In this teaching practice example, a more formalised approach to peer feedback was introduced in a third-year unit. Aneta Podkalicka reflects on working with an Education Designer to introduce the use of Feedback Fruits to enhance students’ engagement in an iterative applied research project. Students worked with feedback received from both peers and educators.
The activity of implementing Feedback Fruits for peer feedback in the Media Analytics Lab unit was inspired by the desire to formalise and enhance peer feedback within the course structure. This was a novel addition to the existing scaffolded assessment regime. The importance of incorporating more formalised peer feedback is recognised as a valuable learning experience for the students throughout units.
This task was made possible with the assistance of Carmen Sapsed who supported the development and implementation of this approach.
 | Scaffold the course to include continuous feedback activities, supporting constructive feedback and reflection. |
 | Ensure groups are finalised on Moodle before starting the activity to streamline the process. |
 | Set clear timelines and communicate expectations to students. |
 | Facilitate in-class group presentations where students receive feedback from both tutors and peers. |
 | Encourage students to review feedback and consider changes to their projects to improve their work. |
 | Foster a culture of peer feedback by introducing it as part of the unit early on and having students provide constructive feedback to other groups to improve their presentations. |
The outcome of introducing Feedback Fruits for peer feedback was positive. Anecdotally, students enjoyed the aspect of receiving feedback from their peers in addition to feedback from teachers. They found the process valuable and appreciated the peer perspectives shared during the activity. Additionally, the use of Feedback Fruits encouraged students to be more attentive during presentations, as they had to provide written feedback.
Overall, the coordinator noted that the scaffolded approach, including the integration of the Feedback Fruits activity, contributed to improved student engagement, participation, and learning outcomes within the unit.
This teaching practice requires a medium level of effort to implement.
Recommended resources and training:
Ensure that groups are finalised on Moodle before the activity commences to streamline the process.
Work out the timelines for the activity, considering that students may still move across tutorials until a certain point in the semester. Communicating clearly that the use of Feedback Fruits will require written feedback. This encourages students to be more attentive during presentations.
Emphasise the importance of regular engagement and participation in the unit. Encourage students to appreciate the value of feedback and the importance of providing meaningful feedback to and from their peers for improvement. Encourage students to craft substantive and considerate feedback and to reflect on peer feedback and its usefulness for students’ work.
Encourage active participation and engagement from students to maximise the benefits of peer feedback throughout the semester. Consider incorporating the use of Feedback Fruits (or similiar tool) into the overall scaffolded assessment regime of the course, ensuring that it aligns with other assessments and learning activities.
Reflect on the implementation of the activity and gather feedback from students to continuously improve its effectiveness and relevance to the learning experience and its transference to a workplace situation.
Here are some additional resources that you can browse to help you implement this type of teaching activity.
