The specific motivation is that the students can learn from one another. In many cases I can best explain a point by cross-referencing to a fellow student’s work. Or the students often understand the point better when you can explain it by placing their question or problem in the context of other’s work. In addition, as a lecturer/supervisor I can use my 'face-to-face time' more rationally, when I do not need to repeat the same points but can say one thing to a number of students at once.
I formulate the difference between peer feedback and supervision as follows:
"As previously mentioned, there are different aims with group feedback and supervision:
This activity takes place in the same course as described under "Peer feedback with the Feedback Game". This means that the students have a peer feedback course during the same teaching programme, where they use each other as readers of their exam assignment text during the semester.
During the Bachelor's project process I meet once a week with the students from the year group. I have interspersed two-three actual supervision lessons and approx. every second week there is, as stated, peer feedback in groups. Some of these lessons act as 'preparation' for supervision with me, in that I try to 'train' them in being conscious of what they can use the others ('peers') for, and what they can use me ('the expert') for. The week before they submit to me, they submit to their feedback group, and they receive and give feedback there on the material that they subsequently rewrite and send to me.
In the example below, the students have just submitted synopses for their Bachelor's project. I have then grouped them in relation to the challenges which I think they have ahead of them - in other words, not necessarily in relation to the topic, but rather in relation to how I think they can best learn from one another’s situation.
If the lesson is on Friday morning they will have e.g. submit on Wednesday morning, I will read their synopses and send this email on Wednesday afternoon. In my email, where I indicate who they are in groups with, I write:
A month later there is supervision again and I will follow the same format here (they submit, I read and divide into groups). Then follows the instruction: "Just as with the supervision last time, I expect that everyone in the group has read one another’s submissions. Following the supervision I also expect that you remain together for an hour and make use of one another for debriefing on what happened during the supervision. This part is in fact almost as important as the supervision itself, as you will not get much out of supervision if you do not put it into action, and here it is good to make use of others."
