Peer Review
Peer Review involves students exchanging their work and providing feedback to each other, fostering collaboration, critical thinking, and self-assessment skills. By evaluating their peers’ work, students gain insights into their own understanding and approaches.
How It Works
- Preparation: Students complete a task, such as solving a problem, drafting an essay, or creating a project.
- Exchange Work: Pair or group students to share their work with peers.
- Provide Feedback: Students review their peers’ work using a rubric or set of guiding questions provided by the instructor.
- Reflect and Revise: Students reflect on the feedback received and revise their own work accordingly.
Example
In a writing class, students exchange drafts of their essays and use a checklist to assess clarity, argument structure, and use of evidence. They provide constructive feedback on areas for improvement and strengths in the writing.
Why It’s Effective
- Encourages active engagement with course material by requiring students to evaluate and articulate their understanding.
- Builds critical thinking and constructive feedback skills.
- Helps students identify strengths and areas for improvement in their own work by seeing examples of peers’ approaches.
- Promotes collaboration and a sense of community in the classroom.
Adaptations
- Small Classes: Conduct reviews during class time, with students sharing feedback in person.
- Large Classes: Use a digital tool like Google Docs, Canvas Peer Review, or Turnitin to streamline the exchange and feedback process.
- Online Synchronous: Assign breakout rooms where students discuss their feedback directly with their peers.
- Online Asynchronous: Facilitate peer reviews via discussion boards or shared documents, allowing students to comment on each other’s submissions over time.
- STEM Disciplines: Students review problem-solving steps, checking for logic, clarity, and accuracy in calculations or experiment setups.
- Humanities: Assign students to critique and analyze peers’ interpretations of texts or responses to discussion prompts.
- Creative Fields: Students provide feedback on artistic works, presentations, or design projects, focusing on creative elements and practical improvements.
Peer Review is a versatile strategy that enhances learning by engaging students in the dual roles of reviewer and creator, deepening their understanding and collaboration skills.
Sources and Attribution
Primary Sources
This section is informed by and adapted from the following sources:
- University of Waterloo, Centre for Teaching Excellence. Active Learning Activities.
- Available at: Waterloo CTE
Use of AI in Section Development
This section was developed using a combination of existing research, expert-informed insights, and AI-assisted drafting. ChatGPT (OpenAI) was used to:
- Synthesize best practices for active learning strategies into a cohesive and accessible guide for instructors.
- Clarify approaches that promote student engagement, participation, and deeper learning.
- Enhance readability and coherence, ensuring that active learning techniques are both research-based and practically applicable in face-to-face and online classrooms.
While AI-assisted drafting provided a structured foundation, all final content was reviewed, revised, and contextualized to ensure accuracy, alignment with research, and pedagogical effectiveness. This section remains grounded in institutional best practices and respects Creative Commons licensing where applicable.
