The peer review experience within the Teacher Education course: results from an evaluative research on students’ perceptions

Abstract

The paper presents results from an evaluative research regarding the use of peer review in the context of Teacher Education internship at the University of Padova. The assignment for the peer review cycle was the internship project. The research aimed to monitor students’ perceptions in order to identify areas of improvement and tailor the model for further systematic implementations and involved 143 students enrolled in the 4th and 5th year. Recent research on peer review shows how this approach fosters students to take an active role in their learning, reflecting on their own assignments, reinforcing knowledge and skills, learning by sharing and comparing perspectives with peers at different levels, developing assessment and self-assessment skills. The current research seems to confirm these findings, showing positive students’ perceptions regarding the efficacy of peer review, specifically of the giving feedback, receiving feedback, writing self-feedback phases, and highlighting relevant impacts on the learning process. The peer review cycle has been improved based on suggestions emerged from the research and the model is now applied within all years of the internship.