What makes students contribute more peer feedback? The role of within-course experience with peer feedback

The success of peer feedback approaches to instruction depends upon students contributing in-depth feedback to their peers. Prior researchers have examined the role of general attitudes towards peer feedback, but how experiences, especially the performance information during peer feedback, influence the subsequent amount of feedback that students provide to peers has received little attention. This study investigated what experience factors from one assignment predicted growth or declines in the amount of peer feedback provided on the next assignment in a course with many peer feedback assignments. Data on peer feedback experiences and behaviors across multiple assignments were taken from students across two programming courses (N = 149). Negative binomial regression analyses reveal three experiences in the prior assignment predicted growth in length of comments provided to peers: receiving more comments, doing well on the task, and receiving recognition for good reviewing (when not doing well). Implications for practice are presented.