Using Online Student Peer Reviews to Help Students Learn From Their Peers

What better way to kick off the new year than to incorporate more ways to engage your students in peer-to-peer learning. An easy strategy to implement is to involve students in the assessment process. This not only benefits the students but the faculty as well. If you are like me, providing detailed feedback to students in a timely manner is a challenge, especially when you are facilitating multiple classes and juggling multiple assignments for each class. Detailed and prompt feedback is essential and I would say feedback may be one of the most important factors influencing student learning. Using student peer reviews as a pedagogical tool provides both prompt individualized feedback and an opportunity for students to learn from the practice of peer assessment.

This is not a new strategy, but it is one that has proven to be effective over time. Sims (1989) discussed this technique of using student peer reviews as a teaching and grading tool. For this technique to be effective, students must have an appreciation of the process and upfront knowledge that the feedback should be received and used as a helpful learning tool. When assigning peers to assess each other, it is important to provide some guidelines to increase the effectiveness of the feedback provided and decrease bias and marginal feedback such as “Great Job!”

Below are some tips to include when assigning students to review peer assignments:

1. Assign the students to review instead of allowing them to self-select. This can easily be done using the Canvas Peer Review option. Students can be assigned to review discussions and assignments. As the instructor, you can set the reviews to be assigned manually or automatically. You can even allow the reviews to be anonymous.
2. Provide a rubric for students to share their feedback. If the assignment has a rubric attached, the student reviewer will be able to provide feedback directly on the rubric. Be sure to leave a space for open comments.
3. If a rubric is not attached to the assignment, provide specific reviewer guidelines for students to follow. Here are some feedback method guidelines to encourage students to provide constructive feedback.
   1. Points of polish, points of shine method – Students should highlight what is working well, and what the peer can focus on for some slight improvement.
   2. Roses, buds, and thorns method – Students point out what’s working (the “roses”), areas of potential (the “buds”), and information that needs clarification (the “thorns”).
   3. TAG feedback method – Students will
      • T – Tell the peer something they like
      • A – Ask the peer a question
      • G – Give the peer a suggestion

Below are helpful links to assist you as you develop peer-review assignments in Canvas.

• Student Peer Reviews in Canvas
• Instructor Peer Review Tips

Reference

Sims, G. K. (1989). Student peer review in the classroom: A teaching and grading tool. Journal of Agronomic Education, 18(2), 105-108.