Peer Meetings
With the use of structured peer meetings, learners give and receive feedback about ongoing work. The most important component of peer feedback is the modelling that occurs beforehand. It is imperative that teachers model and role play how to give feedback in a constructive way before having learners meet on their own. Set out on their own to give feedback, many learners will use the time to chat, criticize the other learners’ work or get nothing done. Learners need to be held accountable for the comments, suggestions, and feedback they are giving one another and need to know ahead of time how to do this effectively. Providing learners with a peer feedback form, which will be checked by the teacher, can provide structure to peer meetings. Once learners have had time to practice, know what the requirements are, and are aware of expectations, peer meetings can be an integral part of the feedback process.
Peer feedback can be done at any time during the course of a project. It can be used as a starting point to get ideas, or can be structured to give learners feedback in the middle of the project so they can revise their work based on their peers’ input. It can also be helpful to get peer feedback before a teacher meeting, so the work is more refined and has been looked at by others. Peer feedback can be given at multiple stages during a larger project or during the course of a written project that uses the writing process steps. A peer feedback form is needed so learners are focused on giving the right kinds of feedback and know what the expectations of the conference are.
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