Capacitación docente en entornos virtuales de aprendizaje

defined in literature and progressively a detailed overview of the advantages and challenges of implementing peer feedback on ESL writing class is given. Peer feedback or peer review is a cooperative activity in which students make comments on their peer’s written work with the purpose to encourage them to re-edit their own drafts and improve their written work (Nelson and Murphy, 1993). Peer feedback is being used in this study as a writing technique that follows the principles of constructivism pedagogy according to which students should be given the opportunity to act autonomously, take responsibility for their own learning and scaffold via interaction with more knowledgeable peers (Vygotsky, 1978). Peers are being used as a source of face-to-face or online feedback not only in educational settings but in professional as well (Toegel and Conger 2003; Haswell 2005).

Liu and Hansen (2005) defined peer feedback as “the use of sources of information and interaction between each other”. Scholars view peer feedback in its broader sense as a type of communication where students exchange information with their peers and try to construct new knowledge (review their work) based on the feedback given. Particularly, scholars stated that peer feedback is a process where students assume roles and responsibilities normally taken on by trained teachers, tutors or editors in commenting on and critiquing each other’s drafts in both written and oral format.

Peer feedback may take different forms. Stern and Solomon (2006) categorized peer feedback into four levels:

76 a) Global comments categories, which include comments that refer to the overall quality of the paper such as structure, organization, writing style and creativity.

b) Middle level comments, which include comments on the quality of claims and argumentation, request for clarification as well as paragraph and sentence structure issues.

c) Micro level comments, which include grammar, punctuation corrections or word choice and phrasing issues.

d) Other comments may include scholarly advice, personal expression of an offer to provide further clarification.

Several studies have recommended the implementation of feedback in the ESL writing class and confirmed its significance in the development of students writing skills as well as the development of social, cognitive and metalinguistic skills that are crucial for becoming successful language learners and professionals (Mory, 2004).

Peer learning is a method that can encourage deep and meaningful learning as students communicate and interact with a dual purpose: to teach and learn from each other (Kepel, Au, Ma and Chan, 2006). Learners who give and receive feedback engage in a less formal dialogue related to performance and standards (Lin and Carless, 2006). This communication process encourages students to formulate their writing in line with the characteristics and demands of the reader (Rolinston, 2005, p.25). Contrary to teachers’ feedback that has been criticized for making students uncritical and passive recipients of information, peer feedback is found to be more authentic and honest.

Peer feedback gives students the opportunity to realize that they share the same challenges with their peers in writing apprehension and thus become more confident of their own writing skills. As Storch (2004) and Ferris (2001) suggest, peer feedback helps learners to become more self aware in a sense that they realize how their peers perceive writing. Reviewing someone else’s work is beneficial for writers who have the chance to

77 practice their critical thinking skills, reflect on the writing process and evaluate their own writing skills. Students who give and receive feedback spend more time in the writing process and engage in a cycle of actions than help them to develop critical reading and writing skills: proofreading, decision making, editing, and tutoring (Yarrow and Topping (2001).

Although many scholars suggest that peer feedback is a technique that can promote learners’ achievements in the ESL writing class (Hyland 2000, Ulicsak, 2004, Rollinson, 2005, Ferris and Hedgock, 2005) some instructors raise concerns on the implementation of peer feedback in their writing classes and warn that unless certain measures taken into consideration participants and students may experience undesired results. Ulicsak (2004) suggests that instructors who are interested to apply peer feedback in the university context must carefully plan a supportive and collaborative environment, which fits to the unique needs of the learners involved. It is important to have in mind that collaboration is not an inborn capacity nor an intrinsic skill but a learned skill.

There are several skills that need to be acquired so that learners provide their peers with beneficial feedback. (Saito and Fujita, 2004). It is not easy to for students to assess their peers’ work and provide constructive feedback. It is very important that instructors have trained students on how to give feedback by using explicit assessment criteria (Falchikov, 1995). A response sheet (Berg, 1999) or a checklist guide can be used from students to help them avoid ambiguities and general comments. Instructors who want to integrate peer feedback technique in the class syllabus can ideally apply it to freshmen students because they are more willing to experience innovative ways of learning. It is suggested that at early stage students should start with small and easy tasks so as not to get discouraged and demotivated. It is instructor's’ responsibility to create a comfortable classroom atmosphere, motivate students to participate in feedback tasks and help them to understand the significance of peer feedback in academic writing development. To avoid bias and subjectivity

78 students can use “safeguard techniques” such as anonymity and a common agreed marking scheme. Also, it is suggested that each script to be corrected by more than one student.

Introducing peer feedback technique in an adult ESL writing class can be a challenging experience. Tutor written response is still prevalent in traditional writing class and students have learnt to depend on teachers’ feedback and regard it crucial for the development of their language skills (Hyland, 2003). Several scholars argue that peer review has limited value in the L2 classroom (Nelson and Murphy, 1993, Zhang, 1995, Saito and Fujita, 2004). Research has indicated that students with limited linguistic ability and experience may influence the quality and validity of feedback. Students may simply not be able to understand assessment criteria or feel reluctant to criticize their peers (Orsmond, Mery and Reiling, 2002).

In this section the value of peer-feedback, a collaborative constructivist pedagogy has been discussed. Also, research indications for the implementation of peer feedback in the ESL classroom have been presented. In the next section, I will present two online collaborative learning platforms, wikis and Google Docs, that can be used to support peer feedback activity and autonomous writing.

2.3.6 Part three: Wikis and Google Drive as peer feedback platforms to