Exploring Pre-service Teachers’ Attitudes towards Online Peer Assessment

Abstract

The use of peer assessment has gained considerable interest as an alternative assessment method in higher education. This study explores pre-service teachers’ attitudes towards and opinions about the online peer assessment process. To this end, a basic qualitative research method was applied. A sample of 125 pre-service teachers from a city in Turkey participated in the study. The study employed the Attitudes towards Peer Assessment Scale and open-ended questions to investigate participants’ attitudes and opinions. The study found out that the vast majority of the participants felt that peer assessment is beneficial and enjoyable. However, some of the participants indicated that fairness and efficacy might be questionable. The study highlights the influence of anonymity, rater training, and teacher monitoring. Recommendations are provided to improve the design and implementation of peer assessment in Teacher Training Programmes.

Keywords

• Attitudes towards Peer Assessment
• Online peer assessment
• pre-service teachers

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