Unfolding principles for student peer feedback: a comparative analysis of examples across higher education contexts

Abstract

This article analyses and compares six examples of formative peer feedback practices in a set of international STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) contexts with the aim to facilitate bridging the gap between theory and practice in implementing peer feedback in Higher Education. A group of researchers and teaching practitioners from six institutions of Higher Learning discussed, analyzed and synthesized practical examples of peer feedback practices in STEM covering a breadth of setting, aims, and forms of peer feedback practices. The analysis and comparison of these examples illustrate how principles of peer feedback unfold in practice. We discuss how the context for the peer feedback practices influences its practical implementation, particularly with regard to the purpose and aims, development and use of assessment criteria, and embedding and support of the initiatives into the teaching and learning activities.