Wednesday, November 12, 2014

REFLECTION: The role of peer and tutor feedback

The Role of peer and tutor feedback.

The module ES1102 has far exceeded my expectations, both in terms of the content taught and the execution of the lesson plans. In my opinion, one of the key highlights of this module is the addition of peer feedback as beneficial to the learning experience.

One of the conventional methods of classroom practices is the provision of tutor feedback. The views and wisdom of tutors are highly regarded, and majority of students would usually refrain from challenging or questioning the tutor’s opinions. However, I appreciate how the module recognises the shortcomings of receiving feedback from just the tutor. Opinions and insights from our peers, albeit incorrect at times, can serve as invaluable resources.

In a rapidly globalising society, students from all walks of life converge at one point. My experience in the ES1102 class is no exception. We come from different faculties,  different backgrounds and surely, different cultures. The insights that my peers offer is no doubt those of which value add to my education here in NUS. For example, we were assigned to provide our peers feedback on their blog post. The perspectives offered from both tutor and peers are definitely interesting and noteworthy, instead of just having feedback from the tutor alone.

I do, however, question the reliability and validity of my peers’ feedback at times. In every module, there are definitely black sheep who would not contribute positive or beneficial feedback. The nature of giving feedback to peers is somewhat made mandatory, as the number of feedbacks you provide somewhat contributes to your grade in ES1102. As such, students might provide inadequate feedback which is not useful.

Despite the possibility of the black sheep, I believe that majority of students would genuinely provide good feedback to one another. The role of peer and tutor feedback is definitely a good addition that enhances the overall learning experiences in ES1102.


THANK YOU EVERYONE!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Sean,

    My thoughts resonates with yours in how the module recognizes and welcomes the idea of hearing comments from our peers as well :)

    And yes, we should always question the feedback received! We should never take anything at face value. For me, I do clarify with Brad sometimes, or just do my own research to countercheck!

    Nice meeting you Sean! :)

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  2. Thank you, Sean, for this concise and clear critical reflection. You do a good job of reviewing the place of feedback in our course. You contextualize that well within the usual educational landscape. You also pinpoint some of the weaknesses of ,making giving peer feedback mandatory, and how certain 'black sheep' might not fulfill the essential requirement: genuine feedback that is both reliable and valid.

    I can certainly understand the concern. Still, there are a few areas of your reflection that I wonder about: Has giving and receiving such feedback had any impact on your writing? Has any of this 'editing experience' carried over to your planning essays and writing/revising the assignments in our course and in other courses? (Can you imagine that it would, or would not?)

    Whatever the case, I wish you all the best, Sean, as you continue your learning journey!

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