Online learning communities and formative peer assessment: two case studies in the field of humanities

Abstract

While there is considerable research on online teaching, less has been written about online peer assessment and feedback at a university level within the context of learning communities in the field of Humanities. Advances in the internet have helped to promote a social constructivist learning theory more in keeping with the idea of preparing our students to work collaboratively and communicate effectively. The purpose of this article is to describe the author's practical experiences with two different subjects at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain: Lesson Planning According to the Communicative Methodological Principles, a post-graduate subject which is part of a 200-hour course on Spanish as a foreign language, and English IV, a complusory quarterly subject in the second year of the degree in Modern Languages. We will discuss the benefits that students and teachers can obtain by being part of a learning community and using online formative peer assessment.