Consistency in providing peer feedback: the role of individual and situational factors

The value of peer feedback for learning depends upon students regularly providing high-quality feedback to their peers, but little is known about the factors influencing feedback-providing behaviors. This study explores the consistency of students’ feedback-providing behaviors and its relations to students’ writing ability (an individual differences factor) and reviewed essay quality (a situational factor). Feedback-providing behaviors were modeled at the feature level (presence and quality of identification, explanation, and suggestion) and at the comment level (overall presence and quality of these provided features). A total of 125 participants from a Dutch university provided feedback on two peer argumentative essays. Regression models assessed the consistency of feedback-providing behaviors through Intraclass Correlation Coefficients at the provider and reviewed essay levels, examining the influence of writing ability and essay quality. Results revealed that providers consistently provided specific feedback features, indicating potential for training interventions. Students’ writing ability did not predict feedback-providing behavior, indicating writing knowledge was not a limiting factor. Reviewed essay quality predicted explicit issue identification. These findings clarify how individual and situational factors influence feedback-providing behaviors, paving the pathway for theory development and interventions to improve feedback quality.