[Peer Review] Peer Evaluation for Group Projects

[sgreen10]

Every semester we need the students to create a peer evaluation for their group projects. We would like for students to be able to rate their group members contribution to the group project. This feature should allow the instructors to set up the peer evaluation for students to either rate themselves or students to only rate their peers. The instructor should be able to choose the type of evaluation students can give their peers like numerical rating, likert scale rating, text comments etc. There should also be an option to include the peer evaluation as a graded assignment.

Another nice option would be to automatically add the peer evaluation to group assignments. This would allow points to be deducted from the group assignment grade automatically. Usually, we had to divide the total points for the group project across two assignments: 1) the project and 2) the peer evaluation. With the option just described the peer evaluation would be included into the group project and there would no longer be a need for two assignments.

We have done the peer evaluation in survey builders like Qualtrics in the past but it is not the best option for several reasons. Student's get confused when they have to leave Canvas to complete assignments on other websites. Their activities don't get tracked in Canvas so they don't know if it will be graded. Qualtrics (at least the survey version we have at our University) is not designed to capture feedback in a round robin format needed for peer evaluations. We have to export the results from Qualtrics, clean the data, do some calculations then input the grades in Canvas. It becomes a really tedious process.

[vrs07nl]

Hi Sam 

Yes we had a demo - it does what it says - developed fine for Cnvas but we need it for Blackbaord too so waiting to see how developed for LTi 3 . Bit pricey  for the business case for its use 

• Euro 2000 for a small pilot of about 6 months
• Euro 10,000 pa for whole institution irrespective of number of users

The SPLAT tool from Aelaide University looks a better product - Group Peer Assessment  

[18shumwaysam]

Thanks! That's good info.

[leslieahendrix]

Yes, please - we need this functionality! And then we need the ability to change the individual's score within the group.

[goodbookmom]

Having just moved to Canvas (from Blackboard) we, too, are looking for ways to automate the peer evaluation process as described here. Previously, we had built Qualtrics surveys personalized to each class based on a the group rosters from Blackboard. Now, that process is even more time-consuming since I can't even download a group roster from Canvas (but that is a rant for another post). I've been told that our university cannot use the SPLAT tool as it requires a personal server to install. We just got the same price quote from Buddycheck as Nicole Langton. Their tool worked like a charm, taking almost no time to set up, but our department is only needing to use it in one course which makes the $10k+ per year price tag out of our budget.

Is anyone else frustrated at being forced to pay for third party apps on top of what we pay for Canvas to do the things that folks have been requesting from Canvas for years?  @Renee_Carney  stated 3 and a half years ago that this was a great idea that they had seen different versions of in prior voting periods. At this point I don't even care so much about having the peer evaluation automatically affect the group grade. I can manually change individual students' grades. I just need to get the evaluation done without re-inventing the wheel.

[vilja_hulden]

Just noting that CATME really works very well for this. It's a teeny bit of hassle at the beginning of the semester, but they are backing up the way they do peer evaluation with a lot of research (and you can also create groups based on a variety of factors, though I don't use those much.) It would be lovely if Canvas added the upload-csv to make groups (https://community.canvaslms.com/ideas/9304-batch-group-management ) ; that would make it less hassle to use CATME even in big classes and then upload the groups one has created to Canvas instead of having to manually make them.

[rebajens]

When I have a group of students working together on an assignment, sometimes there are students that they never get ahold of but the group carries on without them. (Especially with online classes.) Because the assignment is set to be a group assignment, I grade them together (saves time too, when it's all the same, rather than doing the same thing over and over again with each individual). But because I do this, the students that don't (or very little) participate, still get the full credit on that assignment, which isn't fair. It would be great for students to be able to submit participation feedback for each of their group members. Doing this as a Peer Review doesn't work because rubrics are used to grade the assignment and I'm not asking the group members to review their own work. Plus, if you create a separate assignment and assign peer reviews to do it with a new rubric, it doesn't work because there's no submission to review.

If there could be some sort of sub-submission to group assignments when participation is key, that could be a huge help! Or a type of assignment that doesn't need a submission in order to do a peer review. Like a survey collection or something so that the teacher can input a participation grade elsewhere.

[Estefania]

This is not exactly the same feature as I was looking for, but my suggestion for additional peer-review options was archived:

When setting up peer-reviewed assignments, it would be very useful to assign peer-reviewers automatically across groups to ensure that a person from group A is always assigned to a person from group B without having to do it manually every time (I am thinking of weekly assignments). 

The obvious use case for this would be to allow for a mentorship/critical friend relationship to be built between students who are taking the same course but are in different working groups (e.g. teacher training). In this sense, another option would be to allow for peer-review partners to be replicated for all peer-reviewed assignments, so that peer-reviewers would only need to be set up once.

[RobDitto]

We're now in our second year with Canvas partner FeedbackFruits. They provide this feature with a user experience students tell us they really appreciate.

While it would be wonderful to have native Canvas functionality for this need, institutions needing a powerful and user-friendly implementation now would do well to check out FeedbackFruits.

[hartmand]

Our FHGEN 120 course already has a peer evaluation for our collaborative project. I wonder how many other courses have this built in?

[FeedbackAndy]

Hello! I might be a few years late but we at FeedbackFruits have been busy building and improving our pedagogical tools through collaboration with several universities. The Group Member Evaluation tool integrates seamlessly with Canvas and specifically addresses your query. I’d like to show you how. 

The Group Member Evaluation tool streamlines collaborative peer assessment by taking existing groups from Canvas and providing configurable rubrics, anonymity and self assessment for class-specific learning objectives. 

Configurability and Setting Up 

In Canvas, Group Member Evaluation and our other tools can be added while creating a new assignment or as an item while creating a new module. For more specific information on setting up procedures, you can take a look at our guide, or visit our website. 

This is how our tool looks within Canvas. In this first module, teachers can iterate the instructions through text, audio and visuals. You can then select whether you want the students to review their group mates individually, or review all peers in the class if needed.

The student groups are automatically integrated from Canvas. You can choose the group or group sets for the assignment and you’re good to go. 

In the next section, the instructor can set criteria to not only help guide the students while they give reviews, but also create a standardized and transparent grading system. In this example, you can see that the student is required to give a 5-point likert scale rating on two sets of criteria, one pertaining to work contribution to assignment, and the other pertaining to team dynamics and team work. 

Each set has its own configurable criteria scale and point system. Also, new grading criteria can always be built either as a rubric (likert scale), single scale rating, or comment criterion by scrolling down in the “Build set of Criteria” section.

Furthermore, the teacher can enable several other options including deadlines, reviewer anonymity and writing tips. 

Student view and Transparency

Once published, this is what the assignment looks like for students within Canvas. They can read the instructions, and will be assigned peers from within their group one by one (based on allocation settings). Once a student starts reviewing, they can see all the criteria and the grading points, including the latter’s description. They can also review all their group mates one after the other without leaving the page. This provides students with a clear and straightforward framework of assessment. 

All feedback, including remarks, are presented to peers anonymously. The students are also reminded of this to address any doubts. You can find more information about the student view here. 

Grading and Integration

Once everyone in the group has finished the assignment (by reviewing each member of the group and viewing given reviews), the instructor can choose to release grades as they are, or use it to adjust individual group assignment grades through configurable group contribution factors.

Instructors can view all class-specific analytics, and download this as a .xlsx file at the top of the assignment. Once published, the grades are sent automatically to Canvas and are added to the gradebook. You can also find more information on how configurable grading works and integrates with Canvas through the links.

If you are interested and want to know more, please do not hesitate to reply back, or get in touch with someone through our website. We will be more than happy to arrange a demo for you!