Spotlight On: Peer Review

Peer review can be a powerful activity that helps your students practice editing skills and creating substantive critique. But how can you avoid lackluster comments and Canvas confusion in a Peer Review activity? This article provides suggestions and additional resources on

• rubrics and guides to support quality feedback
• navigating Canvas’ Peer Review tool
• the student’s view of a Canvas Peer Review assignment

Rubrics and Guides

Before students start on a peer review activity, instructors should have already taken the time to explain the purpose of the peer review activity and provide examples of past assignments and model feedback. Additionally, provide a rubric or guide for the peer review to help avoid students making comments such as, “This paper was good. I liked the topics covered.”

• Share a rubric. If you have a rubric you will use for the final version of the assignment, consider what adaptations you might need for students to be able to use the rubric during the Peer Review process. For example, instead of a general entry about quality of writing, break out Organization, Grammar & Spelling, and Word Choice as different parts of the rubric.
• Consider using a different type of guide instead of a rubric. This could include:
  • Yes/No questions
    • Does the writer correctly cite three sources?
    • Does the diagram include the key concepts?
  • Open Text Questions
    • How could the thesis statement be strengthened?
    • What part of this presentation felt confusing to you?
  • Ranking
    • Under their definition of Peer assessment, the Searle Center provides this example of self- and peer assessment for a group project.

Additional Resource

“Encourage Better Peer Feedback with Our Guide to Feedback Rubrics”, from the Eduflow blog.

Setting Up a Peer Review Assignment in Canvas

When creating an assignment or discussion in Canvas, you have the option to create a Peer Review. You’ll need to answer these questions when setting up the Peer Review.

• Do I want to manually assign students or have Canvas automatically assign students?
  • How do I manually assign peer reviews?
  • How do I automatically assign peer reviews?
• What dates do I want the initial submission AND the peer review comments due by?
  • Remember that the peer review comments date must be AFTER the due date for the submission.
• Will students provide better feedback in this case if I provide anonymity?
  • You can select “Peer Reviews Appear Anonymously” to allow students to submit feedback without their name attached.
• What support documents or instructions to my students need to provide quality feedback to their peers?
  • Add guides or rubrics as attached documents in the assignment instructions.
  • Add an embedded rubric to the assignment after it has been published via Canvas’ rubric function.

Additional Resource

“A Comparison of Anonymous Versus Identifiable e-Peer Review on College Student Writing Performance and the Extent of Critical Feedback“, from the Journal of Interactive Online Learning.

Student Perspective of a Peer Review

While most students are familiar with the common functions of Canvas, they may be new to the process of Peer Review. Consider sharing the following links with your students to help them navigate the assignment in Canvas.

• How do I know if I have a peer review assignment to complete?
• How do I submit a peer review to an assignment?
• Where can I find my peers’ feedback for peer reviewed assignments?

Setting up a successful Peer Review assignment requires planning and care on the part of the instructor, but creating the opportunity for students to analyze one another’s work and grow from the feedback they receive is well worth the effort.