Judging quality in disciplinary writing: learning from peer assessment and composing feedback

Part of the Higher Education Academy's seminar series: Assessment and Feedback.

The Thinking Writing team at Queen Mary and Paul Orsmond (Staffordshire University and author of the HE Academy guide to self- and peer-assessment in the Biosciences) have been supporting academics in the School of Engineering and Materials to develop peer assessment of writing.

In this workshop, we will explore ways of using peer assessment to move from the limitations of using ‘explicit’ criteria, and to consider ways of developing tutor and students’ understanding of quality in disciplinary writing. Through case studies of recent implementations, we will consider the problems of organising peer assessment in large classes, student resistance, and concerns of fairness, reliability and trust. Questions we’ll ask include the following:

• What do students learn about judging quality from composing peer feedback?
• How does peer assessment facilitate the development of assessment literacy?
• What is the purpose of peer assessment; a way of clarifying tutor values or a way of eliciting student values?
• To what extent is there room for negotiation between tutors and students over how, and on what, judgements are made?

Programme: 

10.00	Arrival and registration
10:15	Welcome and introduction The Higher Education Academy
10:30	Structure, Rationale and Questions for the day Teresa McConlogue and Sally Mitchell, Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)
10.45	Overview of assessment & feedback – developments in the literature Paul Orsmond, University of Staffordshire
11.45	Lunch
12:30	Case Studies from Engineering Julia Shelton Jens D. Mueller  School of Engineering and Material Sciences, QMUL
13.30	Looking at data – workshop Teresa McConlogue and Sally Mitchell, QMUL Paul Orsmond, University of Staffordshire
15.00	Feedback and ways forward
15:30	Tea, coffee and conversation