The nature, reception, and use of online peer feedback in higher education

Abstract

This article focuses on the use of online interactive peer feedback in higher education and identifies the successful uptake of feedback as an important aspect. We investigate the link between the nature of students’ feedback, the way it is evaluated by the receiver, and its consecutive use for the revision of students’ products. Two separate studies were conducted to investigate the link between these three variables across different educational contexts and tools. Both studies showed a significant relationship between feedback containing concrete suggestions and a successful uptake of the feedback. Regarding the different tools that were used, these concrete suggestions were more often produced in the Annotation system than in the Blackboard discussion forum, the latter showing more evaluative forms of feedback. We also found significant relationships between elements of both the nature and the reception of feedback on the one hand, and the use of this feedback by the receiver on the other hand.