Reframing Peer Review in the ESL Writing Classroom

Jessica Madsen, Purdue University Calumet

In a process-oriented writing course, peer review, an activity in which students read and evaluate each other’s writing, is a valuable tool for improving literacy skills and critical thinking. Ideally, students benefit not only from receiving feedback on their papers, but perhaps even more so from reviewing their classmates’ writing.

However, students from a variety of cultural backgrounds may not automatically understand the purpose of engaging in peer review; it’s easy to view the procedure simply as an opportunity for direct instruction on making their papers better. While this is certainly one objective, in a broader sense, peer review is an opportunity for students to grow as writers by thinking critically about their classmates’ work. As instructors, we need to continue our efforts to help students see the value in this practice.

Make the purpose clear:

Students benefit most when they have an understanding of why we are asking them to complete a task. One approach to helping students understand the purpose of peer review is to use a fun skit to introduce the concept.

By having a group of students perform a teacher-created dialog, the class has the opportunity to witness exaggerated examples of productive and unproductive contributions during a mock peer review session.

Here is a sample dialog:

Johnny: Here’s my paper, guys. Fix it for me.
George: Okay. I will fix all of your grammar mistakes.
Lisa: Let me read it and see what I think about it. I will give you my opinion.
Mary: Huh?
George: Here you go, Johnny. I corrected everything.
Johnny: Great. Let’s see if we can go home now.
Lisa: Well, I’d like to talk about your paper. I think you’ve done a great job with your thesis statement, but I have some ideas for how you could organize it better.
Johnny: What did you think, Mary?
Mary: I don’t know.

After the performance, students can share their observations of the scene, and the instructor
can guide the class in understanding the goals of peer review.

Provide an effective rubric:

A productive peer review session will include a well-designed feedback tool that guides students through the process. A straightforward checklist can be useful, but ideally, students should have the opportunity to answer some open-ended questions about their classmates’ papers. In order to reinforce the benefits of participating as a reviewer, it is essential that students are also asked to consider what they have learned by evaluating their classmates’ paper. This can be addressed on the peer review rubric or through a separate reflection after the peer review.

Experiment with different formats:

The standard peer review practice of having students work in partners limits the scope of the exercise. By having students work in groups, participants benefit from being exposed to multiple opinions on more than one piece of writing. Depending on the dynamic of a particular class, it may be useful to utilize anonymous feedback in written form. Or, to allow for more thoughtful responses, students can create audio recordings of comments outside of class instead of participating in face-to-face discussion.

By helping students to see peer review as more than just an opportunity to get feedback on their writing, we increase the potential for a meaningful, collaborative experience.

Jessica Madsen is the Writing Coordinator and a Continuing Lecturer for the English Language Program at Purdue University Calumet.

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Reframing Peer Review in the ESL Writing Classroom Jessica Madsen, Purdue University Calumet Back to the Link front page In a process-oriented writing course, peer review, an activity in which students read and evaluate each other’s writing, is a valuable tool for improving literacy skills and critical thinking. Ideally, students benefit not only from receiving feedback on their papers, but perhaps even more so from reviewing their classmates’ writing. However, students from a variety of cultural backgrounds may not automatically understand the purpose of engaging in peer review; it’s easy to view the procedure simply as an opportunity for direct instruction on making their papers better. While this is certainly one objective, in a broader sense, peer review is an opportunity for students to grow as writers by thinking critically about their classmates’ work. As instructors, we need to continue our efforts to help students see the value in this practice. *Make the purpose clear:* Students benefit most when they have an understanding of why we are asking them to complete a task. One approach to helping students understand the purpose of peer review is to use a fun skit to introduce the concept. By having a group of students perform a teacher-created dialog, the class has the opportunity to witness exaggerated examples of productive and unproductive contributions during a mock peer review session. Here is a sample dialog: Johnny: Here’s my paper, guys. Fix it for me. George: Okay. I will fix all of your grammar mistakes. Lisa: Let me read it and see what I think about it. I will give you my opinion. Mary: Huh? George: Here you go, Johnny. I corrected everything. Johnny: Great. Let’s see if we can go home now. Lisa: Well, I’d like to talk about your paper. I think you’ve done a great job with your thesis statement, but I have some ideas for how you could organize it better. Johnny: What did you think, Mary? Mary: I don’t know. After the performance, students can share their observations of the scene, and the instructor can guide the class in understanding the goals of peer review. *Provide an effective rubric:* A productive peer review session will include a well-designed feedback tool that guides students through the process. A straightforward checklist can be useful, but ideally, students should have the opportunity to answer some open-ended questions about their classmates’ papers. In order to reinforce the benefits of participating as a reviewer, it is essential that students are also asked to consider what they have learned by evaluating their classmates’ paper. This can be addressed on the peer review rubric or through a separate reflection after the peer review. *Experiment with different formats:* The standard peer review practice of having students work in partners limits the scope of the exercise. By having students work in groups, participants benefit from being exposed to multiple opinions on more than one piece of writing. Depending on the dynamic of a particular class, it may be useful to utilize anonymous feedback in written form. Or, to allow for more thoughtful responses, students can create audio recordings of comments outside of class instead of participating in face-to-face discussion. By helping students to see peer review as more than just an opportunity to get feedback on their writing, we increase the potential for a meaningful, collaborative experience. Jessica Madsen is the Writing Coordinator and a Continuing Lecturer for the English Language Program at Purdue University Calumet. Back to the Link front page
ITBE Link - Fall 2013 - Volume 41 Number 3