How do you foster a collaborative and respectful peer learning environment?

2 What is peer feedback?

Peer feedback is a type of formative assessment that involves students giving and receiving constructive comments and suggestions on each other's work or performance. Peer feedback can help you improve your self-awareness, self-regulation, and metacognition skills, as well as provide you with timely and specific feedback that can enhance your learning outcomes.

3 How to set up peer learning groups?

Creating a successful peer learning group requires compatibility, motivation, and respect. To set up one, choose a group size that is appropriate for the task and time available (usually 3-5 members). Select members who have similar goals and interests, but also bring different strengths, skills, and backgrounds. Establish clear and realistic group norms, roles, and responsibilities; for instance, assign a facilitator, recorder, timekeeper, and presenter for each session. Additionally, communicate regularly with your group members using various tools such as email, chat, video call, or online forums to coordinate meetings, share progress, and solve issues.

4 How to give effective peer feedback?

To provide successful peer feedback, it is essential to be constructive, specific, and respectful. To do this, you can use the sandwich method, which starts with a positive comment, gives a constructive suggestion, and ends with another positive comment. Additionally, you should use the SMART criteria to ensure your feedback is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. Also, use I-statements to express your feedback from your own perspective instead of making generalizations or judgments. Furthermore, open-ended questions can be used to invite peers to reflect on their work or performance. This can be done by asking questions that support claims with more evidence instead of simply saying "you should add more examples".