1. Education in a Changing Environment, September 2007 1 Students engaging in online peer review: seen from a national or international perspective Janice Whatley Elena Zaitseva Danuta Zakrzewska

2. 2 Outline of Presentation Introduction Peer review activities Cases Findings Conclusions

3. 3 Introduction Developing transferable skills: – Effective communication skills, – An ability to negotiate existing and create new knowledge, – Critically evaluate information resources or a product. An online collaborative activity is one means of achieving these outcomes.

4. 4 Peer Review Activities Students collaborate to review the work of another person or team of students – Provide evaluative feedback – Encourage reflection and criticism – Important workplace skill The author receives help to improve the product The evaluators have practice in giving considered and justified feedback.

5. 5 Online Peer Review Alternative perspectives from people outside their circle of colleagues, with different knowledge and expertise: – Same or different institution – Same or different discipline – Same or different country Internet communication tools replace face to face discussion

6. 6 Example Cases – Comparing a national peer review activity with an international one Case 1 – Polish and German students reviewed web sites produced by UK students Case 2 – Polish students reviewed web sites produced by other Polish students

7. 7 Findings – International peer review Over 90% of the respondents thought the activity was beneficial Students from abroad gave a different view of their work The activity could be made reciprocal About a quarter found the activity difficult Over 80% would prefer to work in their native language

8. 8 Findings – National peer review Posts to the discussion board were easier in their own language Enthusiasm for “honest” evaluation There was greater understanding, because the culture of the participants was the same

9. 9 Summary Matching international students with different skills or subject knowledge gave rise to misunderstandings But, feedback was more formal than between students from the same country Using their native language may promote more detailed and critical discussion Familiarity with expected standards made for a more relaxed discussion Peer review within the same country enables the product to be developed in their native language

10. 10 Conclusions National peer review activities will give an opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion International activities will be useful for practice in different languages Choosing a national activity may be a safer option to pilot a peer review activity

11. 11 Thank you for listening Any questions? For more details, or to set up a peer review activity, go to www.cabweb.net J.E.Whatley@salford.ac.uk