Under the Education Sciences Reform Act, all research, statistics, and evaluation reports conducted by, or supported through, the Institute shall be subject to rigorous peer review before being published or otherwise made available to the public. Prior to review and approval by the NCEE Commissioner, NCEE reports are reviewed internally by the project officer and selected NCEE evaluation staff. In addition, members of the technical working group who served as advisors to the research team...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Research, Peer Evaluation, Writing for Publication, Scientific Research,...
The use of peer review as a way to improve dissertation quality is addressed. A data set involving ratings of 52 dissertations illustrates possible design and analytic choices that may be helpful in using a peer review model. Strategies for evaluating rating consistency and validity are covered, along with analysis of four types of program policy analysis questions. The requirement that current students evaluate dissertations produced by recent cohorts of previous students may result in more...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Standards, Departments, Doctoral Dissertations, Higher Education, Peer...
Student input into grading in the basic speech communication course can be accomplished through a peer evaluation system. Three student evaluators are assigned for every student speech. Speeches are given a quality score by the peer evaluators and by the instructor. Rating errors are minimized by assigning peer evaluators so that no cross-evaluation occurs among a set of peers on any particular speaking assignment. Rank scores indicating the relative effectiveness of each speaker for a given...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Grading, Higher Education, Peer Evaluation, Public Speaking, Speech Communication,...
The purpose of the conference session upon which this paper is based was to challenge the notion that evidence of scholarship must be limited to publication in a peer-reviewed journal, and to open the doors for creative thinking about what might constitute evidence of scholarship of teaching and learning. Existing theory around defining scholarship (Boyer, 1990; Glassick, Huber, & Maeroff, 1997; Sorcinelli, 2002) can provide a justification for alternatives, but how can scholarship...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Scholarship, Instruction, Publications, Peer Evaluation, College...
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the primary research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ARS scientists conduct research into the applications of technology and basic knowledge concerning food and agricultural enterprises. Area offices and national staff evaluate these scientists' proposals for in-house research through a system of peer review. An ARS committee was appointed to examine the peer review system and to recommend possible improvements. This report presents the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Agriculture, Evaluation Methods, Federal Government, Peer Evaluation, Program...
This Accountability Procedures Manual (APM) is designed to be used by Texas Education Agency staff and other education system personnel as a guide for on-site evaluations. It is the responsibility of each member of an on-site peer review team to become familiar with the contents of the APM. Quality peer review evaluations demand consistency, accuracy, and adherence to approved procedures. This manual will help ensure that on-site evaluation teams are consistent and accountable to the Agency and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Accountability, Elementary Secondary Education, Evaluation Methods, Peer Evaluation,...
Screening and evaluating law enforcement candidates for employment as police officers is a complex task. It has been recommended that a clinical interview and comprehensive battery of psychological tests may aid in evaluation. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is often used for this type of psychological screening. Peer assessment may also be a potentially useful method of evaluating law enforcement candidates. This study examined the association of MMPI data to peer...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Law Enforcement, Peer Evaluation, Personality Measures, Personnel Selection, Police,...
In this paper on the use of teachers as reflective users of peer clinical supervision, a research and literature review relating to the assumptions of clinical supervision, fostering reflective practice through clinical supervision, and the special potential of peer clinical supervision is presented. Then, a personal account of a beginning teacher's views of and experience with clinical supervision is offered. It is concluded that clinical supervision, peer or otherwise, is bound to be...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Beginning Teachers, Peer Evaluation, Reflective Teaching, Supervisory Methods,...
There is evidence that a teaching community can have a powerful impact on teaching effectiveness. While "common sense" and the individual stories of teachers may support such a perspective, this article is a case study where one professor, who was involved in a peer review community of teachers, quantitatively examined the impact of this community on her teaching via her teaching evaluations. (Contains 2 tables.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Peer Evaluation, Teacher Effectiveness, College Faculty, Teacher Evaluation, Miller,...
This paper argues that the scholarly review process in refereed academic journal publishing restricts research creativity and timeliness, promotes inertia, and wastes resources. The publishing process of a Canadian journal (The Canadian Journal of Educational Communication), published three times annually, which uses a blind referee process is described as an example. The paper details a manuscript's journey from initial administrative check, to editorial review, to peer reviewer selection, to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Electronic Publishing, Faculty Publishing, Foreign Countries, Higher Education, Peer...
A teacher describes what happens when professional writers are invited into his college composition classroom to talk about and show the processes they employ in revising their work, and reports that students benefit not only by hearing about but also by actually seeing successive drafts. In the class, the students begin the semester by analyzing revisions of their own writing, using a chart similar to one devised by Nancy Sommers for her study, "Revision in the Composing Process."...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Authors, Classroom Communication, Editing, Higher Education, Peer Evaluation,...
This paper discusses the amelioration of college teaching by the use of peer review within a supportive mentor relationship. In such a relationship, the mentor and the more junior teacher work as peers, and this removes the punitive element from the evaluation process and adds an element of support. The peer/mentor evaluator can be simply a colleague who is asked to observe and provide feedback, or could be part of a project to improve teaching excellence. The elements of a peer/mentor teaching...
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Instruction, Higher Education, Instructional Improvement, Mentors, Peer...
The author values peer feedback in her freshman composition class, largely because it helps students to develop confidence and ability in analyzing various texts, including, of course, their own. Like most instructors who use peer review, the author recognizes that although she is capable of, and quite comfortable with, offering students detailed feedback at the global and local levels, that is not the best means by which to develop students' abilities in writing. Better--and far more...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Peer Evaluation, Freshman Composition, Teaching Methods, Criticism, Feedback...
This handbook sets outlines the requirements for applicants and candidates for accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Accreditation is the means of self-regulation and peer review adopted by the educational community. Middle States' accreditation is an expression of confidence in an institution's mission and goals, its performance, and its resources. Based on the result of institutional review by peers and colleagues assigned by the Commission, accreditation attests...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Accreditation (Institutions), Accrediting Agencies, Colleges, Criteria, Eligibility,...
An important factor in the success of America's national research system is that federal funds for university-based research are awarded primarily through peer review, which uses panels of scientific experts, or "peers," to evaluate the quality of grant proposals. In this competitive process, proposals compete for resources based on their scientific and societal merits. Peer review offers several important benefits to federal agencies, researchers, and the nation. The peer review...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Scientific Research, Peer Evaluation, Quality Control, Public Agencies,...
This document supplements information provided in the "Handbook of Accreditation," Second Edition (Commission on Institutions of Higher Education). The Addendum contains the information necessary to keep readers informed of changes in policies and procedures while the Commission is engaged in an initiative to revise its Eligibility Program and Criteria for Accreditation. Updates are provided for these chapters: (1) "Introduction to Voluntary Accreditation and the Commission"...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Accreditation (Institutions), Accrediting Agencies, Criteria, Evaluation Methods,...
The pragmatic use of nicknames as clarifiers separates the Maltese usage from those so common throughout the world where the nickname is used as a means of hiding identity. The familial character of most nicknames in Malta suggests they are the vestiges of a pre-Christian naming system. The major peculiarity in Malta is in the intermingling of seven naming devices in an evaluative system. The study of evaluative methods reveals a stable set of principles and fluid usage. People are mobile in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Competence, Foreign Countries, Interpersonal Communication, Language Styles,...
This digest in Spanish examines peer review, focusing on how these types of reviews can improve teacher competence. Peer review is often linked to peer assistance, which helps new and veteran teachers improve their knowledge and skills. In peer-review programs, consulting teachers conduct formal evaluations and recommend whether the participating teacher should be retained or let go. Programs in Columbus and Toledo, Ohio, have shown that peer review not only helps schools retain teachers, it...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Faculty Development, Peer Evaluation, Personnel...
A study investigated the use of small groups for speech evaluation in the fundamental speaking course. The use of a small group is seen as a method of reducing student fear of public criticism. Subjects were 97 male and female undergraduate students enrolled in Introduction to Speech courses at one of four different colleges in the Southern California area. The students were unaware that a study was being conducted and filled out a questionnaire they believed to be "standard...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Communication Research, Evaluation Methods, Higher Education, Peer Evaluation, Speech...
Seven videotapes of teachers teaching under the eye of trained teacher advisers and discussing their efforts with the advisers, coupled with interviews with the teachers and advisers involved, provided researchers with information on effective adviser-teacher relationships. The seven videotaped conferences selected for analysis involved advisers with 1 to 3 years' experience and teachers practicing at levels from the first grade to high school. Each adviser in the Marin County (California)...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Faculty Development, Interpersonal Competence,...
Intended to help students improve their written work by their active involvement and by their interest in investing the time and energy necessary to create a finished product of quality, this booklet presents a structured process that teaches children to progress from a draft to a "published" stage, through individual editing, peer editing, conferring with the teacher, and using other skills of revision. After a brief introduction, the booklet discusses the following steps in the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Editing, Elementary Education, Peer Evaluation, Student Writing Models, Writing...
Models of and research into the writing process support the use of peer editing in the regular activities of a writing class. It has the advantages of: adding perspective to students' perception of the writing process, both their own and others'; promoting student self-confidence; improving the class atmosphere by active student involvement; and providing an additional diagnostic and teaching tool. For teachers using peer editing, it is useful to establish a classroom climate of trust, design...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Techniques, Editing, English (Second Language), Guidelines, Peer...
This report concerns the Health Care Financing Administration's (HCFA) contracting with Utilization and Quality Control Peer Review Organizations (PROs) as a means of monitoring the medical necessity and quality of in-hospital care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Findings from a HCFA survey of PROs in California, Florida, and Georgia are used to illustrate the need for PROs to profile data on hospital and physician quality-of-care problems and to monitor inappropriate discharges of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Health Needs, Hospitals, Medical Care Evaluation, Medical Services, Nursing Homes,...
The peer-group method of composition instruction represents the quintessence of the "environmental" mode of teaching which brings teacher, student, and materials more nearly into balance. Responding to recent criticisms of peer-response groups, a model was developed to establish a middle course, balancing (1) philosophical stances; (2) individual, group, and teacher power; (3) types of response; and (4) text-specific and general learning. The operational plan for working through a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Editing, Group Discussion, Higher Education, Models, Peer Evaluation, Reader...
Seventy-four college students participated in a peer review assignment. Subjects were asked to write a draft of a three-page paper, distribute copies to three peer reviewers, revise their papers using the resulting feedback from each of the three peer reviewers, and then prepare and submit a final paper. Reviews were scored for the quality and specificity of feedback. Final papers were scored for the degree to which appropriate feedback was accepted. Results suggest that peer comments improved...
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Students, Feedback, Higher Education, Instructional Effectiveness, Peer...
In this paper, the author discusses the development of an appraisal instrument designed for evaluating submissions to "The Qualitative Report"--the TQR Rubric. Following a description of the context of TQR, she explains what led to the development of the TQR Rubric and describes its components. She concludes by presenting the plan of implementation of the rubric and a discussion of how the TQR Rubric's elements relate to notions of quality presented in the literature.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Qualitative Research, Evaluation, Scoring Rubrics, Periodicals, Peer Evaluation,...
Writing instructors who teach argument are familiar with the dilemma of conflicting metaphors: those who teach writing with a process approach may structure their teaching through a growth or benevolent nature metaphor, but cannot deny the tenacity of the "argument as war" metaphor. Breaking this war metaphor requires that ethics become a major consideration in teaching written argument. Stephen Toulmin's model of argument provides an alternative to Rogerian persuasion for achieving...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Ethics, Higher Education, Metaphors, Models, Peer Evaluation, Persuasive Discourse,...
The pressure to publish or perish or, more recently, to be visible or vanish, marginalises a culture of critical reading and reflection that has historically been the province of book reviews. Today, book reviews are roundly rejected by academic bureaucrats as unimportant, easy to write and hence, easy to get published, mere summaries, uncritical statements of praise, marketing gimmicks and poorly cited so they are shunted to the tail-end of academic tasks. Historical dialectical analysis shows...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Book Reviews, Publish or Perish Issue, Peer Evaluation, Critical...
The use of peer group critiquing in the writing classroom is based on the position that when the teacher is no longer viewed as the sole authority, learning becomes a collaborative endeavor. Yet peer groups are often marked more by inhibition and constraint than by collaboration, with students resisting both giving and receiving critiques. The distinguishing characteristic of peer critiquing is that it is coercive: it increases observation (a student's work is seen more often) and consequently...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Environment, Elementary Education, Higher Education, Peer Evaluation, Peer...
Since students enter college with a basic knowledge of the mechanics of writing, including grammar, spelling, and punctuation, most student writing mistakes amount to a failure to see what they have actually written. Thus, instructors must help students to apply knowledge they already have and to see their own errors through careful proofreading. Textbook techniques for teaching proofreading skills are academic and impersonal, and therefore not very useful. Getting students to recognize...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Class Activities, Error Correction, Higher Education, Peer Evaluation, Proofreading,...
The purpose of this study is to consider the effect of the peer review process on writing anxiety. Does peer review foster a feeling of equality between the writer and reader and thereby reduce the writer's apprehension, or does it actually have the reverse effect--increasing anxiety due to the tension created by showing a paper to someone other than the teacher? The questionnaire used to gather data on student attitudes is appended. (Author/AB)
Topics: ERIC Archive, English (Second Language), Peer Evaluation, Questionnaires, Second Language...
The objectives of the project were to (1) determine whether students making a subjective evaluation of other students will tend to grade their friends higher than others they do not know as well, (2) whether the use of an evaluation instrument reduces the subjectivitiy of student judgment, and (3) what differences there may be between a grade based on a general impression and one based on evaluating particular points. The research-instructor prepared an evaluation form for students to use in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Comparative Analysis, Evaluation Criteria, Grading, Peer Evaluation, Reliability,...
This digest examines peer review, focusing on how these types of reviews can improve teacher competence. Peer review is often linked to peer assistance, which helps new and veteran teachers improve their knowledge and skills. In peer-review programs, consulting teachers conduct formal evaluations and recommend whether the participating teacher should be retained or let go. Programs in Columbus and Toledo, Ohio, have shown that peer review not only helps schools retain teachers, it also provides...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Faculty Development, Peer Evaluation, Personnel...
Teachers from six California school districts were interviewed about their attitudes regarding peer evaluation and the reasons behind those attitudes. Three of the districts were represented by a bargaining agent for the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) and three had California Teachers Association (CTA) representation. Chosen to represent a cross-section, 15 teachers from each district were interviewed; focus was on identifying teachers who might be expected to be active in their...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Elementary Secondary Education, Peer Evaluation, School Districts, Teacher...
This manual is designed to provide guidelines for evaluation teams conducting evaluation visits for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The evaluation visit is the peer review portion of the Middle States accreditation process, which consists of a self-study and a peer review. The manual clarifies how evaluators should prepare for and conduct the evaluation visit. It explains the context in which the evaluation occurs and indicates how team members are affected by the work of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Accreditation (Institutions), Accrediting Agencies, Evaluation Methods, Higher...
Introduction: The development of the World Wide Web (WWW) has made it possible of small groups of colleagues or even single individuals to create peer-reviewed scholarly journals. This paper discusses the development of Medical Education Online (MEO) an open access peer-reviewed journal in health professional education. Description: MEO was first published in April 1996 partly as an experiment and partly out of frustration with existing options for publishing in health professional education....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Case Studies, Periodicals, Medical Education, Electronic Publishing, Peer Evaluation,...
Describes a structured method for the use of peer response groups in teaching writing in English as a Second Language. The method worked well with upper intermediate-advanced students in a college setting. (13 references) (JL)
Topics: ERIC Archive, English (Second Language), Feedback, Higher Education, Peer Evaluation, Writing...
Based upon the assumption that the process of peer review of publications and research is flawed, interrater reliability of reviews of 188 research proposals submitted for funding at a major university was studied. The eight dimensions rated were: (1) significance of the research; (2) clarity and reasonableness of the objectives; (3) appropriateness of the methodology; (4) adequacy and clarity of the budget; (5) potential for future extramural support; (6) applicant's experience; (7) review of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Faculty, Evaluation Criteria, Evaluators, Grants, Higher Education,...
Reported are the results of a review of the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) system of peer review. Recommendations presented include: (1) that a formalized NIH Grants Peer Review Appeals System be established; (2) that NIH periodically announce all upcoming vacancies on review groups; and (3) that review of grant applications should continue to be closed to the public. (SL)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Evaluation, Evaluation Methods, Health, Health Education, Peer Evaluation, Peer...
Intended for researchers in a variety of fields, this journal issue contains articles that provide guidance for technical writing for publication. Following an introduction, the first article explores some of the reasons papers are rejected by editors, including research design problems, lack of clarity and style, or unsuitability for the journal. The second article offers peer editing tips for professionals, specifically how to work with a partner and how to speed edit to assess a document's...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Peer Evaluation, Revision (Written Composition), Technical Writing, Writing for...
Two of the largest Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) organizations have chosen different methods for the way they will score and provide feedback on essays students submit. EdX, MIT and Harvard's non-profit MOOC federation, recently announced that they will use a machine-based Automated Essay Scoring (AES) application to assess written work in their MOOCs. Coursera, a Stanford startup for MOOCs, has been skeptical of AES applications and therefore has held that it will use some form of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Online Courses, Writing Evaluation, Automation, Scoring, Peer Evaluation, Essays,...
A college composition instructor uses peer response groups in first-year composition, basic writing, and graduate courses because it seems to be a good alternative to more teacher-centered and teacher-dominated forms of education. The instructor has found the groups to be successful, but there are problems. Four typical problems are: the group member who is developmentally far behind her peers and offers only redundant comments; recent immigrants who usually dread and evade peer response...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Classroom Environment, Group Dynamics, Higher Education, Instructional Effectiveness,...
Although considerable research exists on the behavioral characteristics of low-accepted children, few studies have examined gender differences in the types of behavior which distinguish between low-accepted children and their better-accepted classmates. This study examined the relative power, for each gender, of different behavioral characteristics in discriminating low-accepted children from their better-accepted peers. It also examined the role of prosocial behavior in distinguishing children...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Aggression, Elementary Education, Elementary School Students, Peer Acceptance, Peer...
University research is a vital building block of the nation's research and development (R&D) enterprise. While U.S. universities perform just 13 percent of total national R&D, they perform 31 percent of the nation's total research--basic and applied--and 56 percent of the nation's basic research. Because there is broad consensus that university research is a long-term national investment in the future, the federal government supports about 60 percent of the research performed at...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Higher Education, Research and Development, Federal Government, Universities,...
The teach-learn-assess cycle in education is broken in a typical massive open online course (MOOC). Without formative assessment and feedback, MOOCs amount to information dump or broadcasting shows, not educational experiences. A number of remedies have been attempted to bring formative assessment back into MOOCs, each with its own limits and problems. The most widely applicable approach for all MOOCs to date is to use peer assessment to provide the necessary feedback. However, unmoderated peer...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Online Courses, Large Group Instruction, Peer Evaluation, Formative Evaluation,...
Using Barry Kroll's distinction of the three perspectives of audience dominant in the field of composition, this paper presents methods for teaching audience awareness in freshman composition. The theories underlying the rhetorical, informational, and social perspectives of audience are discussed; and the methods typical of each perspective are dealt with, referring readers to specific pedagogies, heuristics, and methods for teaching audience awareness to freshmen. The social perspective is...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Audience Analysis, Dialogs (Literary), Expository Writing, Freshman Composition,...
The purpose of this study was to explore the sociological forces which have been identified in teacher development and to inquire into their role in teacher evaluation. To that end, a series of teacher development intervention programs and teacher interviews were conducted. This report describes the programs and interviews and highlights the most pertinent sociological findings held in common by the two areas of inquiry. Three major sociological phenomena studied were professional isolation,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Beginning Teachers, Elementary Secondary Education, Peer Evaluation, Socialization,...
The main task of reviewers for scholarly periodicals is to provide a fair reading of a paper, and thereby to help determine its suitability for publication. The reviewer's job is to evaluate the article according to the journal's criteria, most of which are publicly stated. Implicit criteria also exist which stretch, expand, or otherwise change shape to accommodate those highly unconventional, innovative pieces that break the rules. The reviewer has an obligation to serve diverse constituencies...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Ethics, Faculty Publishing, Higher Education, Peer Evaluation, Scholarly Journals,...
Erika Lindemann asserts that the purpose of freshman composition courses is primary and must precede any debate on whether or not literature may be taught in composition classrooms. A series of "I believe" statements about what a freshman composition course ought to do was developed. The primary purpose of a first-year writing course is to make students aware of their own development as writers, so they can continue developing as writers in their academic careers and in their future...
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Freshmen, Cooperation, Freshman Composition, Higher Education, Literature,...
A criterion for selecting sources of evidence to evaluate effective teaching is described. It is suggested that teaching effectiveness is not measured solely in terms of cognitive change in students but in the extent to which academics practice teaching in accordance with the moral dictates of the profession. In developing a teacher effectiveness evaluation criterion, it is important that judgments be as objective and fair as possible, even though the selection of attributes of teacher...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Codes of Ethics, Faculty Evaluation, Higher Education, Peer Evaluation, Student...