Critical Reflection

I used to be skeptical of the usage of peer reviews. I personally felt that peer reviews were ineffective in vetting a student’s work. I thought that as peer reviews are normally done by our peers, we would not be able to get constructive comments. At that time, I felt that only a teacher was capable enough to review the work of students as they generally have more experience.

However, after attending the ES1102 module, my perception of peer reviews changed. In the first lesson, we were separated into our various blogging groups. After each written work, we had to provide feedback to 2 members of our blogging group and to another classmate. We also did pair 

peer reviews and presentation reviews as well.

This was when I personally witnessed how effective peer reviews were. Because everyone has their own set of perceptions, viewpoints and believes, it is useful to engage in peer reviews to widen our scope.  Constant feedbacks provided by my blogging group, tutor and other classmates aided me in further understanding both my strengths and weaknesses.

I found it very exciting to receive through blog comments. Whenever I see a notification from blogger on my phone, I would automatically log into blogger to check the comments left by my tutor and classmates. It was interesting to read these comments as most of the time I would not be able to identify the mistakes highlighted if I were to review my work myself.

I also found it very challenging to provide feedbacks to other classmates. As they write in an interesting and engaging manner, I always find myself lost in their work. It is difficult for me to spot any form of mistakes. In order to avoid this, I would read their work multiple times and sometimes I would also read it aloud to hear for any inconsistencies.

In addition to peer reviews, I also feel that tutor reviews are important. As tutors relatively have more experience, they are able to provide us with practical advice. For instance, during our presentations, Mr Blackstone shared with us useful tips and practical advices for our future presentations. As these tutors have stepped into the working world, such practical advises would be useful in preparing us for the job market.  

On the whole, I feel that ES1102’s peer review activities has changed my entire perception of peer reviews .Now, I feel that in addition to tutor feedback, peer reviews can also promote further improvements to both written work and presentations. By being critical and analytical while providing feedback to others, we are also learning and improving at the same time.