Using peer assessment of project presentations to develop skills as consumers of statistical information

Abstract

This paper begins with a description of several learning goals of the two-course Introductory Statistics sequence for undergraduate business students at the International University of Monaco, and then focuses on the goals of communicating statistical results and becoming critical consumers of statistical information. As our students are business students, we aim for them to become both producers and literate consumers of statistical analysis. In line with reform movements in Statistics Education and the GAISE guidelines, we are working to implement teaching strategies and assessment methods that align instruction and assessment with our learning goals. One of the main instructional tools we use is group projects with elements of peer and self assessment. This paper describes how peer evaluations are carried out, how they are summarized and why we believe that explicitly incorporating these self and peer assessments has improved student learning both in communicating and in consuming statistical information.