Having students give each other feedback allows students to understand what is involved in giving insightful comments & finding areas of opportunity. In my experience, after students have provided a critical lens and given feedback to their peers, they are much more open to seeing opportunities for improvement in their own writing.

Using PeerMark with my students, I would always require them to review 2 or 3 of their classmates papers and then their own work. I always set-up guiding questions to help them give comments. However, I found some of the most insightful pieces of feedback came in a more unscripted way: my students started using the comments feature in PeerMark.

By simply clicking anywhere on the paper they were reviewing, they had the ability to leave a specific, unscripted, personalized comment on their classmates submission. As they grew more comfortable giving and receiving criticism in a constructive manner, their comments became more developed and insightful. A classroom where student support each other in their learning and challenge each other to grow and succeed is fueled by this kind of open and honest feedback.