Perspectives on Translating Higher Education Peer Feedback Approaches into Schools

Abstract

With the aim of understanding whether the peer review processes and the implementation of the specific peer review model (Grion, Serbati, Nicol & Tino, 2017) have learning benefits in primary and secondary schools as well as in higher education, a group of researchers and practitioners carried out a research study in several Italian schools. The peer review model was implemented as a multi-case exploratory study in twelve classes. Eleven teachers and more than 200 students were involved. Pupils were asked to review their classmates’ products according to established criteria facilitated by teachers and to provide each other with feedback. Teachers’ written narratives and interviews, as well as students’ products and responses to three questionnaires were collected and analysed. Results so far show that teachers appreciated the peer review model as a valid instrument for making students active in their learning, thereby becoming more reflective in approaching their assignments and as a result, activating processes of self-assessment among their pupils (as suggested also by Harris & Brown, 2013). Their perceptions confirm the possibility of obtaining significant results also in school contexts.