Design principles for online peer-evaluation: Fostering objectivity
Computer support for collaborative learning: The Next 10 Years! Proceedings of CSCL 2005 (Taipei, Taiwan), Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, (2005)Abstract
Peer-evaluation is a powerful method for fostering learning in a variety of contexts. Yet challenges of application in contexts involving personal values received little attention. This study used a design-based research approach to explore such challenges in an undergraduate educational-philosophy course. The study was organized in three design-and-implementation iterations of a peer evaluation activity. Discrepancies between student and instructor scores were explained by bias due to non-objective student personal stands. Refinements to the design, based on emerging design principles a) assisted students to better differentiate between objective criteria and personal opinions, b) increased learning gains, and c) decreased tensions between different cultural groups.
