Metacognition gains in public health graduate students following in-class peer evaluation

Peer evaluation provides an opportunity to give and receive feedback on work in a structured setting. Instructors can utilise peer evaluation as an opportunity to teach and for students to practice metacognition along with other professional skills. Second year Master of Public Health students in a professional development capstone course participated in a peer evaluation for two writing assignments. Students were administered pre- and post-surveys about their perceptions of peer evaluation. First years were administered the survey as a comparison group. Mixed methods were used to: (1) examine second years’ perceptions of skills gained/practiced after engaging in peer evaluation, (2) compare perceptions of peer evaluation in second to first years, and (3) measure agreement across skills gained following peer evaluation compared to self-reported competencies in their final capstone ePortfolio assignment. Results demonstrate gains in metacognition of professional skills and strong agreement of the skills reported following peer evaluation and self-reported competencies.