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Peer Review Circles: The Value of Working in Triadic Groups and Oral Observational Peer Feedback in the Development of Student Feedback Literacy

  • Marie Yeo

    Dr Marie YEO is Senior Language Specialist at SEAMEO RELC in Singapore. She has taught English, trained teachers and trainers, and managed educational projects in countries including Australia, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Singapore. Her current interests are Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), Language Assessment, and Professional Development. Dr Yeo is Co-Editor of the RELC Journal.
Published/Copyright: June 8, 2023
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Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics
From the journal Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics Volume 46 Issue 2

Abstract

There has been increasing debate about the effectiveness of peer feedback, especially the way learners actively engage with and act upon the feedback (Lam, 2017). Yet research has shown that well-managed peer feedback offers a host of social, cognitive and linguistic benefits (Sun & Doman, 2018). This paper looks at the perceptions of 24 teachers of English from Myanmar who experienced and evaluated a new way of organizing the peer feedback process known as Peer Review Circles (PRCs). In PRCs, learners work in groups of three, with two giving feedback on the work of the third, who listens, reflects on and only then responds to the comments. It was found that teachers perceived this arrangement to increase the quantity, variety and reliability of feedback, create a more conducive feedback atmosphere and aid the development of “soft/transferable” skills. Respondents identified teachers’ and learners’ lack of familiarity with this new approach, time constraints and the possibility of conflicting comments as potential difficulties of PRCs. To overcome these, respondents suggested providing training to teachers and learners, especially through modelling. This paper sheds light on a different way of managing peer feedback, PRCs, highlighting the benefits of working in triadic over dyadic groups and the value of oral observational peer feedback to develop students’ feedback literacy. The key implications relate to peer review training and the need to focus not just on procedural aspects but also on developing learners’ emotional competence to help sustain their language learning within today’s educational landscape.

Keywords: peer review circles; oral observational feedback; dyadic feedback; feedback literacy; feedback utilization

About the author

Marie Yeo

Dr Marie YEO is Senior Language Specialist at SEAMEO RELC in Singapore. She has taught English, trained teachers and trainers, and managed educational projects in countries including Australia, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Singapore. Her current interests are Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), Language Assessment, and Professional Development. Dr Yeo is Co-Editor of the RELC Journal.

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Published Online: 2023-06-08
Published in Print: 2023-06-27

© 2023 FLTRP, Walter de Gruyter, Cultural and Education Section British Embassy

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Developing Assessment Literacy for Classroom-Based Formative Assessment
  3. Assessment Literacy in a Better Assessment Future
  4. Assessment Literacy: Changing Cultures, Enculturing Change in Hong Kong
  5. Developing Classroom-Based Formative Assessment Literacy: An EFL Teacher’s Journey
  6. A Tale of Two Teachers: Construction of Novice University English Teachers’ Assessment Identity
  7. How Personal, Experiential, and Contextual Factors Mediate EFL Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment: A Narrative Study
  8. Teachers’ Qualitatively Different Ways of Experiencing Assessment Feedback: Implications for Teacher Assessment Literacy
  9. Peer Review Circles: The Value of Working in Triadic Groups and Oral Observational Peer Feedback in the Development of Student Feedback Literacy
  10. A Difficulty-Informed Approach to Developing Language Assessment Literacy for Classroom Purposes
  11. Understanding and Implementing Learning-Oriented Assessment: Evidence From Three Chinese Junior High School EFL Teachers
  12. Chinese Abstracts
https://doi.org/10.1515/CJAL-2023-0208
Keywords for this article
peer review circles; oral observational feedback; dyadic feedback; feedback literacy; feedback utilization

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Developing Assessment Literacy for Classroom-Based Formative Assessment
  3. Assessment Literacy in a Better Assessment Future
  4. Assessment Literacy: Changing Cultures, Enculturing Change in Hong Kong
  5. Developing Classroom-Based Formative Assessment Literacy: An EFL Teacher’s Journey
  6. A Tale of Two Teachers: Construction of Novice University English Teachers’ Assessment Identity
  7. How Personal, Experiential, and Contextual Factors Mediate EFL Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment: A Narrative Study
  8. Teachers’ Qualitatively Different Ways of Experiencing Assessment Feedback: Implications for Teacher Assessment Literacy
  9. Peer Review Circles: The Value of Working in Triadic Groups and Oral Observational Peer Feedback in the Development of Student Feedback Literacy
  10. A Difficulty-Informed Approach to Developing Language Assessment Literacy for Classroom Purposes
  11. Understanding and Implementing Learning-Oriented Assessment: Evidence From Three Chinese Junior High School EFL Teachers
  12. Chinese Abstracts
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