Asynchronous Peer Review Feedback in an Undergraduate Nursing Course: What Students Can Teach Each Other About Writing.

Abstract

Because patient care depends on nurses' ability to effectively communicate, nursing students need opportunities to develop written and oral communication skills through low-stakes activities. However, content-intensive classes and clinical schedules are obstacles to explicit writing support. Online asynchronous peer review can be an effective solution. Students participated in an online asynchronous peer review intervention. Students reported their perceptions of the peer review and subsequent revisions. The authors developed a peer review activity, designed to guide students to give online asynchronous feedback. Students evaluated its effectiveness and value through pre- and posttest surveys. Ninety-four percent (n = 68) of participants reported peer review as beneficial to the writing process, with 74% reporting they revised their writing in meaningful ways. Students felt peer feedback was useful, positive, valid, and reliable. Findings suggest that even when delivered asynchronously online, peer review can support nursing students' writing process and scaffold content learning.