SWIM Peer Review Technique and Musical Computers

This Spring, I concocted a "different" peer review technique for use in the classroom. You could adapt this for various needs (writing assignments, artwork, etc.) but as I teach in a computer lab and most of my student work is projects (publishing/graphics projects, videos, podcasts, etc.), my method is mostly "post-it" notes, work displayed on computer monitors, and some music jamming in the background (more about that in a minute). However, I have considered also doing this technique with peer review online, such as through sharing a Google Doc (if a writing assignment) or making a comment on a Google Slides project.

My inspiration was, honestly, I wanted an acronym. And, I thought, what peer review "look fors" do I want? I give scoring guides that are specific and I have given peer review sheets that students fill out, but generally, those peer reviews are done the day the project is due (beginning of hour) with the intention that students then alter their work based on the feedback. What tends to happen, though, is students are afraid they might not finish and it becomes an afterthought and not a way to help them improve before submitting it for grading.

So, as a business teacher, SWOT analysis is something we teach with businesses (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) so I pulled the first two letters from that. And, I had to think of a term I could come up with that was easy to remember. Thus, SWIM was born!

I feel like this technique can be done at any point in the project process. The general steps, for me, are as follows:

• Assign students a letter (randomly, spell through the room, or by row). So, my Row 1 might be assigned S, Row 2 would be W, and so on.
• Have all students get out the work to be checked and put it on top of the desk or on the computer monitor. If there is a scoring guide, the scoring guide should be out as well. 
• Then, it works like musical chairs. I will play music and students are to find an open computer that isn't immediately to the left or right of their current spot, sit quickly when music stops, and assess using their assigned letter. So, the S people will be looking for "strengths" in the student work (what looks best, what's professional, what's done well). The W kiddos are be identifying "weaknesses" or areas of critical concern (areas that "Mrs. Skinner" might think could be done better, things that do not look professional enough, something that is confusing/unclear). The I folks will come up with "ideas" based on what they see and ideas that might make it even better. Maybe they like what they see but have an idea that might be a cool change that would elevate the overall piece. For a flyer, for example, they might suggest a thicker font because it would be easier to read. Or, maybe there is a little bit of white space on one side and a graphic might look good in that corner. Finally the "M" students will evaluate specifically based on the scoring guide, identifying any items that are missing and are required. 
• After students identify the assigned "look for", they write down the suggestions--on a Post-it note or a sheet of paper (or online, a comment)--and leave it at the desk (when we do Post-its, we stick it on the monitor). They must include their initials. And, they know that I expect them to be positive or constructive. No mean comments ("this sucks" or "that looks like crap" isn't a suitable piece of feedback...). "Consider a thicker font and check spelling on the title" is better than "the font is ugly and you can't spell." 
• When the music starts, they get up and quickly move again. We do about 10-12 minutes of peer review time. If you were doing something that involved reading paragraphs or a paper, you might need to allot more time. Or, you could get into a group of 4 and assign each student a letter and they trade back and forth and just work within the group of 4. But, I teach in a lab and it's good for them to get up and move around. 

What do you think? Is this something you might try?  Let me know @tonyaskinner and best of luck!