Introduction
As part of your studies, you may be required to complete a peer review task in Canvas. To complete a peer review task, you will review the work submitted by other students and provide feedback and constructive criticism on their work. You will also reflect on the feedback you receive from your peers. There are a few skills at play here:
- Understanding the marking rubric or criteria well enough to pick up on areas that are lacking, or that have been covered well.
- Communicating your assessment of the work in an understandable and constructive way.
- Being able to receive constructive criticism/feedback and take lessons from it to further improve your work.
To help you structure your feedback, your lecturer may include an assessment rubric for you to complete.
Some peer reviews may also be anonymous, which means you won’t see the name of the student whose work you are reviewing. Likewise, the student receiving your review will not see your name when you leave comments on their submission.
Always check the guidance provided by your lecturer to confirm what steps are required to complete a peer review.
How to complete a Canvas Peer Review
STEP 1: Click Assignments in the course navigation menu.
STEP 2: Select the relevant peer review assignment from your list of assignments.
On the next screen, the right-hand sidebar will display your submission summary, including when you submitted your own assignment for review. Once marking is complete, this area will also display any grades or comments from your lecturer or peers.
STEP 3: If you’ve been assigned an assignment to review, this will appear under Assigned peer reviews in the right-hand sidebar. Click on a peer review link to start reviewing an assignment.
Any peer reviews assigned to you will also appear on the course homepage, in the right-hand sidebar under To do.
STEP 4: To complete your peer review, read through the submission left by your peer and then add a comment in the Add a comment box in the right-hand side bar. You may also be required to add a media comment (audio/video feedback) or attach a file as part of the feedback process. Always check the guidance provided by your lecturer before you complete a review.
STEP 5: When you have finished adding your feedback, click on the Save button.
This will add your peer review comment to the assignment, and it will be displayed in the right-hand side bar. Once a comment is saved, you won’t be able to edit or delete it.
You can repeat this step as many times as is required. Each time you click the Save button, the new comment will be added to the right-hand side bar.
Warning: Once a comment is saved, you won’t be able to edit or delete it.
STEP 5: Once you have finished adding comments, simply navigate away from the peer review page and back into the main course.
How to complete a peer review using a rubric
A rubric is a set of criteria your lecturer uses to grade an assignment and provide feedback. If a rubric is included in the peer review, you must use it to assess the work and provide peer feedback. Your lecturer may also require you to add a comment in the sidebar, so always check their instructions before completing your peer review.
STEP 1: Access a peer review and select Show Rubric in the top-right to view the rubric.
STEP 2: Fill in the rubric to provide peer feedback. Depending on how the rubric is set up, you may need to either enter a comment for each criterion or simply select the appropriate cell. If the rubric includes automatic scoring, selecting a cell will automatically apply the associated rating or point value to the overall score.
STEP 3: When you’re finished, click Save comment at the bottom to save the completed rubric. Once the rubric is saved, you won’t be able to return to edit or change any comments or ratings.
Warning: Once you save the rubric, you cannot go back to change your comments or ratings.
How to give constructive criticism
You will find some useful tips on how to give constructive criticism in the article below.