Peer learning and learning-oriented assessment in technology-enhanced environments

Group work, group projects and collaborative learning encourage students to learn from other students as well as from the lecturer. Peer learning may involve cooperation, communication and the giving and receiving of peer feedback. In addition peer learning emphasises the sharing of knowledge and ideas between students in a reciprocal partnership. However, some educators ask individual students to formally assess each other within the context of a group project which may inhibit the very process of peer learning that they are attempting to promote. This paper, through the voices of three lecturers and their students, has attempted to reinforce the importance of learning-oriented peer assessment within technology-enhanced environments. This paper advocates the concept of learning-oriented peer assessment strategies to enhance student learning. Copyright © 2006 Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business.