Evaluating a Structured Online Peer Evaluation System Among Graduate-Level Communication Capstone Students Through Action Research

Abstract

Although enrollment in online courses continues to accelerate, challenges exist in online learning. A failure to experience collaboration and interaction can impact student retention and success. While peer review activity promotes student interaction, a collaborative community of learners, and critical thinking skills, higher education environments have failed to equip students with the knowledge and tools to ensure adept participation. As students offered limited participation and low-quality engagement in routine online peer review activities, the purpose of this action research was to implement and evaluate the impact of a structured online peer evaluation system for Graduate Communication Capstone students at the University of North Coast Muscari (UNCM). This study incorporated a structured peer evaluation system, including an interactive educational technology peer review tool kit innovation. The theoretical framework of the innovation was aligned to learning theory and grounded in Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, cognitive and mind tools, and Constructivist theory of cognitive apprenticeship. Data collection offered seven methods and data analysis included quantitative and qualitative approaches as part of a triangulation mixed methods design. Community of Inquiry (CoI) deductive analysis was performed to denote social and cognitive presences, while further validating the themes that had emerged through qualitative data analysis. As an impact of this research study, students used the structured peer evaluation system to transform anxiety into social and cognitive freedom, producing a focused, responsible approach to peer learning.