Connecting across cultures: student peer support for writing

Journal article, 2014

One priority of teachers in higher education is to prepare learners for the careers that lie ahead of them. This article focuses on technical communication instruction for students in engineering and similar fields. The students will enter professional positions where they will often interact purely online with colleagues and clients from cultures which are different from their own. In these positions, the ability to provide effective feedback, peer review, will be critical to career success. This paper describes an online peer review exchange between students based in Sweden and students in the USA which aims to prepare engineering students for their future careers. In particular, this paper discusses how the online, intercultural nature of the peer review affected the comments students made and how students interpreted these comments. Finally, this paper offers advice for teachers embarking on similar projects.