Abstract:

This paper discusses peer assessment as a learning process supportive to developing critical thinking skills. The context for the discussion is the pedagogical intervention conducted in relation to the realization of the project Staying Connected Through Connecting: Peer Learning and Peer Assessment in Pharmacy Education. The project is supported by The Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills and aims at strengthening students’ learning outcomes through active and collaborative methods of learning and parallelly at advancing pedagogical competence of the teachers. Learning activities developed during project work are being implemented in the study program Bachelor of Pharmacy, Nord University, Norway in the years 2022-2024. The presented study draws on the evidence of the positive impact of peer assessment on learners’ performance and documents students’ perceptions of peer assessment as learning experience. The goal of the presented enquiry was to explore how students respond to learning activity involving assessment of their co-students’ work provided through feedback technique “Tell – Ask - Give” (TAG). The activity was conducted with the participation of second-year students in the course Pharmacology in the spring semester, academic year 2023/24. Perceptual data collected through a self-administered questionnaire (quantitative data) indicates mixed to positive evaluation while the responses to open-ended questions (qualitative data) are suggestive of favorable opinions and affirmative attitudes. These results prompt discussion on factors conducive to collaborative work and encourage further work on implementing peer feedback as a method promoting metacognitive learning and a practice benefiting students’ engagement in learning process.

Keywords:

Active Learning, Peer Assessment, Pharmacy Education.