Effects of peer feedback and assessment on successive drafts of student narrative writing: the case for student assessor and assessee

Yeaher, Sampson (2019) Effects of peer feedback and assessment on successive drafts of student narrative writing: the case for student assessor and assessee. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Writing, one of the four major language skills required in the k12 classroom, is an essential achievement for all students. This research study aimed to investigate the effects of peer feedback on the improvement in the quality of middle school student’s writing performance and their perceptions in a case-based writing activity using peerScholar as an online writing tool. The notion of the design used in this study was to enhance learning whereby students would be rewarded as assessors and assessees but formal grades to be determined by the teacher. Grade eight students (n = 21) completed the writing task. After the completion of the first written drafts (first phase), students were anonymously assigned to rate and comment on three of their peers’ writing tasks (second phase). Based on the rates and comments received from their peers, students were asked to reflect on and improve their writing task. Two expert independent raters randomly rated and commented on the students’ first and second drafts. Participants also completed a ‘background’ survey, interviews, and a reflective narrative essay. The analysis of variances was computed to determine improvement in the quality of writing in consideration of revision made. Survey and interview questionnaire were analyzed for the participants’ perception of writing during the writing process using the peerScholar platform, a web-based peer editing and assessment tool which provided multiple cycles of assessment. The analysis of data indicated that when controlling for the quality of the first and second drafts, there was a significant relationship between the quality of peer feedback participants provided for others and the quality of the participants’ final writing task. This finding supports a prior research claim that active engagement in reviewing peers’ projects may facilitate student learning.

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