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Naomi
in
A peer review assignment or discussion enables students to provide feedback on another student's submission. Peer reviews allow communication between students and can help students master the concepts of a course and learn from each other. Peer reviews can be assigned to show student names or display anonymously.
Note: Students can only view peer review assignments or discussions after they have submitted their own work for the assignment or replied to the discussion themselves.
When Would I Use Peer Reviews?
Student peer review assignments and discussions can:
- Help students develop critical thinking skills by evaluating and providing feedback on their peers' work.
- Enhance understanding of the subject matter.
- Improve communication skills.
- Promote a collaborative learning environment.
- Teach students to give and receive constructive criticism.
Instructors can learn about creating a peer review assignment or creating a peer review discussion.
Performing Peer Reviews
After submitting their own work, students can submit a peer review. The student whose work was reviewed can then view their peer’s feedback.
Anonymous Peer Reviews
As part of creating a peer review, the anonymous option allows you to hide the name of the student reviewer from the student with the submission. The reviewer cannot see the name of the assigned person whose work is to be reviewed, and the student who submitted the assignment cannot view names associated with any comments.
Creating an anonymous peer review can reduce bias, encourage honest feedback, promote fairness, minimize pressure, and focus on learning.
Notes:
- Email notifications sent to students about peer reviews are anonymous. Student reviewers cannot view the name of the person whose work they are reviewing.
- Once a peer review has been assigned, the viewing setting cannot be changed. For instance, a regular peer review cannot later be made anonymous—and appear anonymous—unless the peer review is deleted and re-assigned.
- Canvas DocViewer does not support anonymous comments, so it cannot be used for annotated feedback on assignments with anonymous peer reviews.
- When anonymous peer reviews are enabled, instructors and TAs can still view the names of student reviewers in SpeedGrader and in the student submission page. However, if anonymous grading is enabled in SpeedGrader, the names of both students will be hidden in SpeedGrader but not in the student submission page.
Naomi
in
You can find your peers' feedback for peer reviewed assignments in several places.
Notes:
- Peer reviews can only be completed in the web version of Canvas.
- If the peer review is anonymous, the name of the reviewer is not included in any feedback.
- Observers can view all content from submitted assignments. However, observers cannot view assignment drafts.
- Assignment Enhancements does not support Cloud Assignments.
- If the steps in the lesson do match what is displayed in your course, Assignment Enhancements, Enhanced Rubrics, and/or Peer Review Support may not be enabled in your course or your instructor may not have used a supported assignment type. Learn how to find peer feedback without enhancement features.
View Recent Feedback
Under Recent Feedback in the sidebar of your Canvas course, you can view recent comments from peer reviewed assignments. Click the title of the assignment to view all submission details and comments.
View Submission Details Page
If your assignment includes a rubric, you can view peer review rubric assessments from the Assignment Details page.
If the rubric is not displayed by default, click the View Rubric link [1].
View the peer review rubric assessment, including ratings and comments [2].
If your assignment was reviewed by multiple people, click the Select Grader drop-down menu to select other rubric assessments [3].
View Feedback in Grades
You can also view peer reviews from the Grades page. Click the Feedback icon [1]. Then view the rubric scoring [2].
To close the rubric, click the Close Rubric link [3].
ctitmus
in
You can find your peers' feedback for peer reviewed assignments in several places.
Notes:
- If the peer review is anonymous, the name of the reviewer will not be included in any feedback.
- If your peer review experience looks different than what is shown in this lesson, your institution may have the feature preview Assignment Enhancements enabled. You can learn where to find feedback for peer reviewed assignments in Assignment Enhancements.
View Recent Feedback
Under Recent Feedback in the sidebar of your Canvas course, you can view recent comments from peer reviewed assignments. Click the title of the assignment to view all submission details and comments.
View Submission Details Page
You can view the comment directly in the submission details page [1].
If your assignment is compatible with the Canvas annotations tool, Canvas DocViewer, your peers may also have left feedback directly in the assignment. To view their comments, click the View Feedback link [2]. This is the same link where you may be able to view feedback from your instructor.
Notes:
- When assignment grades are hidden, you can view peer review comments. However, instructor comments are hidden until after assignment are posted.
