Peer review of teaching in higher education: A systematic review of its impact on the professional development of university teachers from the teaching expertise perspective

How Reducing Discomfort Impacts Peer Assessments of Preservice Teachers

“…Another area of concern with peer feedback is the sense of embarrassment felt by those receiving feedback when weaknesses are identified [25,26]. Research [11,12] indicates that students conducting face-to-face feedback frequently expressed anxiety in sharing their comments for fear of being rejected, refuted, or regarded as having low expertise by their peers. Machin and Jeffries [27] added that peer feedback could impact students' self-esteem and belonging.…”

“…To alleviate these concerns, several researchers have suggested the feature of good feedback (e.g., [28]) and instructional approaches to increase the quality of peer feedback content (e.g., [12,27]). In particular, the following instructional approaches have been suggested to improve peer feedback: (1) using computer-mediated communication to avoid the possible embarrassment or discomfort faced by students in face-to-face interactions [27], (2) using multiple evaluators to balance the uneven quality of peer feedback [22,29,30], and (3) using anonymous peer feedback to minimize opportunities for students to reward friends or cheat during the peer feedback process [12,27].…”

“…This condition can contribute to an environment where reviewers and reviewees may avoid face-to-face discomfort while sharing detailed discussions of performance and candid evaluations. Research has documented the major advantage of anonymous peer feedback [12,21,23,27,[30][31][32]. Research [19,27] reported that anonymity could increase critical feedback because in anonymous situations, students are relieved from social pressure so they can be more honest and less anxious about expressing their opinions regardless of interpersonal factors.…”

“…In particular, peer review of teaching (PRT) involves agents such as peers with the common professional aspiration, teacher knowledge through performance, and a critical discourse through which peers share constructive feedback on teaching performance [46,47]. The present study implements a PRT practice in a university-based teacher education program and examined the relationship between affective components of feedback and level of engagement in the collaborative model of PRT [12,13]. We aimed to illustrate how preservice teachers process information about content, understand the performance of teaching tasks, and foster a sense of trust through participating in the professional practice of feedback sharing.…”

“…The potential benefits of peer feedback on PSTs' teaching are clear: it helps PSTs identify their strengths and areas of growth [12,13], it increases collegiality and helps to shape professional practice [13,14], and more importantly it "helps to clarify some of the ways in which teacher education can model, and influence, the nature of schools as learning communities" [15]. However, more research is necessary to confirm the extent and favorable conditions of critical and constructive peer feedback experiences on PSTs' teaching [16]-i.e., the way peer review of teaching is influenced by personal reflection and interpersonal factors especially when PSTs demonstrated low participation [17][18][19] in peer feedback.…”