The University of Waterloo will implement a new peer review and group evaluation tool, peerScholar, for student course work for the start of the Spring 2024 term. Peer review and group evaluation are critical processes used in academic courses to deepen learning while improving performance and credibility of student grades. The current tool, PEAR, a University of Guelph home-grown solution that has been used extensively at Waterloo, is in its preliminary stages of planned retirement, with the current agreement ending April 30, 2024.
Selecting peerScholar
A collaborative review project between IST-ITMS, Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE), and Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) concluded at the end of 2023 with a thorough analysis of potential replacement solutions that included market research, pilot projects, and feedback from IT support staff, instructors, and students. Twenty-seven tools were investigated during this review project. Of these, peerScholar was the ideal option, meeting 97% of peer review and 100% of group evaluation essential requirements. Read the full proposal.
A centrally supported and funded campus-wide agreement for peerScholar has been approved. Members of the project team are working closely with peerScholar to ensure a smooth transition to the new tool. See more information about the peerScholar tool.
Instructors who have used PEAR or other tools for peer review or group evaluation can contact their CTE Liaison, CEL Agile Development Team (for fully online courses administered by CEL), or LEARN Help (learnhelp@uwaterloo.ca) for assistance to transition to peerScholar.
peerScholar training session April 29
A training session for instructors will be offered from 3:00-4:30 p.m., Monday, April 29, via Zoom (Join Zoom Meeting). More training and information sessions for peerScholar will be scheduled during the Spring term.