- When peer reviews are anonymous, you can leave submission and rubric comments, but annotated submission comments are not supported.
- For group assignments, you will see peer review comments for all reviews of your group's submission.
View Rubric
If your assignment includes a rubric, you can view peer review rubric assessments.
To view the rubric assessment, click the Show Rubric link [1].
View the peer review rubric assessment, including ratings and comments [2].
If your assignment was reviewed by multiple people, click the Show Assessment By drop-down menu to select other rubric assessments [3].
View Assignment Page
You can also view your peers' feedback on the individual assignment page. All comments from your peers will appear in the Submission box.
Note: Peer review feedback only displays on the assignment page for assignments that require an online submission.
View Grades
The comment can also be viewed on your Grades page.
ctitmus
in
Your instructor may require you to submit a peer review of another student's assignment. To complete the assignment, you must review the student's assignment and add a comment in the comment sidebar.
If your instructor includes a rubric, which is a pre-determined outline of how an assignment is graded, you must assign a grade using the rubric. However, your instructor may also ask you to leave a comment in the comment sidebar.
Some peer reviews may also be anonymous, which means you cannot view the name of the student whose assignment you are reviewing. Additionally, the student cannot see your name as the reviewer when you leave a comment to complete the review.
Notes:
- You can only complete peer reviews in the web version of Canvas.
- You need to submit your assignment first to access your assigned peer reviews.
- If what you see in Canvas differs from the images shown in this lesson, your institution may be using the feature preview Assignment Enhancements - Student. You can learn how to submit a peer review to an assignment using Assignment Enhancements as a student.
Open Assignments
In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.
Note: You can also access your Assignments through your user or course dashboard, the Syllabus, Gradebook, Calendar, or Modules.
Open Assignment
In the Assignment Index page, you can view any peer reviews assigned to you. To open the peer review, click the Required Peer Review link [1].
You can see the name of students whose assignments you are reviewing [2]. If your peer review is anonymous, the student's name displays as Anonymous Student.
Note: If your instructor has assigned an On Paper or No Submission assignment, the assigned peer review does not display on this page. However, you can still view it from the Dashboard. Learn more about viewing peer review assignments.
Open Assigned Peer Review
Under Assigned Peer Reviews, you can see any peer reviews assigned to you. Click the name of the assigned peer whose work you will be reviewing. The caution sign icon indicates the peer review has not been completed [1]. A checkmark icon indicates that you have completed the peer review [2].
Open Anonymous Peer Reviews
If your peer review is anonymous, you cannot see the name of the student. The name of the student will also not be shown anywhere in the assignment.
View Peer Review
To download the assignment, click the name of the assignment [1]. To preview the submission, click the View Feedback link [2].
Create Annotated Feedback
If the assignment supports annotated feedback, the Preview button will display as View Feedback.
To open the document with Canvas DocViewer, click the View Feedback link [1]. You can add comments directly to the submission through DocViewer [2].
You can leave direct feedback on the assignment using DocViewer, but you cannot view any existing feedback submitted by another student or the instructor.
Note: In anonymous peer reviews, you cannot leave comments in DocViewer.
Complete Rubric
If the assignment has a rubric attached, you are only required to complete the attached rubric for the peer review to be considered finished.
To view the rubric, click the Show Rubric link [1].
To score the assignment with the rubric, select rubric ratings [2] or enter a score for each criterion in the Points column [3]. To deselect a rubric rating, click the rubric rating [4].
Each criterion score will create the total points for the assignment [5].
When you're finished, click the Save Comment button [6]. You may need to refresh your browser to see that you've completed the required steps for the peer review.
Notes:
- Depending on how your instructor set up the rubric, it may or may not include point values. If the rubric does not include point values you will still need to fill out the rubric to complete the peer review.
- After you save the rubric, you cannot edit it to change your comments or ratings.
Add Assignment Comment
If your assignment does not include a rubric, you are required to add at least one comment. You cannot view any existing feedback submitted by another student or the instructor.
Type a comment in the comment field [1], attach a file [2], or leave a media comment [3]. Click the Send Comment button [4].
