A Case Study of Teacher Trainee Perceptions on Mixed Peer Review Formats in an Academic Writing Course

Abstract

Peer review (PR) in academic writing classes (AWCs) has been shown to have a positive impact on graduate students’ writing ability, even for those with limited English L2 writing experience. Such limited exposure to PR may lead to feelings of anxiety and confusion about the process and application in future teaching contexts. This study reports how the use of varying PR formats by a novice teacher-trainee in a graduate-level (AWC) impacted her perceptions of peer review. Students performed two rounds of peer review in two formats, one face-to-face and the second a blind-review, and then answered reflective journal questions after each round. Overall, results show that student found these PR formats as positive and helpful to their writing improvement, but that in their future teaching contexts peer review implementation may require much practice for success.