Digital peer feedback on visual ideas: a study of eighth-grade students in visual art

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article focuses on developing the idea process in visual art education by using digital peer feedback. In the school subject visual art, the visual idea process, e.g. when students sketch their ideas, is an important phase in a project. When an idea takes form, there is the possibility for considering the idea in a new way, for others to study and discuss it, and most importantly, for generating new ideas. By digitally sharing their visual ideas and providing feedback, students might become more aware of their own and others' processes. This study aimed to explore how eighth-grade students develop and share visual ideas supported by digital peer feedback. Thematic analysis was used to identify different types of feedback provided by students. A qualitative survey was used to investigate student perceptions of the feedback. Many students appreciated receiving feedback from peers. Some students made significant or minor changes to their visual ideas based on the peer feedback, while other students abandoned their initial sketches and created entirely new ones, or did not make any changes to their initial idea. These results suggest that giving and receiving peer feedback is something that needs to be practiced in different specific school subjects.