that peer assessment to this extent is more of way for teachers to save themselves time rather than a tool to aid learning, students providing each other with a percentage that will go towards their final grade is something I cannot see the need for.

Not only could a student be unlucky enough to be graded by a classmate who provides overly harsh criticism and, therefore, receives a worse grade than they deserve, or unfairly awarded a better grade than their work merits by a classmate who marks leniently, peer assessment also diminishes the anonymity of grading that every student should be entitled to. When you know a tutor is grading your report, essay or project, you are safe in the knowledge that they do not know whose piece of work they are marking, and you know that you are not being unfairly discriminated against or favoured. But by handing the reigns over to students themselves who, in most cases, will know whose work they are grading, the door is opened for discriminatory assessment and, possibly, even bullying. The question also arises that: if students are peer assessing themselves and their final grades, then why have a teacher at all?

Peer assessment and group work can be valuable learning experience with many benefits. But it is important to remember that students can only help each other to a limited extent, and that under no circumstances is a student qualified to provide a mark that could impact another student’s final grade without the supervision and cross-marking of a professional.

What do you think of peer assessment? Let me know in the comment section below.

News: More Than Half of LGBT Students Experience Homophobic or Transphobic Bullying

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Published by The Strathclyde Telegraph.

More than half of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) students have experienced homophobic or transphobic abuse in further and higher education, according to a new National Union of Students (NUS) study.

The Pride and Prejudice in Education research into the extent of bullying and harassment experienced by LGBT+ students and staff at colleges and universities found that out of 1,505 respondents, 60% had experienced abuse, with a further one in 10 witnessing intimidating behaviour every day.

Out of 930 students and 575 staff surveyed, 78% also said they did not know who to go to if they experienced bullying.

Robbiie Young and Fran Cowling, LGBT+ officers at NUS, said: “It is deeply concerning to see how widespread the bullying and harassment of LGBT+ students is. Every student should feel safe while at college or university. They shouldn’t have to face name-calling and other bullying, or have to consider dropping out of their course because of the way they are treated by other students.”

They added: “NUS will be working with students’ unions to implement the recommendations in this report to create learning environments that are inclusive and welcoming for all LGBT+ students.”

NUS said the survey findings suggest that homophobic and transphobic abuse directed at LGBT+ students also has an impact on their learning and retention levels, with gay/lesbian and non-binary learners more than twice as likely as average students to consider abandoning their course.

Seth Aitken, Forum for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Equality chair, said: “This report clearly shows there is much to be done to foster confidence amongst both staff and learners, which seems to be particularly lacking when it comes to reporting bullying and harassment.’

The report calls for colleges and universities to: do more to prevent LGBT+ students from dropping out as a result of bullying, improve training and support for staff, develop inclusive curriculum content, and adopt zero tolerance policies for harassment.

Helen Carr, Head of Equality at the University and College Union, said: ‘While much has been done to address bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity in colleges and universities, there is no getting away from the fact that it is still a problem.’

Support for LGBT+ students at the University of Strathclyde is available through the Advice Hub and the Strathclyde LGBT+ Society. Information on how to report bullying and abuse based on sexual orientation or gender identity is available on the University of Strathclyde Students’ Association (USSA) website.

What do you think of this story? Let me know in the comment section below.

 

She’s *My* Best Friend

Published by Femsplain.

I’m sure when ancient man saw another cave dweller with a bigger piece of meat than he had from that afternoon’s hunt, he probably felt a twinge of jealousy. He may even have been so jealous that he smashed his fellow cave dweller over the head with a club, stole the meat and ran off with it. Who knows? Maybe jealousy is a quality that dates back to the days of the Flintstones, right back to the beginning of humanity. Whatever the case, it seems to be a primal part of us, but its meaning often blurs, and sometimes what would usually be protectiveness can morph into that all-too-familiar green-eyed monster: jealousy.

“Friend jealousy” is something that I’m sure most people — perhaps more so the case with girls — have experienced (although they may not admit to it). When you’re a small child and you make your first best friend, and you have fun with them, care about them, share your deepest darkest secrets (usually which boy you fancy that week) and cuddle them when they cry, a sense of protectiveness over that friend gradually builds. As your bond strengthens and you become true BFFs who know everything there is to know about each other, you start to think “Yep, this is my friend. Don’t mess with them, or you mess with me!”

