Abstract:

Students’ perceptions of peer feedback processes are varied. The systematic literature review conducted by Van der Kleij & Lipnevich (2021) categorizes both positive perceptions, especially if the feedback is accompanied by dialogues to understand its meaning, as well as negative ones. Several authors have previously warned about the difficulties associated with the low perceived usefulness of feedback and its effects on motivation and performance. For instance, Jonsson (2013) found that because it was not perceived as useful, it was not applied to subsequent tasks. Likewise, Price et al. (2010) confirmed student dissatisfaction and frustration with feedback, while Crosby (2021) once again considered that this may be due to the lack of clarity of the feedback or its overly negative tone. However, it should be noted that perception is related to the type of feedback and its purpose. Therefore, there is a set of conditioning or mediating factors, and it is worth exploring students’ perceptions of the feedback.
The findings presented in this study are part of an educational intervention carried out in the subject “Introduction to Galenic Pharmacy”, in the framework of the R+D project Analysis of the Effects of Digital Monitoring-Supported Feedback Provision on Transversal Competencies (e-FeedSkill - PID2019-104285GB-I00). The sample is composed of 339 students enrolled for the 2021-2022 academic year who completed the task proposed for the continuous assessment process. The aim of this study is to explore what are students’ perceptions of the benefits and difficulties of a peer assessment process before and after participating in a peer-feedback-based experience. To address this aim, the responses of the participating students were analyzed before and after the peer assessment process. Considering that the answers were given in open text fields, the Atlas.ti programme was used for the analysis.
Our findings show an improvement in the benefits perceived at the end of the experience compared to initial expectations. We discuss the importance of implementing peer feedback experiences in higher education, particularly in pharmacy teaching and learning.

References:
[1] Crosby, R. (2021). Student Perceptions of Assessment and Feedback - are they valid? Computing Education Practice 2021.
[2] Johnson, C. E., Keating, J. L., Boud, D. J., Dalton, M., Kiegaldie, D., Hay, M., McGrath, B., McKenzie, W. A., Nair, K. B. R., Nestel, D., Palermo, C., & Molloy, E. K. (2016). Identifying educator behaviours for high quality verbal feedback in health professions education: Literature review and expert refinement. BMC Medical Education, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-016-0613-5
[3] Price, M., Handley, K., Millar, J., & O’Donovan, B. (2010). Feedback: All that effort, but what is the effect? Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(3), 277-289. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930903541007
[4] Van der Kleij, F. M., & Lipnevich, A. A. (2021). Student perceptions of assessment feedback: A critical scoping review and call for research. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 33(2), 345-373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-020-09331-x

Keywords:

Peer feedback, perceptions, pharmacy education, student, satisfaction, educational intervention.