Evaluating the Efficacy of Peer and Teacher Feedback on Writing Development among Secondary Students in Bologna, Italy

Abstract

The study aims to undertake an investigation regarding the different effect of teacher vs. peer feedback on varied sections of writing proficiency among secondary students in Bologna, Italy. The research employed a structured questionnaire to a sample of 150 students in an inquiry that sought to establish the effectiveness of these feedback modalities in enhancing writing tasks. The analysis was also supported by SPSS, which helped in reaching a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics within feedback. The results provide a much more nuanced picture in which peer feedback, under certain conditions, actually has the potential to be as effective as traditional teacher feedback in facilitating writing development. More specifically, the peer feedback resulted in substantially improving the content, organization, and vocabulary to the same degree as teacher feedback, with the lone exception of grammar increase. The results point toward a peer-feedback experience that is a potentially valid addition to teacher-led revisions, provided initiatives to integrate it with feedback literacy are focused on putting student empowerment at their core. The research has therefore added to the broader discussion of feedback mechanisms in language learning by proposing a re-evaluation of the nature of peer feedback within educational paradigms.