Collaborative Learning Supported by Blockchain Technology as a Model for Improving the Educational Process

After COVID-19, new accreditation standards include the need for developing better learning and teaching environments. This will be supported and connected with digitization, entrepreneurship, social inclusion, and a circular economy. The orientation towards equity and quality in education clearly imposes the need for an individual approach to each student separately. This situation is especially pronounced in higher education institutions in the field of technology, whose primary goal is very often individual training for use of highly specialized software and hardware tools. In such a situation, it is necessary to move away from the classical ex-cathedra methodology and develop student-centered learning environments. Global accreditation systems for teaching, learning, practice, and business communication can be simplified using blockchain. On the basis of blockchain technology (BCTs), this paper proposes a Collaborative Learning and Student Work Evaluation (CLSW) model that includes a multi-frontal teaching method (VFN) and combines scientific peer-review standards. BCTs are used to protect student project and assessment data storage and transmission. Assisting higher education institutions in finding "employable capabilities" of proactive students is the idea of CLSW. Before implementing the CLSW paradigm, a poll of lecturers' views on BCTs was conducted. The poll results show a desire and willingness to teach with BCTs. The model's fundamental capabilities and the key participants' duties were described in a project framework. Additionally, this research and proposed model can improve educational process sustainability in general, as it is an open platform easily accessible by all the interested parties, thus contributing to life-long learning.

A MATHEMATICS PEER ASSESSMENT PROCESS FOR FLEXIBLE MODES OF DELIVERY

Educators have experienced significant challenges managing assessment processes over the last two years, particularly when converting in-person interactive and group-based activities to an online format. This was of immediate concern during the initial stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, when interim measures for online assessment were introduced rapidly without the benefit of prior planning and design. As we emerge from the emergency phase of the pandemic, it appears there will be lasting changes to delivery and assessment in higher education, involving more hybrid and blended solutions. This paper discusses how an on-campus peer feedback assessment process for mathematics has been converted to a digital format to facilitate flexible modes of delivery either on-campus or online. A weekly paper-based peer-feedback process had been previously established in our large (150+) first-year engineering mathematics class. The new process involves weekly submission of work through the university Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas, which is peer marked by students using model video solutions for selected questions. Students complete a rubric and provide comments. After each session, students complete a reflective journal, considering their work over the week and the comments they have received. Engagement with the new flexible process has been shown to be comparable to the old system, while the quality of feedback given to peers in the online process is superior to those provided in the paper-based system. The system has been shown to be robust when rapid changes in delivery modes occur. © 2022 SEFI 2022 - 50th Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education, Proceedings. All rights reserved.

Peer Assessment as an Example of Cooperative Learning Strategies in Graduate and Undergraduate Engineering Courses

The use of ICT and advanced instructional strategies have gained much more interest, especially during the rise in the online class delivery in the COVID years. However, techniques such as the flipped classroom face several challenges in highly analytical courses in the engineering field. This work reports on the use of a cooperative learning strategy centered around the peer assessment in both the undergraduate and graduate level. The results show that given the proper trainings and guidelines, summative peer assessments are in line with the instructor assessments, and provide an opportunity to the students for engaging concepts proactively in the classroom. © 2022 IEEE.

Participatory learning as a student-centered teaching technique during the COVID-19 pandemic

The study aimed to determine if there is a significant difference between peer and lecturer assessment scores and to explore the relationship between peer assessment scores and the study year of preservice teachers. Furthermore, the study explored the effect of Blackboard Collaborate online group presentations on the development of pedagogical skills of undergraduate pre-service teachers. Two hundred and sixty-two peer and lecturer assessment scores were compared, while 53 students completed the Google form survey. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed a statistically significant difference between peer scores and lecturer-moderated scores in different courses. However, the test did not show a statistically significant difference in the course N2. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between the study year and the difference in scores. The data revealed that the group presentations and assessment improved the pedagogical and assessment skills of the pre-service teachers. The findings are expected to inform practitioners about group presentation and peer assessment practices and their potential to improve pedagogical and assessment skills for preservice teachers during a period of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Practitioner Notes 1. Students improved their presentation and assessment skills (professionalism) as they progress with their studies. 2. Moderation of peer assessment scores by professionals is critical in ensuring that the marks allocated by peers are authentic. 3. Frequent exposure to peer assessment and moderation followed by feedback to the students can significantly improve their pedagogical and assessment skills. 4. Furthermore, the contribution of peer assessment scores to the final score should be minimal due to the significant difference observed between the peer and lecturer scores. © 2023, University of Wollongong. All rights reserved.

