Collaborative Assessments

Collaborative assessments, primarily through peer assessment (outlined in the following section), engage students in a shared learning process that significantly enhances their critical thinking and understanding of evaluation standards. By participating in the feedback loop, students not only help their classmates but also strengthen their own grasp of learning goals and success criteria.

If you'd like to consult with instructional designers about designing and creating an alternative assessment, please feel free to email idteam@ksu.edu.

Peer Assessments

What is it? A process in which students provide feedback, and sometimes grades, to their classmates on their work.

Why is it Effective? By giving and receiving feedback, students strengthen their understanding of the learning goals and success criteria, which in turn helps them assess their own learning. Feedback is a learning activity, and student learning benefits from both giving and receiving peer feedback.

How to Implement:

Model Feedback: Instructors should model providing quality feedback so students learn what constructive, respectful, and non-judgmental feedback sounds like.

Classroom Culture: Foster a classroom culture, in-person and online, of mutual trust and collaboration where students understand they share responsibility for their peers' learning.

Use Structured Forms: Provide a clear, specific rubric or feedback form with focused questions (e.g., "Does the proposed solution address all constraints listed in the prompt? Justify your answer.") rather than open-ended comments. This ensures feedback is actionable and aligned with learning objectives.

Grade the Feedback: Assign a small grade percentage to the quality of the feedback provided by the student, making the peer-review process accountable.

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