Visualizing Self- and Peer-assessment Data by a Self-organizing Map for Inducing Awareness in Learners

Abstract

Self- and peer-assessments among learners are presumed to motivate learners to increase their learning and introspection. The basis behind this effect is the awareness resulting from differences between a self-assessment result and the assessment results from others. Therefore, to enable learners to benefit from self- and peer-assessments, we need to easily visualize results that make them aware of some factor that could improve their learning ability. In this study, we designed a system to visualize self- and peer-assessment data, which are many and multi-dimensional data, in such a way that we can easily grasp an overview at first glance. We then developed an actual system using a self-organizing map (SOM) as a method for visualizing self- and peer-assessment data. In a comparison of the visualization method in our developed system, SOM, and a conventional method, a radar chart, we showed the usefulness of our visualization method, SOM, through a subjective evaluation test and a statistical hypothesis test. In addition, we carried out an experiment in which people wrote reports, then conducted self- and peer-assessments of what they wrote by using the developed system. The experimental results showed that the visualization of self- and peer-assessment data enabled people to become aware of some factor that helped them to improve their reports.