Assessing Peer Correction of SQL and NoSQL Queries

Abstract

Students in database courses often make varied syntax and semantic mistakes in writing SQL and NoSQL queries. We report on a study where we designed two styles of multiple-choice questions based on students' mistakes in midterms and used the questions in the final exam to assess student's capabilities in identifying and correcting other students' mistakes. The study found that (1) students had similar performance on both styles of the questions; (2) the average accuracy rate of students in peer correction was about 83%; (3) over 80% of the students thought it was helpful to see and correct others' mistakes; and (4) students' performance in peer correction was moderately correlated with their overall performance. This study is the first to address students' mistakes in writing NoSQL queries and assess peer correction of both SQL and NoSQL queries.