Peer feedback is a valuable approach that can be used to enhance learning and development in a variety of settings. It involves providing and receiving feedback from others who are at a similar level of experience or expertise. Peer feedback can be beneficial for the giver of feedback, such as developing their critical thinking skills, communication skills and enhancing empathy as well as for the receiver of peer feedback, by allowing them to gain different perspectives, develop self-awareness and improve their motivation

However, although peer feedback has been shown to improve academic achievement, implementing peer feedback in higher education comes with several challenges:
- Marking Bias and Trust Issues: There can be bias in the feedback provided by peers, and trust issues may arise if students question the credibility of their peers’ feedback.
- Engagement Issues: Ensuring that all students are actively engaged in the process of giving and receiving feedback can be challenging.
- Quality and Usability of Feedback: The feedback provided by peers may vary in quality, and some feedback may not be useful or actionable.
- Contextual Constraints: There may be constraints related to the learning environment or the specific context in which the feedback is being provided.
- Implementation Difficulties: There can be logistical challenges associated with implementing peer feedback in a large class or in an online learning environment.

Digital technologies can play a role in addressing these challenges by scaffolding the peer feedback experience. This talk will discuss the implementation, evaluation and preliminary results of a pilot at University College London (UCL) which used the FeedbackFruits platform to overcome peer feedback challenges. FeedbackFruits is a learning platform that is designed to be embedded directly within an existing Learning Management System, such as Moodle, which is the LMS of choice for UCL.

Specifically, the talk will discuss:
- Why the FeedbackFruits tool was chosen (particularly in lieu of Moodle’s own peer feedback tool, known as ‘Workshop’)
- How staff were introduced to the tool and their reasons for joining the pilot
- The implementation challenges of introducing the tool in a large UK Russell Group University
- How evaluation tools & techniques were designed
- The impact on staff and students through comparisons of pre- and post-experience surveys and interviews

This talk will be of particular interest to those looking to develop peer feedback experiences and explore how digital technologies can be used to design learning journeys that support this goal.

Keywords: Peer Feedback, Peer Review, Digital, Technology, Benefits, Challenges, Higher Education, Implementation, Evaluation, Impact.