Using peer and self-assessment in history teaching at the university: a case study of an experiment in teaching methodology

Authors

• Simo Mikkonen Jyväskylän yliopisto
• Anna Veijola Jyväskylän yliopisto
• Pasi Ihalainen

Abstract

This article focuses on peer and self-assessment in academic history education. Most of the assessment at Finnish universities is still about measuring how well students can answer to questions put forth by their teachers. Assessment is nearly always a vertical, teacher-centered process in which students simply get a grade, hardly participating in the process. While ways and even purposes of teaching have changed, assessment has resisted changes with striking persistence. Yet, existing research points out that assessment is a key element in how students learn. Our aim was to experiment with peer and self-assessment by structuring an advanced level course in which students would do the grading and teachers would only participate by forging the guidelines for assessment. We found out that students were motivated, felt they learned better and, finally, were capable of producing assessments that were surprisingly similar to those of teachers. Furthermore, students were more ready to accept suggestions for improvement from their peers than from the teachers.