Second year students across the university have the option of taking an elective unit for professional development and career progression. To empower students, the assessment task of writing a job application was modified to include a peer review aspect that focused on how to write constructive feedback. They were assessed on the quality of the feedback and encouraged to apply this process to their work.
I was already using workshops in Moodle and had started to think about peer learning as a valuable approach to teaching, particularly the job application assessment because students need to see what other students are doing in that space and understand what the standards are.
It seemed like a really obvious thing that it would be great for students to see what other students produce. I was interested in peer learning and what the literature said about the skill of being able to identify and apply principles of effective communication (exercise judgement) as a higher order skill. The key idea of peer review is that it puts students in the position of teaching or as I like to say, “making judgement”.
The FeedbackFruits tool provided the opportunity for students to review an anonymous submission, so they weren't just paired up with other students and then required to engage directly. This tool allows full visibility to staff on how the students are doing.
 | Redesign: The assessment was changed so that students would peer review another student’s work and provide written feedback and not just a mark. |
 | Choosing the tool: FeedbackFruits was chosen so that they could anonymously comment on the document that another student provided. A key feature of the design was to ensure that I am not assessing their job application directly but looking at whether they can apply guidelines and judge work. The focus has changed from a raw mark to the quality of the written feedback of another person’s work and applying feedback to their work. |
 | Confirming the process: The students go through the steps required in FeedbackFruits to submit by a certain deadline. Then they can access a rubric and give the feedback on the provided anonymous submission. |
The table below shows the original assessment design and how it was changed.
| Before | After |
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The FeedbackFruits tool is essential - giving the ‘randomness’ and individuality of peer work. Each student is presented with a unique challenge but within a consistent task. The majority of students received their peers' feedback positively. The tool was friendly and approachable for the students to use.
Through review ratings we could see that students appear to appreciate the feedback they are given, as much as the opportunity to give it. Students were able to apply this process of self-judgement to the real world when they wrote job applications for jobs they were applying for.
Here are examples of student responses to peer feedback received:
"Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate how specific you were and how you addressed what could be done instead."
"High quality feedback. Thank you. Will adjust accordingly"
“Thank you so much for your very useful feedback!”
Example of student feedback given to a peer:
“Overall your interview preparation document shows you understand the principle of Situation, Task, Action, and Response. I would just ensure that you are applying this to all claims you are making. You must show evidence to prove that you were successful.
Additionally, review your work to make it more concise. The recruiter is likely to only look at your application briefly and you therefore need to be clear, concise, and make an impression by getting to the point.
Your examples for the criteria is relevant and explains how you are fit for the role being advertised. Ensure to provide specifics in your examples though. What are your academic commitments? There seems to be a theme throughout your application of alluding to your studies but very little mention of what studies you have undertaken. This is a graduate program and is therefore essential that you speak of your degree. After reading your application I am still unsure of what degree you are completing, I assume that it is a Politics degree but you need to make this clear to the recruiter. ”
This assessment exemplar required a medium level of effort to implement.
Recommended resources and training:
There are two main components to set up this assessment. Firstly, FeedbackFruits must be configured. The educator needs to become familiar with how FeedbackFruits works so that students can be supported through the process. I used this as a class time activity to get one student to go through the process and demonstrate the steps. Secondly, a Moodle assignment is configured but only used for the final mark.
The FeedbackFruits software and assessment process could be applied where students are required to write drafts for essays, reading tasks or understanding complex material where students could be encouraged to make judgements according to a given standard and express them constructively and be a teacher to their peers.
Carefully consider the literature on peer learning to ensure a solid background for the peer review process. Check out this reading list to get started. Ensure there are clear instructions for the students so that they do not get confused with the actions required in FeedbackFruits before the due date shown in Moodle. Students rely on the automated system in Moodle to tell them when things are due. Moodle will show the students a single deadline, but the students need to complete a number of steps in FeedbackFruits before that final deadline.
Be prepared to review your existing assessment to enable the best outcomes for the students and to empower them with skills they can use in their future career aspirations.
Here are some additional resources that you can browse to help you implement this assessment.