Students' perceptions towards the application of peer assessment in a virtual English writing class

Writing skills are not easy to develop in English language learning, especially when online learning is being implemented amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to improve students' writing skills, as well as increase students' autonomy, peer assessment is often adopted. The article presents findings of the research conducted in late 2021 on students' perceptions towards the use of peer assessment in an online English writing class in Vietnam. The research applied a mixed method model with a questionnaire and an interview as the instruments. The questionnaire has 18 items divided into 4 parts: students' personal information, students' attitudes towards peer assessment, advantages of peer assessment, and disadvantages of peer assessment. The participants were 97 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students who experienced one semester studying "Advanced Writing Skills” in online classes. The findings of the research revealed that students had negative attitudes towards the application of peer assessment to improve writing skills and they shared ideas of advantages and disadvantages of peer assessment. It is recommended that specific guidelines on how to do peer assessment with samples should be provided before teachers implement this teaching technique in class. In addition, in online classes, teachers need to be aware of making students familiar with peer assessment, as well as in the virtual environment. Practitioner Notes 1. Peer assessment can be applied as an effective method to develop students' writing skills in both offline and online situations. 2. To implement online peer assessment, practitioners should carefully design the activity with well-prepared peer assessment criteria and familiarise students with the way to do online peer assessment. 3. Technical issues and platforms used to conduct online peer assessment should be accounted for as an effective implementation of peer assessment. 4. Students' attitudes towards the application of peer assessment to develop writing skills may vary due to various factors like the organisation of the activity. 5. Whether peer assessment can develop students' soft skills like critical thinking and team work depends much on practitioners' ways of implementing the activity. © 2023, University of Wollongong. All rights reserved.

Formative Assessment in Context of COVID-19 Pandemic

The pandemic situation is contributing to the redesign of training models, promoting new scenarios, or readjusting other pedagogical resources already known, which help to deal with the uncertainty and doubts that have arisen. This context raises new requirements and solutions in the approach of the face-to-face, online and mixed model. Adaptation of spaces, compliance with prevention measures, interaction with students, methodologies and especially, an assessment system, which helps to keep track of the subject, so that a more active attitude of the student and their commitment to this process, are of great value. From the reflection on the achievement of objectives, follow-up of the subject, and the auto- and peer-assessment, an experience of formative assessment is presented in two environments, online and face-to-face. Both are supported by a process of self-assessment and peer-assessment, which has allowed students to successfully face the subject of Artistic Expression I, in the Degree in Engineering in Industrial Design and Product Development at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Assessing the effects of a collaborative problem-based learning and peer assessment method on junior secondary students' learning approaches in mathematics using interactive online whiteboards during the COVID-19 pandemic

Given the demands on instructors created by the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have been compelled to integrate active learning pedagogies supported by mobile technologies to sustain students' interactive engagement. This study describes the implementation of a novel active pedagogy - the collaborative problem-based learning and peer assessment (Co-PBLa-PA) method, implemented through interactive online whiteboards (IOWBs) in junior secondary mathematics classes in Hong Kong. Data were collected from 87 Form 1 students and analysed to test three hypotheses postulating the main effects of the Co-PBLa-PA method on students' learning approaches using IOWBs. A pre-survey (SPQ) on students' learning approaches and a post-survey (SPQ) on students' learning approaches and their perceptions of technology-enabled active learning (TEAL) were administrated. Results showed the Co-PBLa-PA method, using IOWBs, increased students' learning performance and promoted significant deep learning. A significant positive correlation also emerged between deep learning approaches and students' perceptions of TEAL using IOWBs. Finally, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Evaluation of Student Engagement, Communication, and Collaboration during Online Group Work: Experiences of Fourth Year Veterinary Medicine Students.

Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching has become widely established in higher education in recent years. However, little is known about the influence of the online environment on collaborative student activities which are an integral part of veterinary education. This study explored engagement, collaboration, and communication among fourth-year veterinary students working in groups on online case-based learning (CBL) activities. Data were collected by questionnaire (93/135) and anonymous peer assessment (98/135) at the end of the trimester. While most students (67%) enjoyed group work and 75% considered it of benefit to their learning, the results indicated that the students' interaction was mainly limited to task management and collating individual answers on shared documents. Rather than meeting online, students communicated by chat and messenger apps. Agreement of roles, rules, and the group contract were largely treated as box-ticking exercises. The conflict was the only factor that affected group work satisfaction and was largely avoided rather than addressed. Interestingly lack of student engagement in group work was not related to overall academic performance and had no impact on their end-of-term exam results. This study highlights high student satisfaction and engagement with online group CBL activities even when collaboration and communication was limited. Achieving higher levels of collaborative learning involving co-regulation of learning and metacognitive processing of learning content may require more specific, formal training in relevant skill sets from an early stage of the veterinary curriculum.

