Self and peer assessment - does it make a difference to student group work?

The use of group projects as an assessment strategy is increasing in popularity in education. However problems can arise if members of the group do not contribute equally to the process and required outcome. Self and peer assessment has been advocated as one means of overcoming the problem of `free riders'. A review of the literature would suggest that the vast majority of research in the area of self and peer assessment has been carried out in disciplines other than nursing and midwifery. This paper provides a brief overview on the available literature on self and peer assessment and reports on an action research approach to the development and evaluation of a self and peer assessment strategy, designed to promote student participation in a group project. While further research is needed to substantiate the findings, the results support its continuing use within the programme. To aid the lecturer who is new to self and peer assessment and who may wish to pursue the idea within their own programme the assessment tool and guidelines used in the project are also included.