Rethinking Peer Review: Critical Reflections on a Pedagogical Practice

Rethinking Peer Review: Critical Reflections on a Pedagogical Practice interrogates peer review, a foundational practice of writing instruction, from both practical and theoretical perspectives, provoking discussion and re-examination of this practice in light of changing demographics, new technologies, and changing goals and priorities among teachers and institutions. Though long considered an essential element in writing and writing-intensive courses, peer review continues to provoke questions and provide challenges for instructors and students. By questioning and clarifying the goals of peer review, the contributors to this edited collection demonstrate how peer review can inform and enhance student writing and learning. In doing so, Rethinking Peer Review offers a roadmap for revitalizing this critical practice for the 21st century classroom.

Phoebe Jackson is Professor Emerita at William Paterson University, where she served as English Department chair and Graduate Program Director. She has published work in composition studies and on American women writers including Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Carolyn Chute, Elizabeth Strout, and Harriette Simpson Arnow. She is the co-editor with Christopher Weaver of Writing in Online Courses: How the Online Environment Shapes Writing Practices and co-editor with Emily Isaacs of Public Works: Student Writing as Public Text.

Christopher Weaver is Associate Professor of English and the Director of the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at William Paterson University. His interests include composition pedagogy, writing and technology, and writing and popular culture. He is the co-editor with Phoebe Jackson of Writing in Online Courses: How the Online Environment Shapes Writing Practices and with Frances Zak of The Theory and Practice of Grading Writing: Problems and Possibilities which was chosen as the outstanding book of the year in the field of education by Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries.