Peer Evaluation Survey
What do my Peer Evaluation results mean?
For each behavioral category, you will see arrows next to the behavioral descriptions from the survey that will show you how you rate yourself, how your teammates rated you, and the average rating for you and your teammates. Below each category, you’ll see tips for how to improve as a teammate in said category.
In some cases, the system may have noticed an “exceptional condition” in the activity data about you provided by your teammates. When this happens, you will see an additional informational message at the top of your results. If you have questions about your results, please contact your instructor(s).
Where are my Peer Evaluation results?
When your instructor releases the results, you can click the “View Results” link next to the activity to see them.
Why can I not see my team members on the Peer Evaluation survey?
If the students in the Peer evaluation survey don’t appear to be your teammates, it may be because you selected the Rater Practice activity instead.
What criteria should I use to determine the Peer Evaluation rating I give?
The criteria used are the CATME Five Teamwork Dimensions: Contributing to the Team’s Work, Interacting with Teammates, Keeping the Team on Track, Expecting Quality, and Having Relevant KSAs, which are shown on the CATME Rating Scale. The CATME Teamwork Dimension Modules videos also go into detail about each of the behavior dimensions and what it means to be a good teammate in each of them.
How do I perform a Peer Evaluation Survey?
For the first several screens, you will see different behavioral descriptions of the CATME dimensions and should select the descriptions that best fit yourself and each member of your team in the leftmost column. Note the “Demonstrates behaviors described immediately above and below” choice should be given to a person who matches behaviors from the two categories the choice is in between. To move on to the next page, you must rate every person in your team.
After these peer evaluation screens, you may need to further rate your team based on extra questions that your instructor has enabled. Finally, you will be given the option to leave confidential comments to your instructor.
For more information, watch our video on How to Take a Peer Evaluation Survey for Students.
What are different Peer-to-Peer Comments options?
There are three different options for Peer-to-Peer Comments.
- Private (default): only the instructor can see the comments.
- Release to students (with attribution): Students can see the comments about themselves from each teammate.
- Release to students anonymously: Students can see the comments about themselves, but do not know which teammate made each comment.
Note that if the original setting was private, this cannot later be changed, nor can comments be changed from anonymous to attributed. In other words, comments can be made more private, but not less private.
Can I change the text for the instructions?
Yes. On the Quick Summary page, click on the activity, then click the “Edit Activity Intro” button on the Activity Editor page. On the Edit Instructions Text page, you can edit the instructions text inside the content box and click the “Preview Text” button to preview the instructions. Don’t forget to click the “Save” or “Save and return” button.
How do I turn on Peer-to-Peer Comments?
During survey creation, on the page “Peer-to-Peer Comments”, check the “Enable” box. Your students will then be provided an input form when doing the Peer Evaluation survey that will allow them to enter comments about themselves and each team member. They will be asked to explain their ratings.
Peer-to-Peer Comments can also be enabled after a survey begins, but note that any students who completed the survey beforehand will have blank comments.
For more information, see our How to Activate Peer-to-Peer Comments video.
Is there evidence suggesting that Peer-to-Peer Comments impact team behavior?
There is substantial evidence that peer feedback improves teamwork behavior. One example is discussed in the following article: The Effects of Peer Feedback on Team Member Behavior Peter G. Dominick, Assessment Alternatives, Inc., Richard R. Reilly, Stevens Institute of Technology, and Jack W. McGourty, Assessment Alternatives, Inc. The authors say in their summary: “[Our] Results showed significantly higher [peer] ratings for participants in the [peer] feedback and exposure conditions.” [Article]
Another relevant article asserts that Peer-to-Peer Comments can hold students more accountable for their ratings and [students] who were made to feel accountable by having to justify their ratings … in writing rated their simulated subordinates more accurately. The article is Effects of Rater Accountability on the Accuracy and the Favorability of Performance Ratings, by Neal P. Mero, U.S. Air Force Academy and Stephan J. Motowidlo.
How can I release the survey ratings to students while keeping the Peer-to-Peer Comments private?
To keep the comments private while still releasing the survey results, leave the default options when adding Peer-to-Peer Comments. By default, survey results will be released, but only the instructor can read the comments.