Online Peer Assessment for Learning: Findings from Higher Education Students

Abstract

Assessment practices in the higher education (HE) context have undergone profound changes over recent years, particularly regarding their purpose, strategies, and available resources. This exploratory study seeks to analyze, through the perceptions of HE students, the contribution and adequacy of an assessment for learning strategy, namely, online peer assessment (OPA), inspired by the conceptual framework of the PrACT Model, a framework which aims to contribute to the dissemination of alternative assessment practices. The main data collection technique used was the survey questionnaire and the study participants (n = 16) were students from a higher education institution in Portugal. Results point to the lack of student experience in the practice of OPA and are discussed in conformity with the dimensions of the PrACT framework. OPA is considered, from the student’s perspective, an adequate alternative digital assessment strategy, contributing to student motivation as well as to the development of cognitive, metacognitive, and digital skills.