Create a peer review discussion

Open Discussions

In Course Navigation, click the Discussions link.

Add Discussion

To create a new discussion, click the Add Discussion button.

Select Graded Option

Create a graded discussion by selecting the Graded checkbox.

Require Peer Reviews

Select the Require Peer Reviews checkbox.

Assign Peer Reviews

Determine if you are going to manually assign peer reviews [1] or automatically assign peer reviews [2]. Select the radio button next to the option you prefer.

Automatically Assign Peer Reviews

If you automatically assign peer reviews, the menu will expand. In the Reviews Per User field [1], enter the number of reviews each student will be required to complete. In the Assign Reviews field [2], use the calendar icon to select a date or manually enter a date for when peer reviews will be assigned to students.

Note: If automatically assigning peer reviews, the assign reviews date must come after the discussion due date. If left blank, Canvas will use the discussion due date as the peer review due date.

Save and Publish

If you are ready to publish your discussion, click the Save & Publish button [1]. If you want to create a draft of your discussion and publish it later, click the Save button [2].

When your discussion is saved in a draft state, you can return to the page and publish it at any time by clicking the Publish button.

View Published Discussion

View the published discussion.

You can also attach a rubric to the discussion for students to fill out when completing peer reviews. To add a rubric to the graded discussion, click the Options icon [1] then click the Add Rubric link [2].

View Peer Review Discussions

When you or a TA create a peer review graded discussion, you can assign peer reviews manually or you can have Canvas assign them automatically [1].

When a peer review has been assigned, students can view a notification in their Dashboard To Do sidebar or Activity Stream [2]. Students will also receive an email notification.

View Peer Review Comments

To complete a peer review, students must review the discussion and leave a comment on the submission details page [1].

Students cannot view previously submitted comments by any other reviewers, including comments by TAs or other instructors.

You can also assign a rubric to the graded discussion. If the discussion includes a rubric [2], students must only complete the rubric to complete the peer review.

However, you can choose to ask your students to also leave a comment in the comment sidebar.

The rubric score is used for an assessment opinion only; you must review the graded discussion and assign the final grade.

View Peer Review Grades

Students do not receive a grade for completing a peer review. If you want to assign extra points for peer reviews, you can create a No Submission assignment in the Gradebook and assign points manually.

The Peer Review page for the discussion will show the names of students who have completed the peer review.