Collaborative peer feedback

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            <p style="margin-top: 23vh; text-align: center;">SCIS Teaching & Learning Workshop | 2026 Aug 10</p>

# Collaborative peer feedback

## Peer review as a teaching tool

### Dave Smith

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## Acknowledgement

Project supported by 2017 Teaching Innovation Grant from the Centre for Teaching & Learning at Yale-NUS College.

### Publication
            D. A. Smith *Collaborative peer feedback*, Proceedings of ICEduTech 2017, Ed. P. Kommers, T. Issa, P. Isías, A. Hol, IADIS (2017), 183–186.

### Implementations
            * **2017–2024** *Proof* course at Yale-NUS College, Singapore.
            * **2025–…** *Linearity & Continuity 2* at University of Newcastle, Australia
            * **2026–…** *Linearity & Continuity 1* at University of Newcastle, Australia
            ---

## What is peer feedback?

#### Process
            * Students complete an assignment (summative) or a first draft (formative).
            * Students "mark" each other's work, giving feedback.
            * Students respond to the feedback they received.
            
            ---

## What is peer feedback?

#### Popular models
            * Moore method: presentation to whole class followed by criticism.
            * Peer feedback is homework, through VLE (Canvas).
            * Bring homework to class, exchange with neighbour, read, converse.
            
            ---

## What is peer feedback?

#### Grading (stakes)
            * Peer feedback learning activities need not include any grade component.
            * Course score can be awarded for active participation in learning activity.
            * Some models include student provided grades counting toward course score.
            * In some models, students grade their own work based on the feedback they have received from their peers.
            
            ---

## Why collaborative peer feedback?
            
            ---

## Why <span class="deemph">collaborative peer</span> feedback?
            
            ---

## Why <span class="deemph">collaborative peer</span> feedback?

Because it works very well.

Feedback has extraordinarily large and consistent positive effect on learning compared to other aspects of teaching.

</div>

Black & William *Assessment and classroom learning* (1998)

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## Why <span class="deemph">collaborative peer</span> feedback?

Because it works very well.

Feedback has extraordinarily large and consistent positive effect on learning compared to other aspects of teaching.

</div>

Black & William *Assessment and classroom learning* (1998)

Because it works better than anything else.

Feedback is the most important single influence on student achievement.

</div>

Hattie *Identifying the salient facets of a model of student learning: a synthesis of meta-analyses* (1987)

---

## Why <span class="deemph">collaborative peer</span> feedback?

Because it works very well.

Feedback has extraordinarily large and consistent positive effect on learning compared to other aspects of teaching.

</div>

Black & William *Assessment and classroom learning* (1998)

Because it works better than anything else.

Feedback is the most important single influence on student achievement.

</div>

Hattie *Identifying the salient facets of a model of student learning: a synthesis of meta-analyses* (1987)

And students know it.

Mathematics students want specific, detailed, facilitative feedback.

</div>

Rice et. al. *Improving student feedback in distance education: a research report* (1994)

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## Why <span class="deemph">collaborative</span> peer feedback?

---

## Why <span class="deemph">collaborative</span> peer feedback?

Instructor time.

---

## Why <span class="deemph">collaborative</span> peer feedback?

Instructor time.

The provider of feedback can also benefit.

<div class="twocols">
              <div>
                <p>Submitting student must</p>
                <ul>
                  <li>find data</li>
                  <li>construct arguments</li>
                  <li>evaluate methodologies</li>
                </ul>
              </div>
              <div>
                <p>Feedback providor must</p>
                <ul>
                  <li>check data</li>
                  <li>interrogate arguments</li>
                  <li>appraise evaluations</li>
                </ul>
              </div>
            </div>

---

## Why <span class="deemph">collaborative</span> peer feedback?

Instructor time.

The provider of feedback can also benefit.

The feedback provider usually attains deeper learning outcomes.

Self-, peer and collaborative assessment helps to remove the student / tutor barrier, develop enterprising competencies in students and can lead to greater motivation and ‘deeper’ learning.

</div>

Somervell *Issues in Assessment, Enterprise and Higher Education: the case for self-, peer and collaborative assessment* (1993)

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## Why <span class="deemph">collaborative</span> peer feedback?

Instructor time.

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## Dangers of peer feedback

* Feedback provider may not engage seriously with task
            * low quality
            * high variance in quality
            * receiving student doubts quality

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## Dangers of peer feedback

* Feedback provider may not engage seriously with task
            * low quality
            * high variance in quality
            * receiving student doubts quality
            * anonymity valuable in both roles

When students perceived that their teacher took care not to embarrass them, they reported lower levels of maladaptive behaviors.

