What Students Think Of Peer Assessment: Using Peer Assessment To Drive Student Learning Within A Social Constructivist Paradigm *

Following on from previous action research by the author on the role of self and peer assessment in students ’ learning within group projects (McGarrigle, 2010) the present case study used an action research framework to examine students ’ experience of assessment on a ‘constructively aligned ’ (Biggs, 1999) second year module of an Honours degree programme in Early Childhood Education and Care in the South of Ireland. The study reports on a number of related areas including students ’ opinions of peer assessment, students ’ preferred study method and self assessment of learning skills and ratings of assessment tasks. A social constructivist paradigm can facilitate student learning through applying criteria to assess and provide feedback on each other’s work (Rust, et al., 2005). A questionnaire delivered at the end of the module revealed that students do not appear to like peer assessment for various reasons including; the potential for conflict within the class, potential bias and lack of confidence in peer judgements compared to the tutor. The study poses a dilemma for the author and other educators applying social constructivist approaches to learning which attempt to involve the student in peer assessment. The researcher suggests as peer assessmen