Editing Lesson: Peer Review
- Laura Tichy-Smith
- Jul 2, 2017
- 5 min read
Introduction to Peer Review
(Read before making replies to discussions)
Asynchronous discussion boards, perhaps more than any other course design element, seem to symbolize online classes. (Remember, as we learned in the first week of class, "asynchronous" means "not at the same time.") Other course elements, such as books or quizzes, are found in both in-person and online classes, but only a minority of in-person classes incorporate asynchronous online discussions.
In some online classes, the discussion boards can provide a useful tool and opportunity for learning. In other online classes, discussion boards can feel like tedious busywork intended merely for the purpose of taking attendance and checking off points in the grade book. Often, the difference has to do with the instructor's purpose for using the discussion boards and with how well that instructor has shaped the discussion assignment.
I will not bore you with too much in the way of explanation (just the minimum you need in order to understand), but the asynchronous discussion boards do have a solid reason for existence that is based in educational theory. One school of thought in education, called social constructivist theory, asserts that people learn better through social interaction, which is part of why you have had to do group projects in school. (Don't worry, you will not need to know that fancy term "social constructivist" for any quiz in this class – just remember a theory exists saying people learn better when they interact socially.)
Since online classes never meet in person and the students (and even the instructor) are often on different life schedules, the discussion boards provide the opportunity for this social interaction that enhances learning. Think about times when you have needed to learn about something and were able to ask around for help on social media discussions. It works like that but with a little more formality.
So that you can get the most value from the time that you spend on your discussion board work in this class, for the descriptive essay and the next few essays after it, we will be using the discussion boards to help one another improve our essays (and thereby improve your own writing skills). Formally, the term for this type of feedback is called "Peer Review."
So how can a bunch of students who are just learning how to write college-level work possibly help you, and how can you possibly help your classmates if you are also just learning how to write at this level? Interestingly, by switching from the role of writer to the role of reviewer (essentially becoming an editor), you have to use and apply the information you are learning in a much different way, and this helps you master the knowledge. You gain the opportunity to see the different approaches other students take toward the same task you are attempting to complete, and you might see someone else has an approach you would like to try in the future. One student may have a talent for grammar, while another student may have a gift for writing paragraphs that flow well. These students can learn from one another by collaborating via the Peer Review process, and both will see an improvement in their writing.
I can tell you from my personal experience that my writing abilities improved when I began copy editing other students' writing at our college student newspaper. My writing abilities took another leap when I started tutoring a younger student in grammar. (English was not his first language.) I then watched his writing abilities leap forward when I was asked by our journalism professor to tutor additional students, and I had no choice but to ask my English-language learner to help me as an assistant tutor for this ever-growing peer tutoring group. When he was forced to answer other students' grammar questions and find different ways of explaining by applying what he had learned from me over the course of the semester, his grammar skills began growing even faster.
I can tell you that peers helping other peers to learn works to help everybody learn. I did not know why what I was seeing worked until I went to graduate school and learned the fancy name and the theory behind it, but I saw it working first-hand in my undergraduate program for me and for my fellow journalism students. I can personally assure you that it works, and it is worth your time to take seriously. Remember, your fellow classmates are relying upon you to post your draft on time and to provide timely peer feedback to them so that they may discuss your suggestions for their essays with you. Likewise, you are relying upon them for the same things. The entire class is in this together as one big group in a group project.
Peer Review helps to overcome the isolation you may feel from writing alone because you have the opportunity to collaborate with other writers. It also helps you to keep sight of another aspect of writing you may forget about when writing alone. Writing is intended to be read, so Peer Review helps you to remember you really are writing for an audience, even if your future audiences may only be individual professors reading your papers to assign a grade. You will receive better grades if you remember to think of your professors as your audience, and receiving feedback from an audience of your peers will help you to improve your writing, and therefore your grades as well. Good writing requires putting the audience first, and by using the discussion boards for Peer Review, you receive practice at writing with your audience in mind.
Writing a paper for a class may feel as if you are answering questions on a long test that you have been given a week to a couple of months to complete. However, if you approach it that way, you are defeating the purpose of writing the paper and will likely receive a low grade. Remember, writing is actually communicating with an audience. Even if you only have an audience of one — your professor — you are still communicating with an audience, not with a mindless computer. Your paper will not be graded by a machine as if it were a multiple-choice test. Write as if you are communicating with an audience, and your writing (and grades) will improve. By discussing your essays with your peers, you receive the audience feedback you need to revise your papers so that you succeed in communicating with your final reader — your professor.
For this essay, we will do a fairly informal version of Peer Review that will be more focused on a general overview one — the "big picture" one — of the content of one another's essays and less focused on the grammatical aspects (unless those aspects really stand out to you). You will choose which works you wish to comment upon in these early reviews. Carefully read the instructions for the discussion board, and contemplate the questions I have posted to help you start the conversations. The questions are just that one — conversation prompts one — not short-answer quizzes. Let the conversations grow organically as they would on any other form of social media. Provide respectful, constructive feedback to help one another.
Later in the semester, after we have completed the grammar module, we will do Peer Review in a more formal way with a deeper focus on the mechanics of writing. The formal Peer Review will also involve working with partners to perform more in-depth "workshopping" of your writing. But for now, you will be providing shorter pieces of advice to several classmates in a less formal way. I hope you enjoy and learn from the process of helping your fellow students, and I hope you find their advice helpful to you as well.
OWL Presentation: Peer Review
Next, learn a little more about the ideas involved in peer review by viewing this short slide presentation from Purdue University's OWL. Most of these concepts we will not be using until later in the semester, but it helps to understand the theory behind the process:
"Peer Review Presentation"
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