An emic perspective toward challenges and solutions of self- and peer-assessment in writing courses

Abstract

Self-assessment and peer-assessment have been appraised in a large number of studies, aiming at investigating their effectiveness in different contexts. However, the challenges of implementing self-assessment and peer-assessment have been investigated rather sporadically. Given that, the purpose of this study was to explore the challenges and probable solutions of implementing self-assessment and peer-assessment by delving into the perspectives of English language teaching (ELT) teachers and ELT students. In this study we used an emic methodology to examine the perspective of 11 ELT teachers and 56 undergraduate and graduate ELT students. We used MAXQDA to analyze the interviews and open-ended questions. The results reveled that on the part of ELT students, self and peer's subjective judgment, learners' lack of assessment literacy, and instructional problems were the most important challenges of implementing self-assessment and peer-assessment in writing courses. ELT teachers believed that these assessment types are not feasible in all cultures. They also admitted that ELT teachers' lack of assessment literacy is a challenge in implementing these assessment types. As for the probable solutions, both ELT teachers and students posited that ELT teachers need to increase their assessment knowledge and to participate in teacher training courses. Whereas ELT teachers believed that learner autonomy could be a solution, ELT students were against it. The article's conclusion bears some implications for ELT teachers while implementing self-assessment and peer-assessment in writing courses.

The Effect of Teacher vs. Learner-Assessment Activities on the Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners’ Writing Ability

“…The results revealed that collaboration among team members leads to many opportunities for idea exchanging and peer feedback. Meihami and Razmjoo (2016) investigated the challenges and solutions of utilizing self-and peer-assessment in writing courses. By conducting a series of interviews and open-ended questions, Meihami and Razmjoo delved into the perspectives of 11 English Language Teaching (ELT) teachers and 56 ELT students to find out their challenges and probable solutions to applying self-and peer-assessment in the writing classes.…”

Comparative effects of self-assessment, peer-assessment, and teacher assessment on EFL learners’ writing performance

“…Nakamura (2002) reported that (a) the teacher assessor was more lenient than the peer-assessors were, but the peer-assessors varied in their levels of severity and leniency; (b) peer-assessment was successful in motivating students to improve their oral skills; and (c) students as peer-assessors could be reasonably reliable raters of their peers. Meihami and Razmjoo (2016) investigated the challenges and solutions of utilizing self-and peer-assessment in writing courses. By conducting a series of interviews and open-ended questions, Meihami and Razmjoo (2016) delved into the perspectives of 11 ELT teachers and 56 ELT students to find out their challenges and probable solutions to applying self-and peer-assessment in the writing classes.…”

“…Meihami and Razmjoo (2016) investigated the challenges and solutions of utilizing self-and peer-assessment in writing courses. By conducting a series of interviews and open-ended questions, Meihami and Razmjoo (2016) delved into the perspectives of 11 ELT teachers and 56 ELT students to find out their challenges and probable solutions to applying self-and peer-assessment in the writing classes. The results of their study indicated that ELT students thought of self and peer's subjective judgment, learners' lack of assessment literacy, and instructional problems as the main challenges of self-and peer-assessment in writing classes.…”

Exploring the Elements of Integrity in Peer Assessment

“…This is due to the reason that students might give higher marks to their teammates [9,10]. There are several factors that can influence the self-discipline of students such as nature of a subject, number of products or performance assessed, gender difference, racial and cultural background [12,13]. From the findings of a previous study, the gender-based differences may influence the transparency of a student whilst doing the assessment [14].…”