Developing enterprise skills through peer-assessed pitch presentations
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of using summative peer assessment to develop enterprise skills within higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical investigation analysing students own perceptions of the peer assessment process to evaluate its impact.
Findings
Participating students indicate that peer assessment aided the achievement of an enterprise learning outcome relating to persuading and influencing. They also report developing skills that will be useful for the workplace, and identify additional learning benefits. Qualitative feedback suggests some discomfort with the inherent non-traditional instructor-learner relationship.
Research limitations/implications
Acknowledging the limitations of using students’ own perceptions, the narrow focus on one course and the singular experience of summative peer assessment this investigation highlights the need for additional research into the impact of pedagogies where “teachers” deliver more of a facilitation role.
Practical implications
The study reinforces the need for educators to invest time and effort in explaining the processes and issues involved with peer assessment. It highlights the contribution that creative industries’ educators might be able to make to the wider development of enterprise skills across higher education disciplines.
Originality/value
The study contributes to two important but under-explored areas of educational research: the development of enterprise skills outside the business school and the use of peer assessment within enterprise education. It provides a case study for non-traditional assessment and identifies a key challenge associated with the emergent pedagogical approach of heutagogy.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
With many thanks to the Kingston University MA Publishing students who participated in the peer assessment and feedback process, particularly those who shared their views within this study. May your newfound skills of persuasion serve you well in the uncertain world that is the future of publishing. Thanks also to Fidelma Murphy and Professor Colin Clarke of Kingston University, for invaluable feedback on drafts of this paper.
Citation
Faherty, A. (2015), "Developing enterprise skills through peer-assessed pitch presentations", Education + Training, Vol. 57 No. 3, pp. 290-305. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-02-2014-0013
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited