Erin Espinoza

Annotated Bibliography
Source #1:
Boon, S. I. (2015). The role of training in improving peer assessment skills amongst year six
pupils in primary school writing: an action research enquiry. Education 3-13, 43(6), 666-
682.

Summary:
The focus of this research is to find a way to improve student written feedback, so it has a
greater impact on the quality of learning. The article begins by highlighting several studies that
have shown the positive impact peer review has had on student learning in higher education.
Much of the research the author reviewed showed a “positive correlation between peer-review
training and the effectiveness of peer response” and found that peer review skills might be
improved if students knew “what a competent piece of writing looks like, are shown how to
assess writing and given practice, and are given scaffolds/prompts to help students focus on
relevant text related features.” with students in higher education. The author wanted to find a
way to improve student written feedback with a group of 6th-grade students in his class. He
explicitly taught peer review skills to this group and found that students’ peer review comments
were more focused and relevant to the learning objective after the training. He also found that
students used the success criteria (peer editing checklist) to justify their comments to their
writing partners. The author found some common themes that emerged in the data that may
improve peer assessment feedback. These themes were “teacher modeling of the peer assessment
process, student practice, and using checklists to ensure that the written work has met the success
criteria”.
Reflection:
This article focused on how to improve student response feedback with 6th-grade
students. I am looking to use peer review to support my students’ abilities to use proper
conventions, including applying capitals at the beginning of their sentences, proper punctuation
at the end, and being able to identify words that are misspelled. Although the research was not
focused on improving peer review skills with 3rd-grade students, I can modify the best practices
that emerged from the research so that they are appropriate for my grade level and then observe
how this affects their abilities to use correct conventions in their writing. This research has
provided a solid roadmap that I would like to follow to build strong peer review skills in my
students, including modeling the peer review process, giving students lots of opportunities to
practice, and use checklists to ensure the written work has the correct conventions.

Source #2:
Chamberlain, K. (2022). Peer review: cultivating self-efficacy for emerging writers and their
teachers. Handbook of research on writing instruction practices for equitable and
effective teaching (pp. 104-121). IGI Global.

Summary:
 This study recognizes that peer review is a useful tool where students provide formative
assessment and feedback to their peers to improve their writing. The research also includes
qualitative and empirical studies that provide evidence that peer review not only has a positive
effect on writing performance, but can also increase writing self-efficacy, improve social skills,
and encourage higher self-regulation. Additionally, it emphasizes that peer review is a
collaborative activity that promotes equity for students of different grade levels, abilities, and
language proficiencies. This article also provides strategies to help teachers effectively
implement peer review in their teaching practice.

Reflection:
This research provides strategies to help me effectively implement peer review into my
teaching practice, which will hopefully improve my students’ abilities to apply the correct
conventions in their writing. Given the diverse language and writing proficiencies among my
students, I aim to promote peer review as a means of empowering each student to share their
strengths and skills when evaluating and improving their peer’s work. This approach provides
opportunities for all diverse learners to develop into proficient writers, thus creating a more
inclusive and equitable environment. Chamberlain (2022) also recommends steps to take to
maximize the benefits of peer review that I intend to implement during all three rounds. These
steps include training student reviewers, setting high expectations, encouraging the use of
rubrics, and prompting students to justify their feedback.

Source #3
Franklin, K. (2010). Thank you for sharing: Developing students' social skills to improve peer
writing conferences. English Journal, 79-84.

Summary:
The teacher-researcher reflects on their experience after attending a cooperative learning
training session, realizing the importance of developing social skills in the classroom for
effective peer-conferencing sessions. They describe the challenges of facilitating discussions
about writing and collaboration, particularly in a large urban school where students may struggle
to initiate conversations with peers. The teacher emphasizes the significance of building rapport
and trust through informal conversations before engaging in peer conferences. They encourage
incorporating socialization into classroom practices to improve students' conversational and peer-
conferencing skills, ultimately fostering meaningful discussions about writing ideas and
providing more thoughtful feedback.

Reflection:
This research highlights the importance of developing social skills in the classroom for
effective peer-conferencing sessions with students of diverse backgrounds, which is a practice I
will continue to encourage in my classroom before students engage in peer review. The author
emphasizes the importance of building rapport and trust through informal conversations before
peer review and promotes a supportive and engaging classroom atmosphere that encourages
constructive peer feedback. I hope to establish conversational norms (e.g. make eye contact, use
appropriate tone, say thank you, etc) that students will practice before engaging in peer review
during the writing process, which will hopefully encourage more meaningful conversations about
writing conventions during the peer review stage of the writing process.

Source #4
Gillies, R.M. (2019). Promoting academically productive student dialogue during collaborative
learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 97, 200-209.
Summary:
The research investigates the increasing interest in the role of dialogue in learning. It suggests
how students learn from each other, and teachers can use this knowledge to enhance classroom
interactions. It emphasizes the importance of creating collaborative learning environments that
support students’ learning and problem-solving skills. It also suggests future research
possibilities, such as examining the impact of different types of dialogues on students' thinking
and investigating the role of synchrony between group members promote positive behaviors and
effective communication.
Reflection:
This research highlights the importance of peer interaction and collaboration in learning. It
suggests that students can learn from each other through dialogue and discussion, which could be
applied to improving writing conventions such as spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. The
research suggests that implementing peer review strategies can contribute to achieving this goal.
By fostering collaborative learning experiences and challenging students' thinking through peer
review, you are providing them with opportunities to engage in dialogue, receive feedback, and
refine their writing skills over time. I plan to continue to implement peer review throughout each
round to provide meaningful collaborative interactions between students as this research
suggests.

Source #5:
Graham, S., Hebert, M., & Harris, K.R. (2015). Formative assessment and writing: A meta-
analysis. The Elementary School Journal, 115(4), 523-547.

Summary:
This study contained the data of many studies of students spanning grades 1 to 8.
Researchers examined the impact of formative writing assessments, that aligned with daily
teaching practices, on students' writing. Feedback from adults, peers, teachers, and computers
significantly improved writing quality, but teachers' monitoring students’ progress and using the
6 + 1 Trait Writing model didn't show meaningful data. The study supports formative
assessments with direct student feedback, emphasizing their importance in daily teaching.
Researchers recommend increased use of such assessments by teachers and a greater role in
developing Next-Generation Assessment Systems by organizations like Smarter Balanced and
PARCC.
Reflection:
This study on formative writing assessments provides valuable insights for instructional
strategies aimed at improving students' writing skills. Although the study doesn't explicitly focus
on peer review, it emphasizes how diverse feedback sources align with the collaborative nature
of peer review. It also offers meaningful suggestions for implementing instructional strategies to
improve students’ writing proficiencies. The recommendation for increased use of formative
assessments in everyday teaching supports the idea of using peer review as a regular practice,
which will hopefully foster long-term improvements in my student's abilities to apply correct
conventions to their writing.

Source #6:
Hoogeveen, M., & Van Gelderen, A. (2013). What works in writing with peer response? A
review of intervention studies with children and adolescents. Educational Psychology
Review., 25(4), 473–502.

Summary:
The focus of the study was to identify specific aspects of peer response (aka peer review)
that make it an effective tool for writing instruction for children and adolescents. Previous
studies have concluded that peer review helps to improve overall writing performance, but these
studies did not identify what instructional supports are needed to accompany peer review to
make it an effective tool in writing instruction. This study aimed to identify what specific
instructional supports make peer response/editing an effective tool in writing instruction by
reviewing 26 studies on writing proficiency. All studies reviewed focused on peer response
within writing instruction for students ages 6-15. A post-test was given to measure their writing
proficiency. The results showed that students who were given additional instruction in writing
strategies, rules for interacting with peers, and genre knowledge along with peer review helped to
improve their writing more than students who did not receive these additional instructional
supports.
Reflection:
I am interested in supporting my students’ skills in applying correct writing conventions
when writing an informative and/or opinion paragraph. I hope to do this by implementing peer
review during the revision stage of the writing process. This research helped to identify the
instructional supports (writing strategies, rules for interacting with peers, and genre knowledge) I
should provide before implementing peer review during the writing process. These supports will
hopefully help guide students as they engage in peer review during the revision stage of the
writing process, ultimately helping their partner improve their abilities to use the proper
conventions in their writing.

New Source #7
Lundstrom, K., & Baker, W. (2009). To give is better than to receive: The benefits of peer review
to the reviewer's own writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 18(1), 30-43.
Summary:
This study investigates the impact of peer review on student writing, specifically comparing the
benefits of giving versus receiving peer feedback in a second-language writing context. The
study involved ninety-one students across nine writing classes at two proficiency levels in an
intensive English institute. The "givers" of feedback focused solely on reviewing peers' writing
without receiving feedback themselves, while the "receivers" received feedback but did not
review other students' work. Results showed that students who focused on giving feedback
experienced more significant improvements in their own writing compared to those who solely
received feedback. Additionally, lower proficiency level students benefited more from giving
feedback.
Reflection:
This article suggests that students who engage in peer feedback as “givers” demonstrate
significant gains in their own writing skills. This implies that reviewing and critiquing peers’
work can help a student understand and apply writing conventions correctly. Although the article
doesn’t directly address capitalization, punctuation, and spelling, its findings support the notion
that peer review positively impacts students’ overall writing abilities suggesting that this practice
could support writing conventions. It data encourages me to continue implementing peer review
as a regular practice when I teach the writing process.
Source #8:
Mackenzie, N.M., Scull, J., & Bowles, T. (2015). Writing over time: An analysis of texts created
by year one students. The Australian Educational Researcher, 42(5), 567–593.

Summary:
This study looked at how Year 1 students in Australia learn to write. Six important
components were examined in their writing: story structure, sentence structure, vocabulary,
spelling, punctuation, and handwriting. They examined 500 writing samples from 250 students,
collected at two different times. Findings demonstrated growth in sentence structure, spelling,
and handwriting, with a shift towards more sophisticated vocabulary use and better punctuation.
These findings highlight the individual progress in a student’s writing performance and offer
insights for teachers to modify their instruction to improve writing proficiency in all students.

Reflection:
This study emphasizes the importance of understanding all aspects of writing, such as
spelling and punctuation. While the study does not investigate how peer review can be used to
support students’ writing skills, it does show that there is a multitude of ways students learn how
to write, emphasizing the need for me to consider my students’ individual needs when I teach
them how to use and apply proper writing conventions. This also leads me to believe that when
the students engage in peer review during the revision stage, it can be a valuable strategy for
students to further improve their understanding of applying the proper conventions (e.g.
capitalization, punctuation, and spelling) by considering the feedback of their writing partner.
Source #9:
Patchan, M.M., Hawk, B., Stevens, C.A., & Schunn, C.D. (2013). The effects of skill diversity
on commenting and revisions. Instructional Science, 41, 381-405.

Summary:
This study looked at how students can help each other with their writing using a special
method called peer assessment (a.k.a. peer review). Researchers wanted to see if it is better when
students of different abilities work together or when students of the same ability work together.
They used a computer system to help students review each other's writing, and they looked at
more than 1,100 comments that students gave to each other. The study found that when students
of different abilities worked together, it seemed to be the most helpful. The students who were
proficient in writing got similar feedback from both high-ability and low-ability peers. On the
other hand, the students who needed more support got more helpful comments about their
writing from the high-ability students, and they also used those suggestions more. This study also
emphasizes how pairing writing partners of diverse writing proficiencies in peer review promotes
a more equitable and inclusive learning environment where students of different abilities can
benefit from collaborating.

Reflection:
The findings from this study on peer assessment in writing are relevant to the focus of my
research---understanding how peer review strategies impact students' abilities to apply correct
writing conventions such as spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. The study primarily
focuses on pairing students of different writing proficiencies in peer review, and it highlights the
effectiveness of peer feedback in improving writing skills. The research suggests that creating
peer review groups with students of dissimilar abilities can be more beneficial. I plan to assign
writing partners with diverse writing proficiencies when using peer review strategies during my
research. Having diverse peer interactions will hopefully encourage students to provide
constructive feedback about their partners’ writing conventions. This will also promote a more
inclusive learning environment where all students of all writing abilities can contribute what they
know during peer review.

Source #10
Webb, N.M. (2009). The teacher’s role in promoting collaborative dialogue in the classroom.
The British Journal of Educational Psychology., 79(1), 1–28.
https://doi.org/10.1348/000709908X380772

Summary:
This paper reviews research on the teacher's role in promoting learning in small-group settings,
focusing on how students can benefit from peer learning, how teachers can prepare students for
collaborative work, and the influence of classroom norms on group dialogue. The findings
highlight various dimensions of the teacher's role, such as preparing students for collaboration,
structuring group tasks, and guiding student interaction through dialogue.
Reflection:
This article examines the critical role teachers play in promoting effective group dialogue and
collaborative learning environments. Understanding how teachers can prepare students for
collaborative work, structure group tasks, and facilitate student interaction through discussion is
pertinent to my research regarding implementing peer review strategies. By using strategies from
this research, I can develop more effective peer review strategies that facilitate meaningful and
collaborative discussions among writing partners.