Introducing a scalable peer feedback system for learning teams

Abstract

In the current research, we report on a peer feedback system for supporting student teamwork skill development during post-secondary education. The peer feedback system is part of a larger suite of assessments at ITPmetrics.com. This is a free assessment-based system that allows team members to provide round-robin ratings of each member’s effectiveness in the team on five dimensions (communication; commitment; foundation of knowledge, skills and abilities; emphasising high standards; and focus), as well as provide anonymous written feedback to supplement the numeric scores. Team members have access to a dashboard where they can complete the assessment and store assessment reports generated from their peers’ ratings. We summarise data from student learning teams suggesting that peer ratings are reliable (internally consistent, unidimensional and inter-rater correlated; n > 85,000). Recommendations for implementation are provided with respect to pre-briefing, debriefing, and assessment schedules.

Keywords:

• Peer feedback
• teamwork
• team-based learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas O’Neill

Thomas A. O’Neill is an associate professor and head of Industrial/Organizational Psychology at the University of Calgary. He is a leading expert in the areas of assessment, team dynamics, distributed teams, conflict management, and personality. He is the director of the Individual and Team Performance Lab and the Virtual Team Peformance, Innovation, and Collaboration Lab at the University of Calgary. He developed ITPmetrics.com, which is a free online platform with evidence-based tools for assessing team dynamics, teamwork competencies, and behavioural styles. These tools have had over 85,000 uses, which aim to build and develop teamwork skills and self-awareness.

Nicole Larson

Nicole Larson is a PhD candidate in Industrial Organizational Psychology at the University of Calgary. Her research interest includes team learning, team process dynamics, and intra-team trust. Her recent publications appear in Personality and Individual Differences, Group Decision and Negotiation, and Learning and Individual Differences.

Julia Smith

Julia Smith is a research assistant in the Management Department at ESSEC Business School in France. She attended the University of Calgary for her MSc in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Her research interests include team dynamics and occupational well-being.

Magda Donia

Magda Donia is an associate professor of Organizational Behavior at the Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa. Her main research interests focus on individual and organisational giving exceeding formal role expectations. At the individual level, she is interested in why employees perform organisational citizenship behaviours and more specifically, in understanding whether different motivations lead to different contributions. At the organisational level, she is interested in the effect of corporate socially responsible actions within the organisation. Among other areas of research, she has also studied the role of peer evaluation systems in improving student performance in higher education.

Connie Deng

Connie Deng is a Research Coordinator with the Individual and Team Performance Lab at the University of Calgary. She completed a double degree with a Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resources and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and has now started her Masters in I/O psychology at University College London, England. Her main areas of interest are leadership styles, impression management, and motivation.

William Rosehart

William Rosehart holds a PhD from the University of Waterloo and he joined the University of Calgary in 2001. For over 20 years, Dr. Rosehart has been a passionate advocate for engineering education and research. On March 13, 2014, he was appointed dean of the Schulich School of Engineering after having served as interim dean for almost a year. He has also held the position of head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dr. Rosehart was also a founding member of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) and has been inducted as Fellow into the Canadian Academy of Engineering for his commitment to innovation in teaching and learning.

Robert Brennan

Robert Brennan holds a PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Calgary. He is currently Professor of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Calgary, and holds the NSERC Chair in Design Engineering. His research interests range from engineering education to intelligent automation and control systems.