Abstract:

At the Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, hundreds of students divided over four different master study programs are writing their master thesis while simultaneously performing their scientific internships, some of which are scattered over the world. Reaching them to provide guidance in their writing process is a challenge. To help solve this issue, we aimed to create a self-regulated peer feedback cycle in which the students learn vital, 21st-century skills which will help them in their future careers as researchers.

To overcome the challenge reaching our students, communication teachers, program directors, educational technology specialists and educational specialists have come together in the ‘Ask your Peer project’ to create an electronic learning environment for peer feedback. In this environment, students learn to set their own learning goals and, in turn, learn to ask for specific feedback concerning their writing skills. This feedback will be provided by their peers on their final master theses.

In our evaluation all students indicated that they found the peer feedback useful and that it helped them to think critically. Their feedback questions mainly focused on global issues, such as the clarity of the content and the importance or relevance of the topic. Feedback questions were aimed only to a small degree on simple, local issues (i.e. spelling and grammar). The teachers in the respective programs also saw an improvement in the way students provided feedback and as such, have implemented our system throughout the entire curriculum of one of the master’s programs.

Keywords:

Self-regulation, peer feedback, transferable skill, learning environment, educational design.