Canvas has a built-in Peer Review tool that allows instructors to assign student submissions to each other for feedback. This feature can be enabled for groups and can be set up to be anonymous.
If the built-in tool in Canvas doesn’t meet your needs, you may consider using an external tool.
Set Expectations
Peer review assignments can be tricky. We strongly recommend working with your Local Support Provider to create the best peer review experience for you and your students.
Provide clear instructions or a rubric in your assignment for students on what a peer review is in Canvas, how they will assess others, and how they can view their feedback.
Consider late policies carefully for these types of assignments. For example, reiterate that students must submit on time so they don’t delay the assignment for others in the course. Students who have not submitted an assignment cannot review others’ work.
Create a Peer Review Assignment
Follow the Canvas Instructor Guide directions for creating a peer review assignment.
For group assignments, select the option to Allow intra-group peer reviews. This allows Canvas to select a member of the student’s own group for that student to review.
Canvas only assigns peer reviews to individuals. Group members will only see their assigned peer review, not everyone in their group.
On the assignment settings page, select the check box next to Require Peer Reviews and then select whether you would like Canvas to assign the reviews manually or automatically.
- If you assign reviews manually, instructors must pair up the students after they have finished submitting their assignments.
- If you assign reviews automatically, you must select how many reviews a student is expected to do and provide a time for when the reviews will be assigned. Canvas will pair students at random.
We recommend providing a later due date for peer reviews and not using the same time as the assignment’s due date, to allow students sufficient time to review a peer who may have submitted close to the deadline.
Once all additional settings have been configured, save and publish the assignment.
Students will receive an email and a to-do list item once they have been assigned a peer to review. Students will not receive a peer to review until they submit the assignment.
Recommended Practices
- We recommend using Manually Assign Peer Reviews (image below) to assign peer reviewers to avoid issues caused by students who have not submitted their work on time.
- You must manually assign a peer review if a student has not submitted the assignment or submits after the due date.
- For assignments with Turnitin enabled, only the original student can see the originality score, not the assigned reviewer. Reviewers cannot access this information.
Known issues
- The manual drag-and-drop option to assign peer reviews can be unreliable. For the best experience, we recommend using the assign peer reviews now option instead.
- Automatic (randomly assigned) peer reviews may take up to an hour to be assigned to students. Let your students know there may be a delay before submissions are available for review.
- Peer review assignments can encounter errors if you have not cleared your browser cache before creating the assignment.
- Clearing the browser cache can also solve students’ issues with peer reviews, and the above instructions may be helpful to share with them.
Additional Peer Review Tools
- If you are using Perusall, consider utilizing Perusall’s peer review functions.
- For group assignments, consider creating a Canvas discussion board or using Ed Discussion to allow students to share feedback with their group.
- If you are a Wharton instructor, contact the Wharton Courseware team for a full list of peer review tool options.
Getting Help
Please contact your Local Support Provider or submit a request to canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.