The Good and the Bad. An Evaluation of Project-based Learning with Peer Assessment in a Large Class Context

Abstract

To overcome the negative consequences associated with large class sizes and to support students in developing the necessary competences (e.g., critical thinking, problem-solving) a marketing course has been redesigned by implementing, as a voluntary course part, project-based learning with peer assessment (PBL&PA). This study aims to evaluate students’ perception towards PBL&PA using an online-questionnaire and students’ learning achievement using final grades. Among the 260 students who filled out the questionnaire, 47% participated in PBL&PA. Although students’ participation was initially extrinsically motivated, students mainly experienced learning and social benefits. Parts of the technical implementation, however, were judged negatively and team aspects generated mixed feelings. Examining students’ grades at the final exam uncovered that students who did not participate in any of the offered active learning tasks performed poorest while students who used all activities (clicker and PBL&PA) were best. In conclusion, goals of the implementation were met and usage is recommended.