Peering in: what do you see and will we agree?

ABSTRACT

Most initial teacher education (ITE) programmes claim to develop reflective practitioners. Peer review is one means of developing reflective practice. In this study, Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Physical Education (PE) students engaged in a process of peer review to investigate how reviewees used feedback from reviewers to inform their reflections. Eleven post-lesson feedback audio recorded discussions were collected along with 11 reflection templates and 2 focus group interviews. In response to both low-quality and high-quality feedback received, students’ reflections were low-quality (pre-reflective and surface level) and/or high-quality (pedagogical). None reflected at the highest, critical, level. Students valued the peer review process, with some noting that the feedback often triggered deeper reflection, whilst for others the feedback was accepted uncritically. The process also allowed for sharing of ideas and for some reviewers, it triggered deeper thinking about their practice. Results are discussed in relation to developing students’ reflective practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Student teachers
• peer review
• reflection
• feedback

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2024.2309880

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul McFlynn

Paul McFlynn is a Senior Lecturer in Education and course director for the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (Physical Education) at Ulster University in Northern Ireland. His research to date has concentrated on the role of critical reflection in initial teacher education and on the role of mentoring in initial teacher education.

Barbara Skinner

Barbara Skinner is a Professor of Education and TESOL at Ulster University in Northern Ireland. Her work focuses on teaching and researching in multicultural/multilingual education contexts. Currently, her research projects focus on supporting the teaching and learning of migrant children in schools and online, building partnerships between schools and migrant families and exploring the socio-emotional wellbeing of refugee children in Northern Irish primary schools. Her work also includes developing university partnerships overseas as well as being a member of council for the British Educational Research Association.