CONCEPT OF SELF REFLECTION

AND PEER EVALUATION

SELF REFLECTION

Self reflection is basically introspection.

Its refers to the process of consciously observing one’s self in a deeper sense to try and evaluate the kind of life one is living.

It is the process of examining the impact of individual values, viewpoint, styles of communication and experiences.

Human self – reflection is the capacity of humans to exercise introspection and the willingness to learn more about their fundamental nature, purpose and essence.

Self reflection is also known as Self –Examination.

Self reflection may be when someone is trying to find themselves and figure out who they feel they are.

ADVANTAGES

Encourages student involvement and responsibility.

Encourages student to reflect on their role and contribution to the process of the group work.

Allows students to see and reflect on their peers evaluation of their contribution.

Focuses on the development of students judgement skills.

DISADVANTAGES

Potentially increases lecturer workload by needing to brief students on the process as well as on going guidance on performing self evaluation.

Self evaluation has a risk of being perceived as a process of presenting inflated grades and being unreliable.

Students feel ill equipped to under take the assessment.

PEER EVALUATION

Peer evaluation is a process of collegial feedback on quality of teaching.

It is a purposeful process of gathering information and evidence about the effectiveness of teaching processes and the educational environment with a view to subjecting it to constructive critical scrutiny.

Peer evaluation usually begins with people identifying what areas they would like feedback on, and works best where the process is reciprocal between peers.

A key component of peer evaluation is peer review of current practice often based on peer observation of teaching interaction.

For peer evaluation to work effectively, the learning environment in the classroom must be supportive.

Students must feel comfortable and trust one another in order to provide honest and constructive feedback.

Instructors who use group work and peer evaluation frequently can help students develop trust by forming them into work in the same groups throughout the term.

This allows them to become more comfortable with each other and leads to better peer feedback.

ADVANTAGES

Encourages student involvement and responsibility.

Encourages student to reflect on their role and contribution to the process of the group work.

Provides more relevant feed back to students as it is generated by their peers.

Focus on the development of students judgement skills.

DisadvantagesAdditional briefing time can increase a lectures workload.

Students will have a tendency to award everyone the same mark.

Students feel ill equipped to under take the assessment.