Peer Review: A Helping Hand
Peer review is a process in which students read and provide feedback on each other’s work. It can be a valuable tool for improving writing skills, as it allows students to get feedback from their peers and learn from each other’s mistakes.
1. Peer review can help students to identify and correct errors in their writing.
When students read their peers’ work, they are able to see common errors that they may be making themselves. This can help them to identify and correct these errors in their own writing. For example, a student who reads a peer’s paper that contains a lot of grammatical errors may be more likely to proofread their own paper carefully to avoid making the same mistakes.
2. Peer review can help students to develop a critical eye for writing.
When students read their peers’ work, they are forced to think critically about the writing they are reading. They must consider the organization, clarity, and effectiveness of the writing, and they must be able to provide constructive feedback to their peers. This process can help students to develop a critical eye for writing, which can benefit them in all of their academic writing.
3. Peer review can help students to learn from each other’s strengths.
When students read their peers’ work, they are able to see the strengths of other writers. This can help them to learn from each other and to incorporate new techniques into their own writing. For example, a student who reads a peer’s paper that is well-organized may be inspired to organize their own papers more effectively.
4. Peer review can help to create a sense of community in the classroom.
When students work together to provide feedback on each other’s writing, it can create a sense of community in the classroom. Students feel more connected to each other and more invested in the learning process. This can lead to a more positive and productive learning environment.
Feedback: The Key to Improvement
Feedback is essential for improving writing skills. It provides students with the information they need to identify and correct their errors. Feedback can be given in a variety of ways, such as written comments, oral feedback, or peer review.
1. Written comments are a common form of feedback.
Written comments can be provided on a student’s paper or on a separate sheet of paper. The comments should be specific and should focus on helping the student to improve their writing. For example, a teacher might write, "Your introduction is too long. Try to shorten it and make it more concise."
2. Oral feedback is another form of feedback.
Oral feedback can be given in a conference with the teacher or in a group setting. The teacher can provide general feedback on the student’s writing, or they can focus on specific areas that need improvement. For example, a teacher might say, "I think your thesis statement is too weak. Try to make it more specific and more interesting."
3. Peer review is a form of feedback in which students read and provide feedback on each other’s work.
Peer review can be beneficial for both the giver and the receiver of feedback. The giver of feedback learns how to provide constructive criticism, and the receiver of feedback gets the opportunity to improve their writing. For example, a student who gives feedback on a peer’s paper might say, "I think your use of imagery is really effective. You could also try to use more dialogue to make your story more engaging."
4. Feedback is most effective when it is specific, timely, and focused on helping the student to improve their writing.
Feedback should be specific so that the student knows exactly what they need to work on. It should be timely so that the student can use the feedback to improve their writing before it is due. And it should be focused on helping the student to improve their writing, not on criticizing them.
Background Peer review in Teambased learning TBL exists for three key reasons to promote reflection on individual behaviours provide opportunities to develop professional skills and prevent free riders who fail to contribute effectively to team discussions A welldeveloped process that engages students is needed However evidence suggests it remains a difficult task to The reality is that peerreview activities require guidance and structurea fact supported in research by scholars such as by Marjo van Zundert Dominique Sluijsmans and Jeroen van Merriënboer We now recognize that the acts of writing receiving and assessing feedback are different but complementary facets of a complicated process that Peer review is a process in which students give each other feedback on their work While peer
review can be used in a variety of ways in this article Im referring to using student peer review for academic writingincluding short Essays opinion pieces and minute papers as well as more comprehensive project reports position papers and PeerMark Best used for providing feedback formative assessment PeerMark is a peer review program that encourages students to evaluate each others work Students comment on assigned papers and answer scaled and freeform questions designed by the instructor PeerMark does not allow you to assign point values or assign and export gradesThe most common types are Singleblind review Doubleblind review Tripleblind review Collaborative review Open review Relatedly peer assessment is a process where your peers provide you with feedback on something youve written
based on a set of criteria or benchmarks from an instructor3 In the peer feedback phase each student was asked to read the draft argumentative essay of the learning partner and to provide feedback on them 50 min 4 During the revision phase students were asked to read the comments of their learning partner and then to revise their draft argumentative essay 60 minPeer teacher and selffeedback have been widely applied in English writing courses in higher education However few studies have used technology to activate the potential of feedback in projectbased collaborative learning or discussed how technologyenhanced peer teacher and selffeedback may assist students writing promote their critical thinking tendency or enhance their engagement Key Strategies 1 Identify and teach the skills
required for peer review As you are planning your course make a list of the skills that students should be learning and putting into practice when participating in peer review These might include reading skills discerning a writers main point locating key points of support or relevant
Peer review and feedback are essential tools for improving writing skills. When students work together to provide feedback on each other’s work, they can learn from each other and improve their writing. With the help of peer review and feedback, students can become better writers and achieve their academic goals.