This summer, several faculty members participated in CDIL’s working group, “Unlocking the Potential of Peer Feedback.” We asked them to share their thoughts on the group and their experiences developing their projects. I had a conversation with Josh Seim, Associate Professor of Sociology, which has been condensed and slightly edited.
Why did you want to join this working group?
“I was really intrigued by the call that CDIL sent out. I hadn’t thought much about peer review assignments in my class. Then I did some quick Google Scholar searching and found some articles on how effective peer feedback can be. I was also interested in shaking up the assignments in my social theory course (Sociology 7716: Contemporary Sociological Theory). I was also just generally interested in talking about teaching with other folks.”
What did you ultimately decide to do for your project? Why?
“It’s really important to me that my TA and I assess the feedback provided to students. I wanted to grade the feedback as much as the original submissions. I also realized that integrating a feedback protocol for all my major assignments would be too time-consuming for students. After one-on-one consultation with CDIL, I decided that Perusall would be the best platform.”
What’s something you learned that you didn’t expect to at the beginning of this experience?
“I was really impressed by the work of others in the group. In addition to learning about peer feedback, I learned some interesting strategies for scaffolding, eliciting discussion board responses, and more.”
What do you hope the impact of your work will be on students?
“Ultimately, I hope the peer feedback assignment I’m integrating promotes a deeper engagement with the assigned material. I’m also hoping the assignment will provide opportunities for students to flex their critical thinking skills as they assess peer work. Finally, I hope the peer feedback generates confidence among students.”
CDIL will be sharing more experiences from the working group members in the coming weeks. Stay up-to-date by following our blog, connecting with us on LinkedIn, or sending us a message at cdil-inbox@bc.edu.
