Peer Assessment On Grade Eight Students Descriptive Essay Writing in a Lower Secondary School In Bhutan

Abstract

This research was conducted to explore the values of implementation of peer assessment on grade 8 students’ descriptive essay. The study was conducted in the second semester of the school year, 2015 from August till the end of September. The study was conducted with 35 grade 8 students in a Lower Secondary School in Bhutan. Mixed method research design was adopted for the study. Data were collected via interviews, questionnaires, students’ reflective journal and teacher’s journal. The researcher triangulated these data to answer the two research questions and found out that the development of peer assessment in descriptive essay writing encouraged the participants to assume the responsibility as the assessors of their own work, enhanced cooperation among the peers, improved their language in writing essay, and provided them the opportunity to experience learning by doing. It was also revealed how peer assessments in descriptive essay writing raised participants’ learner satisfaction at the end of the study through the analysis of the second part of the questionnaire. Finally, it was found that the implementation of peer assessment on grade 8 students’ descriptive essay writing in the study contained both positive and negative values