“Remember to hand out medals”: Peer rating and expertise in a question-and-answer study group

Abstract

This article reports on an exploratory study of giving medals as part of a peer rating system in a question-and-answer (Q&A) study group on Python, a programming language. There are no professional teachers tutoring learners. The study aimed to understand whether and how medals, awarded to responses in a peer-based learning environment, can work as a mechanism to assess the value of those responses when traditional markers of expertise are not always clearly defined and identifiable. Employing a mixed-method approach, the analysis examined (a) the content of the answers that were awarded medals and their perceived immediate value and (b) the nature of the networked relationships resulting from participants' interactions. The findings suggest that the peer rating system makes visible what the participants find immediately valuable and allocates a form of recognition that extends the "legitimation code", which refers to the credentials that make someone competent and worthy of recognition.

Review on Gamification in e-learning: Effects and Challenges

“…Another article based on having medals as a part of a peer rating system -a study group on Python programming language, suggests that the peer rating system helps the participants rate what is important or more valuable and it's a form of recognition. (Ponti, M. 2015).…”

La gamificación como estrategia didáctica para la enseñanza/aprendizaje de la programación: un mapeo sistemático de literatura

“… En [37], se informa sobre un estudio exploratorio de otorgar medallas como parte de un sistema de clasificación por pares en un grupo de estudio de preguntas y respuestas sobre Python, el lenguaje de programación. El estudio tuvo como objetivo comprender cómo las medallas otorgadas a las respuestas en un entorno de aprendizaje basado en pares, pueden funcionar como un mecanismo para "medir" el valor de esas respuestas cuando los indicadores tradicionales de experiencia no siempre están claramente definidos e identificados.…”