Abstract:

This study explores how students within higher education perceive different types of peer review feedback and how that feedback affects their learning. The study builds on a previous paper [1] where the Blackboard peer assessment tool was used, and compared three feedback conditions: positive, mixed, and negative. The findings strongly indicated that students preferred negative feedback, corresponding to earlier research showing that experienced students seem to benefit from negative feedback [2].

To explore the students perception on feedback, we designed an academic course to incorporate peer review assessment. The course was held during autumn 2018 and included 75 bachelor students. Students were required to individually complete a set of four review assignments using the school’s learning management system, ITs learning (ITs). Each of the four peer review assignments were designed to represent a different approach to feedback. The first assignment instructed the students to only give positive feedback in the review process; e.g., “choose three things that are positive”. The second assignment had instructions without suggesting valence in the feedback and asked the students to “examine how the argumentation is included in the text”. The third assignment instructed the students to provide negative feedback, by asking them to “point towards at least three areas for improvement”. The fourth assignment instructed the students to validate the feasibility of a written research proposal by their study peer, again without suggesting a valence of positive or negative. By consciously designing the four peer review assignments to produce specific kinds of feedback, we aimed to learn more about how the students experience such different types of peer review.

Based on focus group interviews, we have so far found that the students perceive it harder to give positive compared than negative feedback. They also perceive giving feedback, rather than receiving feedback, as a more important experience in learning. The latter will be especially interesting when compared against earlier research [3] which showed that providing peer feedback had several potential learning benefits for the provider. A preliminary finding of our study is that the transition from earlier levels of design critique during digital development projects to academically founded criticism and review requires careful instructions and pedagogic considerations. In order to further evaluate the students' experience, a questionnaire will be distributed at the end of the course (end of Oct. 2018).

The findings presented in this study aim to work as a backdrop for future discussions about how to design peer-review assignments in higher education to increase students’ academic literacy.

References:
[1] Kidd, J., Hankins, M., “The effects of peer review in students learning: a comparison of positive and negative feedback.”. 10th International Technology, Education and Development Conference, Valencia, Spain, March 7-9, 2016.
[2] Fishbach, A., Eyal, T., & Finkelstein, S. R., “How positive and negative feedback motivate goal pursuit.” in Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(8), 517-530, 2010.
[3] Van Popta, E., Kral, M., Camp, G., Martens, R. L., & Simons, P. R. J., “Exploring the value of peer feedback in online learning for the provider.” in Educational Research Review, 20, 24-34, 2017.

Keywords:

Peer review, Higher education, Feedback.