Should students critique one another
I bleieve the ability to have chat rooms is great. The ability to have synchronous and asynchronous I also think is great. However, is it appropriate for students to actually critique each other? Isn't the idea of the chat room to be inovative and pull from everyone else's knowledge and way of thinking? Isn't it more the job of an instructor to critique? By deffinition it is the act or art of criticizing.
Any comments?
Debra:
Perhaps "critique" has a harsh connotation; nevertheless, I have seen many instructors use this term in their Syllabus and Assignments. When it is used, it implies peer-evaluation.
In Chat sessions, students may not to be able to remain non-judgmental.
Instructors can critique; however, there are some assignments in which the key rules, principles, etc can be reinforced within the student by repeatedly applying the criteria the Instructor uses to grade the Assignment.
Satrohan
I agree. However, it is appropriate for students to critique each other especially if they are working on group projects. In our training, students submit transcripts that count as a major portion of their grade. On ground, we encourage them to proof each other's work before submitting their work. The same would apply for online students.
Christine:
agreed on all counts. Peer evaluation is one way to reinforce the knowledge and skills taught.
Satrohan
The ability to constructively critique each other through chats and postings is an aquired art. These two tools are vital for the success of the online course, but they can have some negative consequences if the instructor looses control of the class. I believe it is appropriate for students to critique each other.
I like chat rooms but not for students to critique each other.
Your position on the Instructor maintaining control fo these communication channels is well taken, Larry. We have also found it beneficial to share with students the rules governing communication through these channels (Netiquette.
Satrohan
Gloria:
The rapid progression of a Chat session does not, in my opinion, lend itself well for peer evaluation. Asynchronous Discussion forums are better suited for peer evaluation.
Satrohan
Debra:
In order for any person to learn from what they have done there is a form of critiquing done. If not by themsleves by others.
We all improve and learn from our past experiences, sometimes it takes to long. Learning from others who are observing us will speed up the process.
As long as students know from day one that this is a part of the course I personal do not see a problem with it.
I completely agree that critiquing, in any form or format, is an acquired art. My worry as an online instructor is that there will be sassy students, knowing they don't have to interact face to face with classmates, who delight in putting others down in the face of competition (which happens all to often in a regular classroom), will insult other students through forums.
Rhonda:
I agree with you on all counts. I manage a team of Instructional Designers, and I always encourage them to engage in peer evaluation of the courses they develop.
Satrohan
Corinne:
Establishing rules of conduct when paticipating in online learning and stating penalties for violations can go a far way to minimize undesirable behaviors. The same applies for participation in synchronous as well as asynchronous discussion forums; and peer evaluation driven by common evaluation Rubrics.
Satrohan
I think that when working collaboratively for onliine projects, critiquing could be allowed. However for discussions on general topics related to the course utilizing the chat room, critiquing may be less plausible.
Annejeanette:
One may not be able to avoid critiquing during Chat sessions as the term can apply to evaluatung a response and offering your opinion or a fact. These kinds of critiques are not as structured as when students are required to evaluate each other's work based on a ste of criteria the Instructor provides; nevertheless, they do serve a very important purpose in maintaining momentum in Chat sessions.
Satrohan
At times, without face to face body language it is difficult to determine the tone and intent of e-mails I get from coworkers.
Students critiquing another student on line may not be a positive learning experience.
When the instructor critiques me I know the information is coming from someone who wants me to succeed.
Lois:
Your point is well taken. In the majority of programs with which I work, Instructors provide feedback while at the same time they adopt peer evaluation. Given a set of criteria unpon which the base peer evaluation, students have an opportunity to apply the key concepts upon which the assignment is based to reinforce their understanding of thse concepts as they engage in peer evaluation.
Satrohan
Critique is a valuable asspect of any learning whether it be an online or unground classroom. Online critique methods could be developed that would result in valid feedback for students. By establishing clear rubrics for crtique, students will be able to access one another students work by using industry standard measures of evaluation. To find out more about per-evaulation and critique methods search ebsco host or other simular online data bases. Many researchers are studying peer-evaluation, and you may find some ideas you can use to create an online critique method or two for your clases that will foster valuable per-evaluation.
Kathleen:
Thank you for sharing these resources with us. As a supporter of peer evaluation, I always advise Instructors to provide the Rubrics. Whenever apporpriate, I encourage Instructors to provide Model answers in which they highlight which portions of the Model answer meet which criterion on the Rubric.
Satrohan
As I mentioned in another forum, having Netequette guidelines listed in the syllabus may help. But for rapid fire chats I think the best results may be for the instructor to keep discussions on target, limited how long they last, and provided positive and specific general feedback between sessions.
On occasion I participate in online focus group studies (fun and they pay a few dollars) and 20-30 people responding to an issue they are emotional about can get pretty exciting. Over the course of an hour the company limits the chats to several 5 minute blocks, and occasionally takes a person out for individual discussion of something they said. Also, the chats are usually preceded by a little pretalk with each person, and that tends to help them stay focused too.
In the free flowing environments of the short intense chats people do respond to one another; I've found, though, that they tend to be very polite--even quite supportive and complimentary. Most folks who are there for a reason seem to want to have a positive experience. Maybe that is true in class too; at least with limited time for synchronous chats it isn't possible to develop much momentum for blocs or personality conflicts to form.
Richard:
The position you have taken in your last paragraph is well taken. Having said that, Chat many Instructors still find managing Chat sessions very challenging; especially keeping students on the thread until it is exhausted.
Satrohan
