Peer feedback features and evaluative judgment in a blended university course

Abstract

The literature on assessment in higher education largely highlighted the important role of feedback to promote learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). More recent research demonstrates that
peer feedback is particularly effective in improving student learning, in some cases even more than feedback offered by the teacher (Nicol, 2018). Furthermore, the implementation of peer
feedback processes seems to contribute to the development of student assessment literacy and the ability to elaborate and formulate evaluative judgments (Boud, Ajjavi, Dawson, & Tai, 2018).
Despite the relevance of these topics to learning in higher education, at international level and in particular in the Italian context, only very few studies specifically investigated how the different
types of peer feedback affect learning and how, in these contexts, students develop evaluative judgement skills. In this article we aim at presenting an empirical research work exploring these issues within a broader research on the role of peer review for learning carried at the University of Padova. The results make it possible to consider peer review as a significant teaching and learning tool, through which offer students the possibility to improve and develop assessment literacy and thus to become effective lifelong learners.