A growing body of research supports the use of peer feedback and points to specific methodologies as having the most significant impact on writing improvement. Both the provision and receipt of feedback, for example, have been directly related to a growth in writing ability. And the quality of peer feedback can be enhanced when student reviewers are evaluated by each other based on the helpfulness of their comments.
In the secondary setting, peer feedback operates better when reviews are anonymous and students are coached on managing conflicting reviews. And when students receive reviews from multiple peers they are much more likely to implement the feedback. New technology offers the promise of easing the creation and enforcement of these parameters.
Shaping Peer Writing Feedback in a Virtual World
Amid a shifting university landscape, where hybrid and online courses are growing as common as omelette bars and smartboards, creating virtual spaces for peer feedback can improve writing while fostering a sense of community among physically distant students.
Peer feedback programs also give students insight into others’ perspectives, which can offer real pedagogical value. The National Survey of Student Engagement, for example, has found that first-year students and seniors who interact more frequently with diverse peers engaged in more complex learning activities and had more positive campus interactions.
Notably, students are more successful when instructors adequately prepare them to deliver sound feedback. Without sufficient preparation, students may focus on minor editing issues or make unhelpful comments. Instructors may also sharpen the quality of reviews by modeling high-level comments to offer and questions to ask.
Instructors should also teach students that the review process is a conversation, not an audit. And peer rating of the quality of feedback creates a robust loop of accountability. The anonymity provided by current technological tools also reduces the emotional stakes. The easy management of documents in the cloud, the incentivized learner engagement, and the higher volume of formative feedback are just a few of the ways sophisticated peer learning tools of today distinguish themselves from the clunky, logistically challenging peer review workflows of yesterday.
The beauty of prose, too, is that it can be easily shared in virtual settings free of the oddities and hiccups of video conferences. Asynchronous, virtual distribution of review assignments also avoids scheduling hurdles for student parents and others with work and family obligations.
Peer feedback is just one component of a healthy cross-curricular writing program. But it’s an invaluable resource. The components of good feedback programs — anonymity, accountability, thoughtfulness, elimination of barriers — are well suited for virtual environments.
In the long march of human history, writing isn’t much older than widgets or platforms or apps. We’re still mastering the art and science of writing, one generation at a time. But we know that writers don’t meet their full potential if they’re hunkered alone over their laptops for four years, without any access to external feedback.
Feedback from faculty of all disciplines, as well as writing center professionals, remains an irreplaceable component of the university writing experience. But if students are only writing, and never editing others’ work, they’re not actively engaging with either the writing assignment or their fellow learners. Cloud-based peer feedback allows all writers to engage in this process.
Thoughtful reflection on peers’ work benefits both the writer and reviewer. And it gives students a durable skill that will help them navigate the ever-shifting landscape of education and work.
Sherry Wynn Perdue is the Director of the Writing Center at Oakland University.
Pam Bromley is a Writing Associate at Scripps College.
Mark Limbach is CEO at Peerceptiv.
Jonathan Olshock is COO and Head of Partnerships at Peerceptiv.
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