Note: When an assignment is muted, you can view peer review comments. However, instructor comments are hidden until after the assignment is unmuted.
ctitmus
in
You can find your peers' feedback for peer reviewed discussions in the Recent Feedback sidebar of your Canvas course Home page or Dashboard, on the submission details page, and in the Course Grades feedback tray.
View Recent Feedback
Under Recent Feedback in the sidebar of your Canvas course Home page, you can view recent comments from peer reviewed discussions [1].
To view submission details, click the title of the discussion [2].
Note: The Recent Feedback section displays a limited amount of feedback. To view any additional recent feedback, click the more in the past two weeks link [3].
View Submission Details Page
You can also view peer review comments in the discussion submission details.
Note: You can open discussion submission details from the Recent Feedback area of the Home page, the Assignments page, or the Grades page.
Open Course Grades Page
You can also view peer review comments from the Course Grades page. On the Course Grades page, click the Feedback button.
View Feedback Tray
In the Feedback tray, view peer comments [1].
To view or edit discussion replies, click the Feedback button [2].
To close the Feedback tray, click the Close icon [3].
ctitmus
in
When creating an assignment, you can require students to complete a peer review of another student's work. Learn more about peer review assignments.
For peer reviews, you can manually assign peer reviews or choose to have Canvas automatically assign peer reviews for you. You can also choose to allow students to see other students' names in peer reviews or make them anonymous. When anonymous peer reviews are enabled, instructors and TAs can still view the names of student reviewers in SpeedGrader and in the student submission page. However, if anonymous grading is enabled in SpeedGrader, the names of both students will be hidden in SpeedGrader but not in the student submission page.
To complete the peer review, students are required to leave at least one comment. If you include a rubric, they are only required to complete the rubric.
Notes:
- To learn how assignment and peer review due dates appear in a student's To Do list, view the Peer Review Tips resource document.
- Peer reviews cannot be used with External Tool assignments.
- Students can see peer review comments if assignment grades are hidden. However, students cannot see instructor comments until after assignment grades have been posted.
- Instructors cannot edit or delete student peer review comments.
Open Assignments
In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.
Add Assignment
Click the Add Assignment button.
Select Submission Type
Click the Submission Type drop-down menu [1], and select your preferred submission type [2].
Note: The External Tool submission type does not support peer review assignments.
Select Online Entry Options
Select the checkboxes for the types of online entries allowed in the assignment.
Add Group Assignment
Peer reviews can be used with group assignments. If you want to create a group assignment, click the This is a Group Assignment checkbox.
Require Peer Reviews
Click the Require Peer Reviews checkbox [1]. By default, peer reviews are assigned manually [2].
If you want to assign peer reviews automatically, select the Automatically Assign Peer Reviews radio button [3].
Note: Peer reviews must be manually assigned for On Paper and No Submission assignment types.
Automatically Assign Peer Reviews
If you automatically assign peer reviews, the menu displays additional options. In the Reviews Per User field [1], enter the number of reviews each student will be required to complete.
In the Assign Reviews field [2], use the calendar icon to select a date or manually enter the date for student peer reviews to be assigned. If left blank, Canvas will use the assignment due date.
Assign Group Assignment Intra-Group Peer Reviews
In group assignments, you also have the option to allow intra-group peer reviews.
Peer reviews require a student to review an individual submission by another student. However, group assignment submissions are made by one group member on behalf of the entire group, and all group members have the same submission.
By default, the Allow intra-group peer reviews checkbox is not selected, which means Canvas will filter out members of the same group when automatically assigning the reviews.
To allow Canvas to assign a peer review to a student from within the student's own group, select the Allow intra-group peer review checkbox.
Assign Anonymous Peer Reviews
If you want to make peer reviews anonymous, check the Peer Reviews Appear Anonymously checkbox.
Note: Canvas DocViewer does not support anonymous comments, so it cannot be used for annotated feedback on assignments with anonymous peer reviews.
Save and Publish Assignment
If you are ready to publish your assignment, click the Save & Publish button [1]. If you want to create a draft of your assignment and publish it later, click the Save button [2].
When your assignment is saved in a draft state, you can return to the page and publish it at any time by clicking the Publish button.
View Published Assignment
View published assignment.
You can also attach a rubric to the assignment for students to fill out when completing peer reviews. To add a rubric to the assignment, click the add Rubric button.
