TEACHx 2018

Wondering how to get your students or colleagues to collaborate more naturally with each other? Come learn how to use Google Apps to do peer review and increase collaboration in your classes or department. Plus, start outlining a plan to put it into action! Google Apps is already a popular platform among students, faculty, and staff, and now it is even integrated into Canvas. These tools were created to enhance collaboration, and many of us are already regular users, so there are many opportunities to use this convenient and easily adaptable platform in our work. In regards to collaboration and peer review, research has firmly demonstrated that people learn more from others at their own level of learning; students learn more effectively by having to give constructive feedback; weaker and stronger students benefit the same from getting feedback from weaker and stronger students; and students develop key critical thinking skills through peer reviews. Plus, peer reviews ease the grading pressure and load on the instructor, and grades involving these processes tend to be more reliable. Therefore, there is no need to give it a second thought — start incorporating these practices in your classes and department!