Peer Review and Collaboration
Learning is enriched when students have the opportunity to analyze the perspective of other learners and engage collaboratively with new information. If your course allows time for more interaction and engagement, consider building in a requirement for peer review of larger projects like the Mid-Course Essay or Final Project. The simplest way to do this is to assign partners or groups (often your Learning Management System has a tool for creating groups) and distribute the Peer Review Tool found in the For Instructors and IDs folder in the Course Materials folder by linking it in a the correlating module and adding related submission requirements to the assignment and Due Date Document. You will want to make full credit for the assignment dependent on the submission of the Peer Review Tool. Note that the instructions below require editing for group size and the particular LMS or course delivery method you are using.
Example Peer Review Instructions
- Post your finished project as a file attachment or link to the correlating discussion thread.
- Open and review the project posted by at least 3 of your peers using the Peer Review Tool linked to the discussion post.
- Comment on your peer’s post and attach the Peer Review Tool you used to evaluate her or his project.
- Note that your project will not be graded until you have submitted your peer reviews.
Adding interaction and collaboration between peers
This course was designed as a template to be adjusted depending on LMS, audience, and time. It is suggested that collaboration and interaction between peers be encouraged by adding discussion requirements to the Video Application Assignments and the Materials Entanglement Reflection Assignments.
The easiest way to add this interaction between peers is to ask students to read and evaluate each other’s work. See below for language you may add to assignments if you are using an LMS with a discussion tool, wiki, or blog.
If you decide to use discussions as one of your learning elements, you will need to adjust the syllabus, grade scale, and due dates accordingly.
Example Discussion Instructions
Read two essays submitted by your classmates. Using the evaluation rubric consider how your classmate has approached this module’s material and the impact paradigm. Add a comment to their discussion thread that constructively addresses something you found interesting about their work or perspective. Be sure debatable topics are supported with content from the module readings, lectures, or videos.
