Peer assessment: the role of relational learning through communities of practice

ABSTRACT

Our work concerned the socio-cultural practices of tutors from diverse higher education institutes. The tutors were practising lecturers who had contributed to peer assessment studies published in refereed academic journals. Analysis of interview data considered the relational interdependency of tutors’ and students’ activity in the socially and culturally structured world of peer assessment. Undertaking peer assessment led to changes in: (1) relational learning between tutors and students, and (2) tutors’ and students’ perceived identities. The findings are discussed in terms of: (a) learning in communities of practice through boundary interactions with other communities, and (b) the participatory and acquisition metaphors of learning. The wider role of peer assessment in terms of interactions, communications and the balance of learning metaphors in higher education is considered.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer assessment
• relational learning
• communities of practice
• identity
• socio-cultural learning

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Drs Rachael Forsyth and Karen Handley, and Prof Nachiappan Chockalingam for their helpful comments on draft versions of this manuscript. All these individuals have improved our thinking and writing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.