Socio-constructivist pedagogy in physical and virtual spaces: the impacts and opportunities on dialogic learning in creative disciplines

The process and outcomes of the design studio are extensively communicated through visual means. However, notwithstanding such tangible manifestations of learning, design education is characterised by dialogue, the discussions in studio between tutors and students and between the students themselves. As such, it aligns strongly with socio-constructivism, where learning is co-constructed and negotiated through a social process of collaborative dialogue. This article evaluates the impact of the transition from studio-based encounters to virtual learning on a pedagogy that revolves around dialogic interaction, the dynamics of which arguably become distinctly different online. Utilising a combination of reflecting on teaching practices and research literature, this article explores the effects of a variety of signature elements on architectural pedagogy through which dialogic learning occurs, such as one-to-one tutorials (desk crits), group tutorials and design reviews (crits or juries). Socio-constructivism suggests that dialogue and co-construction are key processes for learning;the question is: was this effectively replicated in a virtual format? Post-lockdown, some institutions are retaining elements of virtual teaching alongside face-to-face through a blended learning approach. The article considers the implications of this for creative disciplines. In the return to face-to-face teaching after the prolonged hiatus created by the pandemic, some students have very little experience of studio culture;the article discusses the potential consequences and opportunities that this presents. Learning from the experiences of remote teaching during the pandemic, the article concludes by suggesting qualities that might be embedded within both physical and virtual creative learning spaces to facilitate more compassionate and engaging dialogic learning.

Constructivist Learning during the COVD-19 Pandemic: Teaching and Assessment Skills in a Post Graduate Certificate of Education Students

The study sought to evaluate the effect of online group presentations on the development of pre-service teachers' pedagogical and assessment skills. The study involved students undertaking the postgraduate Certificate of Education in science course during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was underpinned by a cross-sectional survey design. Students worked in groups of five to present micro-lessons and assess each other using a rubric prepared by the researcher. In each group, four peers independently assessed each student, and an average mark was calculated. Discussions between students on the strengths and weaknesses of the presentation were held. The researchers moderated the average marks by evaluating the presentations submitted by the students using the same rubric. The researcher gave feedback, highlighting the strengths of the presentations and areas that needed some improvement. Most of the students were of the view that group presentations improved their pedagogical skills and assessment practices. The study recommends the implementation of similar group presentations before teaching practice, as this would help them teach better in the schools. © 2022 IST-Africa Institute and Authors.

Changes in classroom assessment practices during emergency remote teaching due to COVID-19

This study explores the effects of the shift to emergency remote teaching on assessment practices due to COVID-19 lockdown. A total of 936 Spanish teachers from all educational levels ranging from early childhood to university participated in this nationwide survey. Four aspects were explored: (1) changes in the use of assessment instruments (e.g. exams);(2) changes in assessment criteria, standards and grading;(3) changes in the delivery of feedback and use of rubrics;and (4) changes in students’ involvement in assessment (i.e. self- and peer assessment). In general, results are mixed, with some areas undergoing certain changes with the aim of adapting to the new situation (e.g. primary education teachers lowering their grading standards), whereas many other assessment practices have remained similar, especially among higher education teachers. Unfortunately, some of the assessment practices have worsened, such as students’ involvement in assessment which has decreased.

Online Remote Proctoring Software in the Neoliberal Institution: Measurement, Accountability, and Testing Culture

As COVID-19 spread in early 2020, a lockdown was implemented across Canadian provinces and territories, resulting in the shuttering of physical post-secondary campuses. Universities quickly pivoted to remote learning, and faculty members adjusted their instructional and assessment approaches to align with virtual environments. Presumably to aid with this process, a number of institutions acquired licenses to remote online proctoring services. This paper examines the research around online remote proctoring, examining the justification offered for the adoption of online remote proctoring, and contemporary research on assessment practices in higher education. Throughout the paper, I demonstrate a lack of research that speaks to the efficacy of this mode of assessment while also acknowledging shifts in the testing environment, and an increase in student anxiety. I argue that online remote proctoring is not only embedded within neoliberalism and audit culture, but supports a continued reliance on testing culture. It concludes with a discussion of assessment culture, offering some alternative assessment approaches that might disrupt the very need for online remote proctoring.

