Page 4 - Peer Assessment_ A Paradigm Shift in Case Pedagogy or an Abrogation of Lecturer Responsibility

International Journal of Case Method Research & Application (2007) XIX, 4 333

realignment of information resulting from the development of new linkages (or information relationships)
as exposure to disparate experiential bases are harnessed to solve these emerging problems.
The stimulus for this paper was simple -- two pilot questionnaires were carried out one on the case
study and student perception and the other a multimedia case study and its technology acceptance. From
these questionnaires certain issues arose that questioned how case studies were developed and taught.
Although the primary focus in this paper is on peer assessment nevertheless, recourse to its embedding
in the holistic framework of the research into efficacy of the business case study format is necessary. For
the business case study the authors’ contention is simply that peer assessment is not a cure all for the
problems associated with engaging the student in deep, active learning but rather a process for
diminishing some of the problems associated with group work and its management
The case study, once written, forms the core narrative from which an interactive script will be produced
and against which the interactive materials will be applied. The application of these multimedia techniques
with their inherent flexibility appears to offer the best potential for ameliorating some of the problems
associated with the use of business case studies:
1. not all students learn at the same rate,
2. students do not all start from the same educational base - in the area of business policy in particular
they are likely to come from a range of disciplines,
3. nor are all students as ready to contribute to class discussion.
Perhaps then, we should redefine what we are trying to achieve in case study teaching. Are we really
trying to get students to solve problems or are we trying to arm students with weapons and experiences
that allow them to contextualise and substantiate the stance they take in their answers? If we dismiss the
idea of definitive solutions and instead concentrate on the issues embedded in the case study, then
perhaps we can achieve a more efficacious learning experience for the student through allowing them to
self develop, triggered by the questions we ask [Gallagher 2006]. It is these questions that form the basis
of the decision points, as shown in diagrams 1, 2, and 3, that are given periodically to the student groups
during peer assessment.
Self-development by students is one thing but it is questionable whether education has quite reached
the stage where it can allow the student full self assessment. At the end of the day the lecturer still has to
assess the student. To facilitate this, assessment may be viewed as diagnostic, formative or summative.
In its rawest form the business case study is designed to facilitate learning and the purpose of
assessment is to check that learning has taken place. So, if the role of the business case study is to
achieve learning then formative assessment or 'assessment for learning' [Sorenson, 2000] should rightly
be the mechanism to facilitate this. However, when the business case study is integrated with on-line,
interactive materials both diagnostic and summative assessment may be embedded in the case study
matrix and accessed by both the lecturer and student as and when desired [Gallagher 2004] incorporating
a high degree of self assessment. In addition, augmentation of the learning experience may be achieved
through group participation. An essential feature of which is that portion of the overall assessment that is
abrogated by the lecturer to the student and is thus grounded in, and driven by, student self-interest.
Diagram 1 combines [Kolb 1984], who described the experiential learning model as consisting of four
stages; concrete experiences, observation and reflection, formulation of abstract concepts, and
generalisations and testing implications of concepts in new situations. Business case studies encapsulate
the process of Kolb’s model (as shown in Diagram 1). Essentially diagram 1 depicts the case study as a
complex, unstructured problem that is consistent with constructivist theory. Constructivism, [according to
Savery and Duffy, 1995] is viewed from the stance that understanding comes from our interactions with
our environment, cognitive conflict stimulates learning, and knowledge evolves through social negotiation
and evaluation of the viability of individual understandings.
If we wish to avoid gross errors of judgment in case analysis then we should forgo definitive solutions
and focus on –problem definition and issues clarification. This is probably the most crucial part of case
analysis for, as in life, we often fail to see the real issue or problem and as a consequence devote our
finite resources of time and effort to solving the wrong problem. The responsibility of the lecturer is to
guide the student through the matrix, the grey area in diagram 1, which is driven by the lecturer who
developed the business case study, created the teaching guide and piloted it with the student body.
Within this process the course materials are developed and linked interactively with the case study and its
teaching guide and these are then linked with the central area of diagram 1 concerning the deep learning