Peer assessment of contributions and learning processes in group projects: an analysis of information technology undergraduate students’ performance

This study examines the peer assessment performance of information technology undergraduate students who completed a semester-long group project. They were asked to provide feedback on their peers’ contributions and learning processes using a set of indicators delivered in two different prompt types (closed and open-ended questions). The students had the choice to change their marks on each Likert scale item after responding to the open-ended questions. We compared the scores of each indicator between prompt types and explored the content of the responses to the open-ended peer assessment prompt in terms of verification, verification type and elaboration. The results of paired t-tests showed that many students made changes to the scores for some or many items on the closed-ended question prompt after completing the open-ended question prompt, although there were no significant statistical differences between the scores based on prompt-type. Many responses to the open-ended peer assessment prompt were on-topic, included positive evaluation, and provided general or informative feedback. The findings demonstrated that students exhibit the potential to assess their peers’ contributions and learning processes in group projects. The study results suggest that peer assessment should be designed to support students to create and manage their learning processes independently, reflect on their learning, and receive peer feedback on their learning processes and performances in group work.