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 Teaching cases Peer feedback in large classes

Peer feedback in large classes

Brief description

Students in large classes give each other peer feedback on written assignments using rubrics. 

Motivation

As a class teacher, it is often time-consuming to give feedback on written assignments to a lot of students (in this case, 420 students divided into 12 classes). Including a peer feedback activity reduces the class teacher’s workload and strengthens the students’ academic understanding.

Learning outcomes

  • To improve the students’ ability to argue independently. 

  • To support the students’ ability to structure an assignment.  

  • To promote the students’ ability to work with academic texts. 

  • To improve the quality of the feedback that students give to each other. 

Description of the activity

THE PROCESS

Before

  • The main teachers prepared the feedback assignment in Peergrade (NB: FeedbackFruits is now used instead) to ensure that all 12 groups received the same assignment and approached the assignment in the same way.  

  • They also prepared a detailed guide (rubric) for giving feedback in Peergrade (NB: FeedbackFruits is now used instead), which the students had to use to ensure that they gave feedback correctly. 

During class

  • Student instructors presented the written assignment. 

  • They also presented the rubric and described how to use it, and the students were given an introduction on how to give and receive feedback.  

After class

  • The students worked on their written assignments individually and uploaded them to Peergrade (NB: FeedbackFruits is now used instead). 

  • The students gave each other feedback using the rubric. 

  • The students used the feedback to improve their written assignment. 

RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS

SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS
Rubrics  Introduction to the assignment during class

Experience 

Outcomes

  • It reduces the teachers’ workload, as they do not have to give feedback to 420 students 

  • The students become better at giving and receiving feedback, including assessing each other’s work and justifying their assessment 

  • The students become better at working with academic texts and structuring their own assignments    

Challenges

  • The students are often more comfortable getting feedback/corrections from teachers and must therefore be given a thorough introduction to the learning potential of peer feedback.

Advice for other teachers

  • It’s good to make students aware that peer feedback supports the process of writing an assignment, not the actual result. 

  • In some cases, it may be an advantage to ask students to give peer feedback in the teaching session itself, so that they can get support from the class teacher or the student instructor. This can be timed in Peergrade (NB: FeedbackFruits is now used instead) 

Basic information

Educator Eva Naur Jensen & Caroline Adolphsen
Faculty and department Aarhus BSS, Department of Law
Degree programme Law
Level of study Bachelor
Course/Subject Bach. of law, family law and the law of succession 
Number of students 420
Extent Session
How was the case conducted? Classroom teaching

Links and materials

Caroline Adolphsen

Professor
M
H 1410, 326
P +4587165479
P +4593508861

Eva Naur

Associate Professor
M
H 1410, 321
P +4587165669
P +4524261775

Contact

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Revised 11.01.2024
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Sofie Kathleen Lloyd Thomsen