Outcomes of a peer assessment/feedback training program in an undergraduate sports medicine course.

摘要

Peer assessment/feedback is clearly occurring in athletic training education programs. However, it remains unclear whether students would improve their ability to assess their peers and provide corrective feedback if they received formal training in how to do so. The purpose of this study was to determine the following: (1) if a peer assessment/feedback (PAF) training program affected the quality of feedback students provided to their peers and if feedback improves over time, (2) if students' perceptions of and preferences for PAF changed over time and as a result of a PAF training program, and (3) if PAF training affected skill performance. Two sections of an introductory sports medicine class were used to examine the effects of a PAF training program and time on different aspects of PAF. The subjects had three sets of laboratory skills with two days of lab practice for each set. One section received the PAF training after the first set of labs (n = 33); the control section received not training (n = 36). Two groups of four students from each section were videotaped in order to observe the feedback they provided. Surveys were completed at the beginning of the semester and the end of the semester to examine perceptions and preferences of all subjects. The videotaped data analysis suggests that PAF training potentially shaped the consistency of descriptive feedback, use of strategic questioning, staying on task and the amount of reaffirming feedback provided. Findings also suggest that other factors shaped the peer feedback, such as baseline ability to provide quality feedback, difficulty of the skill and the number of errors performed while executing the skills. Some of the strategies discussed in the PAF training were used by the control groups even though they did not receive training. The training could be beneficial for all students to either reinforce what they already do or to teach new strategies. Subjects in the PAF training found it beneficial, which may improve the acceptance of feedback and their wiliness to provide feedback. The subjects, regardless of group, overwhelmingly had positive perceptions of the benefits of peer learning, benefits of PAF and the PAF process. Students preferred peers for the activities related to practicing and refining skills while preferring instructors for initial learning and grading. Preferences for PAF increased for six of the 11 items with no differences between the experimental and control groups. Finally, there were no significant differences in exam grades thus the PAF training did not affect skill performance.