Writer’s Place Strategies For In-class Peer Review Sessions

Concerns professors have about in-class peer review Students don’t stay on-task and groups become chat-sessions. Students don’t know how to give useful criticism. Student-to-student feedback can lead to plagiarism. Peer review sessions are time-consuming.

Peer feedback literature says… Peer review helps writers grapple with new writing demands by providing an audience that “comments and questions as the writing self sets down ideas, and helps the writer specify and connect ideas.” Meyer, E. and Louise Z. Smith. The Practical Tutor. and……

The literature also says…. Peer review feedback “allows writers to bounce their ideas off an audience, which requires them to practice rhetorical skills as they adjust the ideas to the audience, and develop the analytical and critical skills that are essential to drafting and revising.” McAndrew, D. A. and T. J. Reigstad. Tutoring Writing: A practical Guide for Conferences.

Writer’s Place Strategies Read aloud Notice & Reflect Ask Questions

Read aloud in pairs or small groups: Student writer reads while partner(s) listen and read along OR partner reads while writer listens. Writer and partner(s) note in margins “things to come back to” but don’t interrupt reading paragraph or page. RATIONALE: Hearing the text lets students see what they’ve actually written, which is can be different from what they think they’ve written. A stumble when reading aloud usually signals a problem that should be discussed.

Notice… “Noticing” is a way of reading that focuses on SPECIFIC characteristics of text names qualities VERIFIABLE in text does NOT INTERPRET and does NOT JUDGE text

… and Reflect Reflect your observations as a reader: “Your draft is interesting, especially the point about….” “This point seems particularly convincing, and I wonder if you could develop it more fully…” “As a reader, I’d like to know more about…..” “I’m confused here…..” “I don’t follow how you got from here to there….”

Ask questions How is this quotation/paraphrase related to the point of this paragraph? In a sentence or two, what is your thesis/ claim/position? Where in this paragraph is the sentence that expresses your thesis /claim/position? Where is evidence that supports this point? Can you point to where you consider a counter argument? Where have you addressed each criterion of the assignment? If we were chatting over coffee, what would you want me to know about connections between your thesis and conclusion? What do you mean by this sentence/paragraph?

Structuring Peer Review Activity Know what specific outcome you want peer review to achieve. Focus the activity on that specific outcome. Explain the specific goal and tasks to students. Create a clear set of steps for students to follow. Set a brisk but reasonable pace for completion (i.e. don’t give TOO much time). Include opportunity for all pairs/groups to report to whole class. Record observations on board.

Finally…. Doing in-class peer review sessions at least twice in a semester helps students practice skills they have begun to learn while adding a new challenge each time. Expect that students may not be completely successful the first time or even the second time. And trust they’ll get better with practice. Feel free to invite Tutoring Center & Writer’s Place Students Writing And Talking Team (SWATT) to your class.

I hope you enjoy incorporating peer review workshops in your class. Thank you for attending today! Diane Gruenberg Tutoring Center & Writer’s Place 101 Roscoe West Hall R:\\Tutoring\OUTREACH\FirstYearSem Faculty Workshop\Peer Review Strategies for in-class_FSP workshop_May 10, 2012.pptx