Crowd-Sourced Peer Feedback (CPF) for Learning Community Engagement: Results and Reflections from a Pilot Study

The goal of this study is to develop a new approach to collaborative peer feedback enabled by social media, understand how it is perceived by university students, and develop insights regarding its impacts on learning. We adapted a crowd sourcing platform that enabled students to submit their own assignments, and enabled students and outside experts to assess the quality of assignments using voting and commenting. We call this approach "crowd-sourced peer feedback" (CPF). Results of our pilot study suggest that viewing and commenting on other assignments increases engagement, mobilizes motivation, and may enhance learning. In contrast, mixed results were found for voting and the use of badges and points. Finally, minor design choices in how the CPF platform is implemented may have significant impacts on learning experiences. We provide suggestions for future research and for the use of CPF to enhance learning.