Engaging Undergraduate Students in Preprint Peer Review

Abstract

Authentic assessment allows students to demonstrate knowledge and skills in real-world tasks. In research, peer review is one such task where researchers are required to critique other researchers’ work - a skill that undergraduate students are expected to develop. This means peer review could serve as an authentic assessment that benefits students’ education. In this study, we had students write peer reviews of preprints, scaffolded by a rubric. Agreement between the students and experts was reasonable, and student engagement was high. The results suggest that use of peer review in undergraduate classes should be explored more. It likely facilitates student ability to evaluate the quality of scientific studies, learning about the scientific process and its critical evaluation, and shows potential for contributing to publicly-available assessment of scientific studies.