Collaborative Peer-Evaluation Learning Results in Higher Education Programming-based Courses

The objective of this research is to develop a learning model for programming based laboratory courses where cognitive enhancement is succeeded through active evaluation of programming assignments among peers. The key feature of the proposed model is the application of blended (both online and in-class) peer evaluation and student collaboration in an effort to improve the students’ software development skills. The overall goal of the model’s underlining pedagogy is to enhance students’ cognitive abilities, their assessment apptitudes as well as their socialization skills. The developed model has been tested in a real class context, by students who attend undergraduate laboratory programming courses. The results obtained are very significant; students expressed their satisfaction with peer evaluation activities and especially with collaborative evaluation in class, by means of a questionnaire delivered to them at the end of the semester. The collected data demonstrate that the proposed learning model is fully acceptable. Students asserted that the collaborative and peer evaluation activities benefited their knowledge and skills acquisition providing, at the same time, a pleasant educational experience. The evaluation data have also been analysed revealing interested results concerning the ability of the participating students to accurately measure the programming capabilities of their peers and support their further learning through inline annotations.