Alternative assessment (Teacher/Peer) in MOOCs and its effect on enhancing collaborative leadership skills

Abstract

This study sought to enhance university students' collaborative leadership skills through the use of an alternative assessment method (teacher/peer) within a massive open online course (MOOC) on the Canvas platform. It examines how university students taking a massive open online course (MOOC) on the Canvas platform might improve their collaborative leadership abilities by using two alternative assessment methods: teacher assessment and peer assessment. A sample of 100 students studying educational technology was divided equally between two groups using a quasi-experimental method. The instructor evaluated one group, and peers evaluated the other. T-tests were used to assess the results of the pre-test and post-test, which were obtained using a newly created Collaborative Leadership Skills Scale. The findings show that collaborative leadership abilities significantly improved as a result of both evaluation methodologies. Peer assessment was more successful in promoting social contact and constructive peer interdependence, while teacher assessment was more successful in developing cognitive negotiation, appraisal, and team management skills. These results show that, through different pathways, teacher and peer assessments both significantly contribute to the development of collaborative leadership qualities. The study emphasizes how crucial it is to incorporate these cutting-edge evaluation techniques into MOOC designs since they can improve collaborative and self-directed learning and better prepare students for the changing demands of the contemporary workforce. In a quasi-experimental study, 100 students studying educational technology who were enrolled in a MOOC through Canvas were split evenly into two groups and given assessments that were either peer- or teacher-based. T-tests based on a developed Collaborative Leadership Skills Scale were used to examine the results of the pre-test and post-test. The results show that both assessment models considerably improve collaborative leadership abilities. Peer assessments more effectively foster social interaction and constructive interdependence, while teacher assessments are more successful in fostering cognitive negotiation, evaluation, and team management abilities. These findings provide credence to the inclusion of different evaluation techniques in MOOCs, emphasizing how they might promote more successful independent and group learning and better equip students for the changing needs of the contemporary workforce.