Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Laura Freberg has been teaching her Behavioural Neuroscience course asynchronously. As an experienced educator who understands the challenges and opportunities of teaching in an online setting, she used Kritik to create a positive and effective learning environment with peer assessment.
How does Kritik’s peer review process impact your classes?
LF: With over 100 students in my class and four writing assignments required throughout the semester, the peer review process has been highly beneficial. Using Kritik to facilitate peer learning, I can effectively grade more assignments and provide feedback to my students.
The anonymity feature on Kritik also seems to create a sense of comfort among students, and so far, I have not had many issues with poor or inappropriate feedback. If a problem does arise, the built-in flag feature allows students to alert me to the issue, and I can personally review the feedback to determine if it is appropriate.
As the instructor, I also have the final say on any disputes that may arise, which helps to ensure the integrity of the process. Here are some key statistics from my course:
Learn more about the benefits of peer learning in large classrooms.
What strategies do you use to maintain student engagement in an asynchronous classroom setting?
LF: In my asynchronous courses, I have students evaluate the work of 5-6 of their peers, which helps build a sense of community and engagement. By the time each student has completed their evaluations, they have reviewed the work of around 30 of their peers, which helps them to understand the range of their peers' abilities and what is, in turn, expected of them.
The peer review process can be valuable in asynchronous learning, as it can be challenging to engage students who are not physically present in the same location. However, using Kritik's peer review platform has helped improve student engagement. It encourages students to reflect on their work and discuss evaluations with their peers on their own time, which brings back the sense of interaction and participation often missing in an online class. This has led to a lot of positive feedback from my students about the peer review process and an increase in the % of evaluations completed.
In what ways can the peer review process help students develop the skills needed to give effective feedback in their professional careers?
LF: As a psychology instructor, developing soft skills is essential, and one of the most valuable skills in my field is giving gentle yet constructive feedback. One of the features I particularly appreciate about Kritik is that it allows students to evaluate the feedback they receive from their peers, which helps them to learn how to review the feedback given. This can be a valuable life skill for them to practice as they prepare to join the workforce.
Build Soft Skills with a 360-degree Feedback Loop on Kritik
Kritik’s peer review process improves students' feedback skills, making them more valuable professionals. It also enables instructors to save time to provide their students with more comprehensive feedback.
Schedule a demo with Kritik today to increase student engagement in your online classes!