Naomi
in
You can find your peers' feedback for peer reviewed assignments in several places.
Notes:
- Peer reviews can only be completed in the web version of Canvas.
- If the peer review is anonymous, the name of the reviewer is not included in any feedback.
- Observers can view all content from submitted assignments. However, observers cannot view assignment drafts.
- Assignment Enhancements does not support Cloud Assignments.
- If the assignment you are accessing displays differently, Assignment Enhancements and/or Peer Review Support may not be enabled in your course or your instructor may not have used a supported assignment type. Additionally, your institution may have enabled Enhanced Rubrics. Learn how to find peer feedback with Assignment Enhancements disabled or how to find peer review feedback with Assignment Enhancements and Enhanced Rubrics.
View Recent Feedback
Under Recent Feedback in the sidebar of your Canvas course, you can view recent comments from peer reviewed assignments. Click the title of the assignment to view all submission details and comments.
View Submission Details Page
To view peer review comments, click the View Feedback button.
View Feedback
View feedback including comments, emojis (if enabled), attached files, or media files.
Notes:
- When assignment grades are hidden, you can view peer review comments. However, instructor comments are hidden until after assignment are posted.
- When peer reviews are anonymous, you can leave submission and rubric comments, but annotated submission comments are not supported.
- For group assignments, peer review comments display for all reviews of your group's submission.
View Feedback in Grades
Peer review comments can also be viewed on your Grades page.
View Rubric
If your assignment includes a rubric, you can view peer review rubric assessments.
To view the rubric assessment, click the View Rubric link [1].
View the peer review rubric assessment, including ratings and comments [2].
If your assignment was reviewed by multiple people, click the Select Grader drop-down menu to select other rubric assessments [3].
ctitmus
in
A peer review assignment enables students to provide feedback on another student's assignment submission. Peer reviews are a tool that allows communication between students and can help students master the concepts of a course and learn from each other. Peer reviews can be assigned to show student names or display anonymously.
Note: Students can only view peer review assignments after they have submitted work to the assignment.
View Peer Review Assignments
When you or a TA create a peer review assignment, you can assign peer reviews manually or you can have Canvas assign them automatically [1]. Group assignments can also be assigned peer reviews.
When a peer review has been assigned, students can view a notification in their Dashboard To Do sidebar or Activity Stream [2]. Students will also receive an email notification.
If the assignment is not an On Paper or No Submission assignment type, students can also view the peer review information in the sidebar of the assignment details page.
View Peer Review Comments
To complete a peer review, students must review the assignment and leave a comment on the submission details page [1].
Students cannot view previously submitted comments by any other reviewers, including comments by TAs or other instructors.
You can also assign a rubric to the assignment. If the assignment includes a rubric [2], students must only complete the rubric to complete the peer review. However, you can choose to ask your students to also leave a comment in the comment sidebar. The rubric score is used for an assessment opinion only; you must review the assignment and assign the final grade.
View Peer Review Grades
Students do not receive a grade for completing a peer review. If you want to assign extra points for peer reviews, you can create a No Submission assignment in the Gradebook and assign points manually. The Peer Review page for the assignment will show the names of students who have completed the peer review.
View Anonymous Peer Reviews
As part of creating a peer review, the anonymous option allows you to hide the name of the student reviewer from the student with the submission. The reviewer cannot see the name of the assigned person whose work is to be reviewed, and the student who submitted the assignment cannot view names associated with any comments.
Notes about Anonymous Peer Reviews
- Email notifications sent to students about peer reviews are anonymous. Student reviewers cannot view the name of the person whose work they are reviewing.
- Once a peer review has been assigned, the viewing setting cannot be changed. For instance, a regular peer review cannot later be made anonymous—and appear anonymous—unless the peer review is deleted and re-assigned.
- Canvas DocViewer does not support anonymous comments, so it cannot be used for annotated feedback on assignments with anonymous peer reviews.
- When anonymous peer reviews are enabled, you and your TAs can still view the names of student reviewers in SpeedGrader and in the student submission page. However, if anonymous grading is enabled in SpeedGrader, the names of both students will be hidden in SpeedGrader but not in the student submission page.
