Ertmer, P., Richardson, J., Belland, B., & Camin, D. (2007). Using Peer Feedback to Enhance the Quality of Student Online Postings: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 412-433. doi:10.1111/j.1083.6101.2007.00331.x
This study investigates the impact of peer feedback during discussions in an online environment. The students evaluate one another’s discussion posts using Bloom’s taxonomy as the primary evaluation tool on the rubric. The authors wish to determine the perceptions students have of peer feedback as compared to instructor feedback and the underlying value of this feedback with regards to quality postings and reinforcing learning for higher understanding.
The results of the study indicate that the quality of the posting remained the same throughout the course whether they were evaluated by the instructor initially or by their peers for the remainder of the study. Students perceptions were that they still value instructor feedback more, but also find receiving peer feedback valuable to reinforcing learning. They also recognized the value in providing feedback to their peers primarily due to providing them experience using rubrics and evaluating one another’s responses.
This study raises some important considerations for instructors when teaching in an online environment. Due to time constraints, and also because of the benefits of peer feedback, instructors should consider allowing students the opportunity to evaluate one another’s work and provide substantive comments for improvement. In this study the instructor did review each of the peer reviews and made the comments anonymous which is also an import aspect to avoid any difficulties among students and to curb any remarks deemed inappropriate. Also important is the need for the instructor to first model the expectations of the students and allow the students an opportunity to practice using the grading instrument prior to beginning the process.
Comments