But, typically, at some time or another, someone else is going to come along. Maybe they’re already in your group of close friends, and at the start of the new school year after a long summer off, they have a cool new haircut or backpack and they’re just cool this time around; everyone wants to be their new friend, including your BFF.

Though you want to cling on to your best friend — much like a spouse trying to win back the attention of their estranged partner who is looking to trade them in for a younger model — neediness is not going to help your case. You’ll get new toys, invite them over for sleepovers, make them a friendship bracelet, anything just to make yourself the “it” girl again. But, before you know it, your bestie will be playing Barbies with the new BFF at lunch times instead of you.

This is all natural. Especially when you’re young. As we grow, we are all constantly changing in every way physically and emotionally, from our fashion sense to our tastes and interests. It’s natural to outgrow friends, to drift apart from them, to discover new friendships that make you happier and to generally just change from pal to pal sometimes. But these constantly interchanging friend groups as a child can sometimes leaving a lasting impression into teenage years and even adulthood, and you may continue to feel twinges of that little green-eyed creature niggling in the back corner of your mind.

With the drama, hormones and stress associated with high school, this environment could be even more difficult in the friend department than earlier years. But when you get past high school and start community college or university or get a job, and you find yourself in a more stable, committed, friend-making-friendly setting, you should be able to build those kind of solid friendships that last a lifetime. By this stage, you’ll probably think, Ah, I am so over “friend jealousy” now. Ugh, I used to be so silly and childish. Thank goodness I’m way past that. Wrong.

With your new grownup friends, secret sharing has gone deeper than just about who you have feelings for or who you dislike, and you don’t just have other friends to compete with. There are now boyfriends and girlfriends, too. You might think that you’ve locked up that jealousy monster, but as soon as you hear, “Uh, sorry. I’ll have to cancel on you tonight. I’m going on a date with Jonathan” or, “Sorry, I can’t make it to the cinema. I’m going shopping with Jessica,” you’ll start to feel it once more.

At this stage in life, the good news is: Your friend isn’t going to be stolen. If your friend is shallow enough to ditch you for someone else simply because they are new and “cool” or have a lot of nice things, then they weren’t a friend worth having. And you’ll be at a stage where you’ll have a group of friends that you’re really close with, and you’ll constantly make new friends in new social circles. You may not even have one best friend anymore, but a whole group of them.

The bottom line is, “friend jealousy” isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This particular green-eyed monster has a heart of gold and is only riddled with jealousy because at the root, there is love. When you make a friend who you instantly click with and you just think, Wow, this person is amazing! I love them! I want to hang out with them all the time, you quickly feel protectiveness and “friend love” for them. So, when someone new comes along, you naturally want to wrap your friend up in cotton wool and hold them tight. But you have to let go. If they’re a true friend, they won’t be going anywhere anyway.

I am good friends with both sexes, but I love my girlfriends and I’ll always be protective if someone threatens to hurt them. And maybe I’ll always have a bit of “friend jealousy” if someone new comes along. But nowadays, I’ll meet that new person too and think, Hey, I want to be friends with this person as well!

It’s okay to admit that you feel “friend jealousy;” it just means that you care. We just need to remember to tell this cute, lovable, little green-eyed monster that true friends are never stolen, and that everything will be okay.

Featured image courtesy of Flickr.

The Soundtrack to Your Freshers Week

I have an article published in the print edition of the August/September issue (Fresher’s edition) of Scotcampus magazine!

Which kind of student are you?

Are you The Geek, The Slacker, The Flake and or The Debater? Students are a strange species and we all fit into specific breeds. Read my new Scotcampus article and find out which kind of student you are!

A Student’s Guide to Cramming!

We’ve all been there. You know you’ve got that big test coming up but you still leave studying until the last minute! If you’ve let your study plans slide again, read my new Scotcampus article about cramming!

Things to do instead of studying. New article on Save My Boredom.

I have a new article published on SaveMyBoredom.com! If you’re studying for an exam or an assignment and you feel like you’re losing the will to live, have a read. You can view my article here!!!