Peer assessment as a method for facilitating cross-sector learning: A national pilot

Background: The delay of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) pharmacist registration assessments in England due to COVID-19 created a need for innovative assessment methods. Peer assessment was identified as a potential method for use across the sector and geographical boundaries. The aim was to establish a model for a national peer assessment tool to support Early Careers Pharmacists (ECPs) development. Method: Participating ECP submitted cases using a standard template to be anonymised and distributed to three peer reviewers. An external supervisor provided a final agreement on the feedback given. Results: Two hundred and fifty pharmacists participated in peer assessment from a range of sectors and locations. 75.5% (n=566) of potential peer reviews were completed with an average score at expected standard for an ECPs. Commonality of sector experience between submitter and peer did not affect scoring. Conclusion: These findings support acceptability and feasibility of asynchronous pharmacy peer assessment across sector and geographical boundaries.

Planning and Design of Online Peer Assessment Professional Development Training in Higher Education

Due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, universities around the world have been compelled to rethink how they design and implement student assessment strategies. In addition, it has also led to a re-strategizing of how professional development of academics is carried out to mitigate this rethinking endeavor. In response, this work-in-progress paper presents an Open Educational Resource (OER) Professional Development (PD) training plan using the Learning Management System (LMS) known as MOODLE for the University of the South Pacific (USP). The proposed OER, PD training comprises of three modules and is scheduled to go live during the July semester break of 2021 over a three-week period. Module 1 - focuses on understanding the peer assessment strategy, Module 2 - presents a framework for Implementing Online Peer Assessment (OPA) using the MOODLE Workshop Tool and Module 3 - focuses on academics developing an assessment for OPA from their own courses and participating in OPA process. The paper provides considerable insights for Higher Education Institutes (HEI) in planning and designing online PD training on OPA for academics. © 2021 IEEE.

Gender bias in team-building activities in China

Purpose>The purpose of this study is to explore how gender influences peer assessment in team-building activities in China.Design/methodology/approach>A nine-player Werewolf game was adopted to conduct the experiment. Nine abilities were defined to evaluate players’ performances. Before the game, players filled out a self-assessment questionnaire (five-point Likert scale). After the game, players evaluated other game members’ performances using the same questionnaire. Data were analyzed using linear regression.Findings>The results showed that gender bias clearly existed in team-building activities, with men more likely to receive better peer assessment than women. In addition, when women presented themselves as actively as men did, they received less favorable evaluations than men, whereas their failures were more likely to be exaggerated.Practical implications>This study may help build harmonious teams for gender equality, and we give practical suggestions respectively from the perspective of female employees, their managers, and their companies.Originality/value>Given the importance of team-building activities in teamwork, fair evaluations of team-building performances are essential. However, gender influences on peer assessment in team-building activities in China remain unclear. This study adds new and important knowledge to research on gender bias in teams.

Case item creation and video case presentation as summative assessment tools for distance learning in the pandemic era.

BACKGROUND: There is an urgent need for more diverse methods for student evaluation, given the sudden shift to online learning necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Innovative assessment tools will need to cover the required competencies and should be used to drive self-learning. Self-assessments and peer assessments may be added to the traditional classroom-based evaluations to identify individual insecurities or overconfidence. Identification of these factors is essential to medical education and is a focus of current research. METHODS: A modified operational assessment was introduced for the evaluation of third-year medical students. This intervention has facilitated sustained education and has promoted interactive student learning. Members of the entering class of 2017 participated in an integrated team and a competency-based online project that involved innovative item creation and case presentation methods. RESULTS: The new assessment process has been implemented successfully with positive feedback from all the participants; a usable product has been generated. CONCLUSIONS: We created new assessment tools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that have been used successfully at our institution. These tools have provided a framework for integrated and interactive evaluations that can be used to facilitate the modification of traditional assessment methods.

An observational study of learning effects of peer-assisted learning tests in COVID-19 pandemic times.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine whether peer-assisted learning (PAL) is a more effective learning and test method in terms of oral- and maxillofacial surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In July 2020, a total of 267 students took a PAL-based exam on fictional patients with surgical issues, in which they had to evaluate two fellow students and were themselves evaluated by two fellow students. The students evaluated their experience with the PAL-based exam through a questionnaire which consisted of five given statements (answer possibilities: agree, disagree, neutral) and two questions (answer possibilities: better, equal, worse) to rate. RESULTS: In the survey, 77.9% of the students rated PAL as a better learning method and 21% rated it as at least equally effective to the known multiple-choice (MC) test. A total of 74.9% of the students indicated that they learned more content with PAL and 20.2% said they learned the same amount; 83.7% said that their "clinical thinking has improved" through PAL. In the comments, 73% of the students noted that they think PAL is a good learning method, and at least 22% rated it as useful but in need of improvements. Only 5% did not see PAL as an acceptable learning method. In contrast to this, 1.3% saw PAL as a "bad alternative to MC tests." CONCLUSION: PAL, especially peer assessment, might represent a better learning method as it might encourage students to deal more intensively with the learning content and to improve clinical thinking.