Leveraging crowdsourced peer-to-peer assessments to enhance the case method of learning

Abstract

Purpose of the Study: Many marketing educators use the case method to help their students strengthen their decision making skills. Rigorous class participation is essential to achieving the learning objectives in case method learning. One challenge for case method instructors is the assessment of students' class participation, particularly in large classes. This article offers a solution that mines the practices of peer-to-peer feedback and crowdsourcing to enhance the assessment of learning in face-to-face class sessions. Method/Design and Sample: The article outlines a technique used in an MBA marketing course for crowdsourced peer-to-peer assessment of class participation during case discussions, and empirically validates how crowdsourced peer-to-peer assessment compares to students' self-assessment and to the instructor's assessment of class participation performance, based on five years of data (N=7,025) across ten sections. Results: The article demonstrates that crowdsourced peer-to-peer assessment (unlike self-assessment) offers ratings that are highly correlated with instructor assessment and demonstrate strong inter-rater reliability. Results show that crowdsourced peer-to-peer assessments are perceived by students as fair and accurate. Value to Marketing Educators: Educators can leverage crowdsourcing and peer-to-peer feedback to enhance the assessment of class participation during face-to-face case discussions.