Peer feedback, in the context of student collaboration within courses aimed at contributing to societal change, is a vital tool for enhancing learning and personal growth. It involves students, as peers within a learning group, providing and receiving information about each other's performance or understanding. This process is designed to bridge the gap between the current state and desired outcomes of their contributions to group work.
Peer Feedback is information given by a peer regarding aspects of one’s performance or understanding with the goal of reducing the discrepancy between current and desired state, and encompasses two interrelated components, i.e. providing feedback and receiving feedback.
Why Peer Feedback?
Peer Feedback serves as a valuable learning tool that goes beyond traditional instructor feedback. It maximizes opportunities to guide students’ learning journey, promotes student autonomy and professional competences and can be implemented from very simple ways to very elaborate ones.
By mastering the art of giving and receiving constructive feedback, students not only facilitate their own development but also significantly contribute to the collective progress of the group. This mutual exchange of insights is especially crucial in environments focused on societal impact, where understanding diverse perspectives and improving collaborative skills are key to creating meaningful change.
Peer Feedback matters for the student who receives and/or provides feedback.
| For student who receives feedback: | For student who provides feedback: |
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The How
Make peer feedback an integral part of the course design. Include it throughout the course instead of at the end and ensure that the peer feedback provided is of direct added value for the task or assignment.
Guideline for teachers:
Introduce and emphasize the importance of peer feedback
It increases student engagement and manages student expectations.
How to:
- Explore students’ experiences with peer feedback and address their concerns.
- Explain the benefits of peer feedback for their learning and professional skills development.
Guiding Questions:
Introducing peer feedback
A: How can I introduce peer feedback to highlight its importance to the learning process?
B: What activities or discussions can I implement to explore students’ prior experiences and address any concerns about peer feedback?
Emphasizing benefits
A: What specific benefits of peer feedback (e.g. engagement, skill development, etc.) should I emphasize to students?
B: How can I illustrate the impact of effective peer feedback on learning and professional growth?
Explanation of peer feedback
Peer feedback can be given at three different levels: a) task (completing and improving tasks), b) process (enhancing strategies and approaches) and self-regulation (monitoring and adjusting learning processes). It answers three questions:
- Feed up: Where am I going? (clarifying goals and expectations)
- Feedback: Where am I at? (reflecting on current progress)
- Feed forward: What to do next? How to get there? (suggesting strategies for improvement)
Peer feedback can be conducted in different formats: (a)synchronously, through written/oral exchanges and in different settings (in pairs, inter-group or intragroup).
Guiding Questions:
Understanding levels and questions
A: How will I explain the three levels of peer feedback (task, process, self-regulation) to ensure students understand their distinctions and purposes?
B: What examples or exercises can I use to clarify the concepts of feed up, feedback, and feed forward for my students?
Formats and settings
A: How will I explain the three levels of peer feedback (task, process, self-regulation) to ensure students understand their distinctions and purposes?
B: What examples or exercises can I use to clarify the concepts of feed up, feedback, and feed forward for my students?
Train or guide students on how to provide/receive feedback
*Providing feedback
Students need to be trained in defining criteria and giving feedback (Sluijsmans, Brand, Gruwel, & Merriënboer, 2002):
- Create a sense of safety in the group (giving feedback requires trust between peers)
- Share guidelines on how to give feedback (see guidelines)
- Make use of clear and concrete rubrics (can be co-created) with criteria related to the learning objectives
- Share good and bad examples of peer feedback
- Evaluate the (general) quality of feedback given between peers to develop peer feedback giving skills
**Receiving feedback
Students need to be trained in receiving feedback. Feedback left unattended of not acted upon cannot be effective (Gielen, Peeters, Dochy, Onghena, & Struyven, 2010):
- Learning to appreciate the purpose and process of feedback (added value)
- Learning to harness the emotional impact of feedback (recognize emotions)
- Learning to take action on feedback (reflection of feedback received)
Important! Peer feedback should not cause disproportional emotional load for the giver of receiver and the process of giving peer feedback should be stimulating and thought-provoking to benefit the feedback giver as much as possible.
Guiding Questions
Providing feedback
A: What guidelines and rubrics will I provide to help students constructively critique their peers’ work?
B: How can I facilitate a classroom environment that fosters trust and openness, essential for effective peer feedback?
C: In what ways can I showcase examples of both effective and ineffective feedback to enhance understanding?
Receiving feedback
A: How will I prepare students to receive feedback constructively, including managing emotional responses?
B: What strategies or tools will I introduce to help students reflect on and act upon the feedback they receive?
Monitoring and Adjusting Feedback Practices
A: How will I monitor the peer feedback process to ensure it is constructive, fair, and not overly burdensome emotionally?
B: What mechanisms will I put in place to gather feedback on the peer feedback process itself, allowing for adjustments and improvements?
Guidelines for students
As a teacher you can print this one-pager and hand it out to students.
Peer Feedback Guide for Students:
Feedback is a crucial part of the learning process. It helps us understand our strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Giving and receiving feedback effectively is a skill that can be honed with practice. Here's a guide to help you navigate the peer feedback process successfully.
How to give peer feedback:
- Be specific (not vague & don’t generalize): Getting specific with your feedback is always better than keeping things too general. Use concrete examples instead of commenting on the overall work.
- From an ‘I’ perspective (use non-judgmental language): “I feel…” or “Something to consider for next time…” are some example phrases you can use.
- Focus on the work, not the person.
- Make good use of the rubric: Make sure you understand the rubric/criteria and use it as a manual.
- Balance tops and tips
- Prioritize! Avoid overloading your peer with too much information.
Steps for giving feedback:
- Set the tone: Find the right time and place. Start with a positive comment, introduce the conversation.
What: Share your observations.
Example: “I noticed that at the beginning of the feedback round, you immediately stated my main improvement points”
So what: Share the effect.
Example: “This took me by surprise and made me feel somewhat insecure, as it felt unexpected. I would have welcomed a gentler introduction”
Now what: Feed-forward: propose next steps.
Example: “Next time, when you give feedback, consider starting with a positive comment establish a more approachable and friendly atmosphere. This could help ease into the conversation more smoothly”
Receiving feedback:
- Active Listening: Listen with the goal of genuinely understanding the other’s input, as opposed to trying to reply or defend yourself.
- Emotional Awareness: Acknowledge that feedback can evoke emotions and defensiveness. Remember, the critique is aimed at your work, not at your personal identity.
- Seek Clarification: Engage in open-ended discussions by asking follow-up questions to gain deeper insights and context.
- Actionable Steps: Take the time to process the feedback, then outline specific actions to adjust or reinforce behaviors.
- Appreciation: Express gratitude to the feedback provider for contributing to your growth journey through their valuable insights.