Peer review refers to the process of students reviewing and providing constructive feedback on each other's writing. Integrating peer review into writing assignments—whether they be essays or other projects with writing components—encourages students to develop a number of beneficial skills. Not only is peer review an active learning tool that empowers students to better understand their own writing process, but when successful, it can help boost student confidence in their writing and improve their communication skills. Peer review can also help students better familiarize themselves with the requirements of the assignment (Crossman and Kite, 2012), reducing their reliance on instructor feedback while improving results.
But ask a class about their opinions on peer review, and you’re certain to hear a range of complaints. While many students see value in peer review, just as many have encountered challenges. Students may feel uncertain about their ability to provide valuable feedback, especially if they are still developing their own writing skills. They may worry about giving incorrect advice or fear hurting their peers' feelings or damaging relationships. They may hesitate to offer honest and constructive criticism, leading to vague or overly positive feedback that may not contribute to meaningful improvement. Most importantly, if they have not received proper guidance or instruction on how to provide constructive feedback, students may struggle to offer specific and helpful suggestions.
Ideally, such guidance involves multiple steps. First, develop a dynamic rubric that closely aligns with assignment goals and your own assessment criteria. What is a dynamic rubric? One that is flexible, changes to meet assessment needs, and engages students.
Is this likely your students’ first college-level writing assignment? Are they advanced students who have varied prior writing experience? The level of guidance and support your students need will depend heavily on how much experience they have not just with writing but with the subject matter as well. More senior students writing within their major may need less guidance than students in an undergraduate survey course, but even more advanced students can benefit from a peer review rubric.
How to Build Dynamic Peer Review Rubrics
Align Rubric Criteria with Assessment Criteria
If you already have a grading rubric for the assignment, use that as a guide for the peer review rubric. Without guidance, many students will only focus on grammar and mechanics when reviewing their peers’ work (Feltham and Sharon, 2015), which may not even be included in your final grading criteria. Including criteria specific to the assignment’s goals will not only make your own grading criteria more transparent, but it will also encourage students to broaden their definitions of revision to include both content and form.
Provide Models of Levels of Performance
If you’re using levels of performance in your rubric (i.e. insufficient, sufficient, excellent, etc.), provide models of what those levels look like for the specific assignment. Students often have difficulty gauging the nuances of content and development, so including those models and discussing them with the class can lead to more accurate peer critiques.
Consider student background and experience as well. A “sufficient” score in a survey course will probably look different from a “sufficient” score in a more advanced course for upper-level majors. It may even vary by assignment–this is where the dynamic aspect of rubric-building comes in.
You may consider providing space for open-ended questions where students can share their observations without the limitations of a scale, like “Were there any areas of the essay where you were confused, or needed more information to better understand the writer’s point?”
Use Canvas Rubrics to Streamline the Process
If conducting peer review in Canvas, consider creating your peer review rubric in Canvas as well. This can streamline the process for students, as they will be prompted to use the rubric associated with the peer submission. This also streamlines your ability to organize and review student feedback.
Once you have a rubric, have students practice using the rubric with their own drafts. Finally, directly address known student concerns, like uncertainty about their own writing skills and fears of hurting feelings. Often, having a frank discussion helps students feel more comfortable with providing constructive feedback.
Interested in using Canvas rubrics for peer review, or have questions about building a dynamic rubric? Request a consultation with an LSA Instructional Consultant for help.
References:
Crossman, J. A., Kite, S. L. (2012). Facilitating improved writing among students through directed peer review. Active Learning in Higher Education, 13(3), 219–229. DOI: 10.1177/1469787412452980
Feltham, M., Sharen, C. “What do you mean I Wrote a C Paper?” Writing, Revision, and Self-Regulation. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching. Vol. VIII. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1069881.pdf
