3 Tips for Better Peer Feedback in Elementary Classrooms
When young students have chances to share ideas and improve on their work with classmates, they begin to take ownership of their learning in new ways.
Learning how to exchange feedback with classmates can be intimidating—especially for younger learners who may be new to peer review. But creating space for students to give and receive better peer feedback from one another provides them opportunities to have their voice be heard and to listen to one another, resulting in a deeper level of classroom collaboration and engagement with content—and ultimately higher-quality student work. With the right scaffolding, teachers can help build autonomy and communication skills in a variety of ways.
To start with, even the best critique activities will only succeed in a safe and mistake-friendly classroom community that nurtures gentle reflection instead of correction, where students feel comfortable taking risks and being vulnerable as they share their work. When the stage is set for constructive discussions that focus on comments that are clear, positive, and encouraging, students can give and receive feedback more comfortably.
Using simple structures to give students guardrails and direct them toward more effective communication can be implemented from the beginning. Frameworks that allow students to share ideas in a kind and respectful manner can be a great place to begin, such as protocols like “Glow and Grow” or TAG feedback, or even just simple sentence starters. The more tools learners are given to exchange their notes in supportive ways, the more confident they will grow in expressing their thoughts.
As students get more comfortable swapping feedback with neighbors and friends, mixing in practices that get students moving around the room may help sharpen skills and improve their work. Asking students to rotate around to different desks or matching up partners who might not normally interact makes for more varied sources of feedback and can allow students to develop collaboration skills in new ways.
Even the youngest of students begin to take ownership of their learning when they feel that their thoughts, opinions, and ideas have value.
For many more resources, read Paige Tutt’s article for Edutopia, “Teaching Kids to Give and Receive Quality Peer Feedback.”