This document discusses using self and peer assessments in Blackboard. It provides an overview of why these assessments are useful for creating active, collaborative online learning environments. The presenters demonstrate Blackboard's self and peer assessment tool, showing how to create questions and criteria for evaluations, have students submit work and review each other's submissions, and view results. Common practices for self and peer assessments from several resources are also listed.

1. Self and Peer Assessments in Blackboard 9.1 Fall 2010 Blackboard Training Series | October 8, 2010 Presenters, Lenore Simonson and Thomas Robb

2. Agenda Faculty Focus Collaborative Learning Evaluating Students Work Common Uses of Self-Peer Assessments Blackboard 9.1 Demo

3. Why self and peer assessments? The first step in creating an active learning environment online is to get students to relate what is going on in the course to their lives, which helps them problem solve and think critically, two skills that are essential in the workplace. Kelley (2008) describes one aspect of this learning environment by stating that “Students critique each others’ work using a set of rubrics. This helps students be more creative in their work, and it also gives them ideas for how to approach their own projects. It’s all about students designing, implementing, and evaluating their own work using other people’s work as resources.”

4. Collaborative Environments Bart (2010) in talking about online learning environments contends, “If you can use the collaborative environment to really bring [students] into your classroom and get connected to you and connected to their peers you’re going to see a lot of benefits besides increased test scores,” I think it’s important for students to show that they are capable of collaborative work — that they can work independently and with others.”

5. Evaluating Students Work Bart (2010) Self and peer evaluations are included in the <evaluation> process to monitor individual involvement and accountability.

6. Peer Editing Checklist

7. Understanding Blackboard’s S&P Assessment Tool The "Self and Peer Assessment" tool available in Blackboard, while somewhat confusing, can be very useful. This tool allows instructors to essentially create a rubric that students can use to provide feedback to their peers. A series of criteria are created for a single or multiple questions. use when evaluating their fellow students' work and a point total for each criterion. When you are creating the Self and Peer Assessment item, you also choose how many submissions each student will evaluate. There is a "Submission" period when students upload or submit their assignment that will be assessed by their peers, and then an "Evaluation" period when students actually do the peer assessments.

8. Things to keep in mind You cannot assign specific students to peer review groups. You can only indicate how many submissions each student will review, and then Blackboard randomly assigns the reviewers for each submission. You cannot modify the Submission Dates or Evaluation Dates once the deadlines have passed. If the student fails to submit the assignment by the end of the submission deadline, there is no way for reviewers to provide their peer assessments for that assignment within the Self and Peer Assessment module. If students are having problems doing the assessment or if a student fails to submit his/her peer assessment in time, you cannot change the evaluation due date once that date is past.

9. Bb Self/Peer Assessment Tool

10. Creating the Assessment

12. Questions could be short essay questions.

14. Reviewing Student’s Work View Submissions View Evaluations View Results (send to Grade Center or not)

15. Demo Creating Self/Peer Assessments Adding Questions Adding Criteria Demo of student answering questions Demo of after evaluation period

16. Resources (common practices) National Council of Teachers of Mathematics http://www.nctm.org/news/content.aspx?id=616 National Capital Language Resource Center http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/assessing/peereval.htm Enhancing Assessment in the Biological Sciences http://www.bioassess.edu.au/assessment-types/peer-and-self-assessment Making Effective Use of Self and Peer Assessments http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/misc/general/ciced/Ch26.html

17. References Kelly, Rob. "Active Online Learning Prepares Students for the Workplace, Reflects Changing Learning Styles Preferences." Faculty Focus. August 17, 2008. http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/active-online-learning-prepares-students-for-the-workplace-reflects-changing-learning-styles-preferences/ (accessed October 5, 2010). Bart, Mary. "How to Design Effective Online Work Environments." Faculty Focus. September 20, 2010. http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/how-to-design-effective-online-group-work-activities/ (accessed October 5, 2010). Millman, Xin Ma and Richard. Using Self and Peer Assessments. November 2005. http://www.nctm.org/news/content.aspx?id=616 (accessed October 5, 2010).