</div>

Friedel et. al. *"Stop embarrassing me!" Relations among student perceptions of teachers, classroom goals, and maladaptive behaviors* (2002)

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## Collaborative peer feedback

Aim to address: feedback provider may not engage seriously with task, low quality, high variance of quality, receiving student doubts quality, anonymity valuable in both roles.

<div class="twocols">
              <div>
                <h4>Before class</h4>
                <ul>
                  <li>students submit work (pdf) on Canvas</li>
                  <li>instructor pseudonymises and prints</li>
                  <li>instructor assigns students and submitted work to feedback groups</li>
                </ul>
                <h4>During class</h4>
                <ul>
                  <li>students discuss model solutions, both correct and incorrect</li>
                  <li>feedback generated <em><strong>collaboratively</strong></em> by groups of 3–4 students</li>
                  <li>groups study submissions together & agree each feedback note before writing</li>
                  <li>instructor facilitates generic feedback</li>
                </ul>
              </div>
              <div>
                <h4>After class</h4>
                <ul>
                  <li>instructor scans feedback & maps pseudonyms to names</li>
                  <li>instructor distributes feedback through VLE</li>
                  <li>students complete reflective assignment based on feedback they received</li>
                </ul>
                <h4>Grading</h4>
                <ul>
                  <li>on submission, participation and completion of reflection</li>
                  <li>total 20% of course grade for 10 sets of exercises in 12 week semester</li>
                </ul>
              </div>
            </div>

---
            ## Materials

<div class="threecols">
              <div>
                <h3>Canvas assignments</h3>
                <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="submission" src="gfx/2350-canvas.png" width="450px"></p>
              </div>
              <div>
                <h3>(In)correct solutions</h3>
                <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="pseudonymisation1" src="gfx/2350-soln.png" width="450px"></p>
              </div>
              <div>
                <h3>Discussion of solutions</h3>
                <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="feedback1" src="gfx/2350-instructor.png" width="450px"></p>
              </div>
            </div>

---

## Demonstration

<div class="threecols">
              <div>
                <h3>Submission</h3>
                <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="submission" src="gfx/2350-submission2.png" width="450px"></p>
              </div>
              <div>
                <h3>Pseudonymisation</h3>
                <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="pseudonymisation1" src="gfx/2350-anon2.png" width="450px"></p>
              </div>
              <div>
                <h3>Feedback</h3>
                <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="feedback1" src="gfx/2350-feedback2.png" width="450px"></p>
              </div>
            </div>

---

## Technology in collaborative peer feedback

Significant instructor time could be spent on
            * instructor pseudonymises and prints
            * instructor assigns students to feedback groups and submitted work to feedback groups
            * instructor provides model solutions
            * instructor scans feedback & maps pseudonyms to names
            * instructor distributes feedback through VLE

---

## Technology in collaborative peer feedback

Significant instructor time could be spent on
            * instructor pseudonymises and prints 
            * instructor assigns students to feedback groups and submitted work to feedback groups 
            * instructor provides model solutions
            * instructor scans feedback & maps pseudonyms to names 
            * instructor distributes feedback through VLE

Automated in Python. Currently only Mac & Linux, but Windows coming soon.

Less work then expected as few model solutions necessary and can be reused each semester.

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## Collaborative peer feedback at UoN MATH2340 & MATH2350

#### Motivation
            * Most students solve very few problems each week.
            * Students get very little individual feedback on their work.
            * Students are expected to produce more sophisticated proofs than in previous courses.
            * Students have not previously critically read proof.
            * Easier to practice critical reading of another's work before one's own.

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## Course Experience Survey
            <div class="bq">

Providing feedback in groups…was also fantastic for learning and getting comfortable with the material and fellow students.

</div>

The entire structure of the course is fantastic. I wish all math courses followed the same pedogogical principles this course does.

</div>

It made sure that even if I didn't understand it, I got a minimum exposure to the content so I still got used to it, so that when…the teacher went though the practise proof solutions, I ended up ready for the workshop questions.

</div>

I thought I would not like the focus on collaboration in going through the problem sets but I actually ended up finding it valuable.

</div>

I found these activities extremely engaging and helpful to both my overall understanding of the content, and how to more appropriately structure solutions to a problem.

</div>

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# Thanks!

### These slides

# ![qr code for URL of slides](q/collaborative-peer-feedback-2026-08-10.svg)

### Let's discuss!