Frogs and newts revisited: a case study of peer assessment.

Three brief papers will be presented for discussion. One paper will be from a lecturer's perspective on using peer formative assessment with social work undergraduates and will outline the findings of the subsequent research undertaken here by the presenter. The teaching process will be presented along with the key findings from focus group interview and student questionnaires. The focus will be on what worked well when students gave and received formative feedback and what interesting issues were raised for others to consider in relation to academic and practice learning for social work students. Thoughts for future improvements will also be outlined.
The second paper will then be from a student's perspective focusing on how her prior experiences of previous feedback had impacted on her feelings about undertaking the exercise - an agenda often not visible to lecturers. She will then briefly outline what she learned through the process and evaluate the experience in light of her future learning.
The third paper will be from a different student's perspective where she will again evaluate how the experience impacted on her learning. She will also highlight the particular relevance she sees peer assessment as having for social work practice and how she has used her learning to develop both her academic and placement work. How students take learning forward in the future is again an area not automatically seen by lecturers.
The focus of the presentation overall will be presenting a case study and setting this within the wider context of academic and practice learning for social work students. The three papers will be brief and will highlight key issues. At least half the session will be devoted to engaging participants in a discussion about the relevance of the experiences outlined to their own particular contexts and to social work education more broadly.