PeerScholar

**PeerScholar will no longer be available after August 2022.**

PeerScholar is an online peer- and self-assessment tool that allows students to provide anonymous peer feedback on each other's assignments.  A PeerScholar activity:

  • encourages critical and creative thought and strong communication skills
  • promotes self-reflection 
  • facilitates increased student participation and engagement
  • supports multiple assignment formats (e.g., essays, videos, case studies, group assessments, etc.)
  • provides timely and meaningful feedback
  • Note, refer to University Regulation V (Standing), item (a) for the maximum percentage that peer review activities can contribute to a course's final grade.

Watch this short video for an overview of PeerScholar.

How PeerScholar Works: 

PeerScholar activities are set up in phases with each building upon the next.  In the create phase,  students complete and upload their individual assignments based on the instructions and rubrics provided by the instructor.  Assignments can consist of essays and or digital media.  The assess phase involves students reviewing and providing constructive feedback on completed assignments of their peers.  In the final evaluation and reflection phase, students receive feedback from their peers.  This is an opportunity for students to reflect on the feedback provided by their peers, and if set up, to resubmit their original work incorporating this feedback and the rationale for doing so. 

 Types of PeerScholar Activities:

  • Classic - Students give/receive feedback to/from a random set of peers
  • Case Study - Students will see different cases (topics) and can give feedback to peers who did the same case or a different case
  • Group Work (three types)
    • Group Assess - Students will submit their activity as a group and peer assess other groups' activities
    • Individuals Assess - Students will submit their activity as a group and peer assess other groups’ activities as individuals
    • Group Member Evaluation - Students will only evaluate group members' contributions Note: this activity type is designed for assignments where the group work has happened outside of peerScholar (e.g., in an LMS, in the classroom, etc).

The videos below demonstrate each phase of a PeerScholar activity.

Adding a PeerScholar Link to Contents (in mycourselink)

PeerScholar is fully integrated with mycourselink meaning that PeerScholar activities are easily created and accessible through Content, students are automatically added to PeerScholar activities (no separate accounts need to be created) and grades entered in PeerScholar are transferred to the mycourselink grade book.

  • Click on Content
  • Select the module where you want to add the PeerScholar link
  • Click Existing Activities
  • Find and click on External Learning Tools
  • Select PeerScholar and the link will automatically be added
  • Click the down arrow to the right of the link title (e.g., PeerScholar) and select Edit Properties in Place
  • Click on the title to engage the editing window and type the new link name
  • To the far right, click on the check box Open as External Resource to load PeerScholar in a new window
  • Click the Content link to save your updates and disengage Edit Properties in Place
  • Watch the following short video of the steps above

Additional Resources: