On April 4, 2023, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) held its fifth Brown Bag Teaching Sharing (BBTS) in T2-202. BBTS aims to provide an informal and pleasing environment for peer communication and learning among teaching staff. We were pleased to have Dr. Edith Mei-Yee Yan as the fifth presenter of BBTS, where she shared her experience in promoting student-centered learning through the use of online peer assessment activities in two English-Medium Instruction (EMI) undergraduate courses. This sharing session was attended by about 10 teachers.

In her sharing session, Dr. Yan briefly introduced a study she had done that focused on demonstrating the impact of Online Peer Assessment (OPA) activities on Student-centred Learning (SCL) in two EMI courses. Dr. Yan indicated that OPA activities enhance students' self-directed learning and audience awareness in writing and promote the development of learning communities outside of the classroom, and demonstrated her implementation of related instructional adaptations to assist students. Two instances of each peer assessment task are given as reference, and the approach has transitioned from supervising the grades assigned by peers to evaluating the feedback given by peers.

To better demonstrate the concrete operation results, Dr. Yan showed some screenshots of the interface set up in her iSpace and the relevant peer-reviewed rubric in her current course, and had a full discussion and interaction with the participants.

The BBTS is a platform where UIC faculty can informally and pleasantly share their teaching experiences and pedagogical discoveries, fostering opportunities for peer learning and exchange. Any teaching staff member can register as a presenter. We encourage more faculty members to participate in the future to promote teaching and learning excellence at UIC.