The structure of this outline is based on Dana Ferris and John Hedgcock’s book, Teaching ESL Composition: Purpose, Process, and Practice. Although the main focus of their work is college-level ESL instruction, chapter six, “Building a Community of Writers: Principles of Peer Response” is a comprehensive survey of peer response theory and practice. ESL studies have been included in an attempt to help build a thorough pedagogical understanding of all students and peer response.

BENEFITS OF PEER RESPONSE

Provides a Theoretical Framework

• Structure – Cognitive Process and Social Construction

(Ferris & Hedgcock 225)

• Collaborative Learning – “like-minded peers”; “knowledge is a socially justified belief”

(Carson & Nelson 17-18)

Practical Benefits

• Peer Interaction

• Linguistic Development

• Reduction of Teacher Workload

• Greater Understanding of “Good Writing”

CRITICISMS OF PEER RESPONSE

Practical Limitations

• Students Focus on “Surface Concerns”

• Vague, Unhelpful Comments

• Hostile, Sarcastic, Overly Critical

• Underdeveloped Listening Skills

(Ferris & Hedgcock 227)

Cultural Issues

• Collectivist Cultures / Individualist Cultures

Affective Factors

• Students Prefer Teacher Feedback

• Students Enter Writing Process Differently

(Zhang 218)

RESEARCH ON PEER RESPONSE

A.Three Areas of Concern

1. Descriptive Studies

2. Text-analytic Studies

3. Survey Studies

B.Descriptions of Student Interactions in Peer Response Sessions

Three Main Categories of Students Stances

1. Interpretive – 23%

2. Prescriptive – 45%

3. Collaborative – 32%

Five Categories of Response

1. No Comment

2. Generic Comment

3. Critical Evaluation

4. Critical Evaluation with Suggestions

5. Critical Evaluation with Extended Suggestions

Five Categories of Interactions

1. Question

2. Explanation

3. Restatement

4. Suggestions

5. Grammar Correction

THE EFFECTS OF PEER RESPONSE ON STUDENT REVISION

Conflicting Findings and Suggested Studies

• Connor and Asenavage – Few students responded to commentary

• Mendonca and Johnson – Over half used suggestions

• Nelson and Murray – Mixed findings “sometimes but not always”

Effects of Peer Response

• Hedgcock and Lefkowitz – Higher scores for collaborative workers

• Schmid – Positive effects on essay quality

Student Opinions About Peer Feedback

• Peer response is superior to teacher feedback, teachers “take over” or “appropriate”
• Students worry that their peers are at the same level and have little to offer

PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE PEER RESPONSE ACTIVITES

(Ferris & Hedgcock 234-40)

A. Making Peer Response and Integral Part of the Course

• Clarity from the beginning
• Frequency and consistency
• Hold students accountable
• Validate the importance
• Necessity for most literacy courses
• A skill that develops and improves with practice

B. Modeling the Process

• Rationale for peer response

• Guidelines

• Practice through role-play and simulations

C. Peer response is four-dimensional

(Lui & Hansen 155)

1. Affective

2. Cognitive

3. Socio-cultural

4. Linguistic

D. Building Peer Response Skills Progressively Throughout the Term

• Remain consistent

• Reader should offer a positive, encouraging response

• Direct questions and concrete examples

• “Up the ante” as term progresses

E. Structuring the Peer Response Task

Advocates of Less Structured Response

“If the teacher establishes an overly directive or prescriptive position concerning the sustenance or form of peer feedback, students’ interactions will reflect the instructor’s intentions and priorities rather than their own independent thoughts and reactions…” (Ferris & Hedgcock 237)

Advocates of Carefully Structured Writing Group Sessions

“Teachers must intervene and provide adequate schemata…that will serve as a scaffolding for writing”

(237)

Varying Peer Response Activities

Functions of Writing Groups

• Engage in idea generation during the drafting stage

• Notice logical and organizational concerns during the development stage

• Detect grammatical and mechanical errors during the editing stage

With all students, peer-editing activities can be useful for helping students develop self-editing skills and metalinguistic awareness. Set realistic expectations. Remember the celebration stage; show students their progress.

Peer Response:

• Builds relationships

• Creates a greater classroom community

• Valuable experience working on written an oral assignments

• Especially accommodating for students from collectivist cultures

• Integrates language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing)

Holding Students Accountable

• Grade peer responses

• Access to teacher feedback

• Have students write a reaction to the peer feedback

Considering Individual Students Needs

• Adjustments will have to be made.

• Students’ linguistic and writing proficiencies will vary depending on background.

• Some students just “don’t like it”

• Compromise

Logistical Concerns and Considerations

1. Size: Between 2 and 4

2. Exchanging of Papers: Aloud, Photocopies, Electronically

3. Written or Oral

4. Time Management and Crowd Control

Works Cited

Carson, J.G. and G.L. Nelson. “Writing Groups: Cross-cultural Issues.” Journal of Second Language Writing 3 (1994): 17-30.

Ferris, Dana. and John Hedgcock. Teaching ESL Composition: Purpose, Process, and Practice. 2nd ed. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc, 2005. 223-59.

Lui, J. and J. Hansen. Peer Response in Second Language Writing Classrooms. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 2002.