Can Online Peer Review Assignments Replace Essays in Third Year University Courses? And if so, What are the Challenges (original) (raw)
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With the increasing use of online learning, many teachers and instructors are using peer evaluations to enhance the students’ learning experiences. Peer reviews have shown a wide range of benefits, including increasing competency in the course material, yet there are some limitations stemming from lack of guidance or structure in peer review assignments. A lack of structure has continually been seen across disciplines. This was experienced in an English grammar, online learning course at a Southwestern Ontario university. Working with no clear guidelines for peer review assignments, a Four-Step Model was created that enhanced clarity, direction, and objectivity and detailed what students should and should not include when completing a peer review. Subsequent changes to the course were made to accentuate the benefits of peer reviews. The Four-Step Model can easily be adapted to suit any peer-based assignment, regardless of course subject or form of teaching. Keywords: peer review, o...
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Hello! Where are you in the …, 2008
The growth of blended learning environments in higher education has emphasised the need for better ways of describing and recognising good teaching that promotes student learning in these environments. Although the affordances of e-learning technologies have long been discussed, there has been little emphasis on developing systematic processes for recognition of good teaching in blended learning environments and developmental feedback for academics. This paper reports on work in progress on a two year ALTC project in which teams across the ATN universities are developing a scholarly framework and a sustainable process for peer reviews through a co-productive, action research approach. The peer review process is currently being developed and trialled, with team members focusing on aspects of their teaching in blended learning environments across a wide range of disciplines and contexts. The challenges encountered to date include: successfully combining formative and summative goals for reviews; balancing concerns about trust and independence; the extent to which blended learning and/or disciplinary expertise is necessary for reviewers and the ubiquitous time constraints. Peer review of learning and teaching in blended learning environments is complex. A significant challenge for this project is ensuring that the processes and resources developed are sustainable and helpful for a wide range of academics and universities, as well as useful for improving student learning.
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