Peer feedback literacy is becoming increasingly important in higher education as peer feedback has substantially grown as a pedagogical approach. However, quality of produced feedback, a key behavioral aspect of peer feedback literacy, lacks a systematic and evidence-based conceptualization to guide research, instruction, and system design. We introduce a novel framework involving six conceptual dimensions of peer feedback quality that can be measured and supported in online peer feedback contexts: reviewing process, rating accuracy, feedback amount, perceived comment quality, actual comment quality, and feedback content. We then test the underlying dimensionality of student competencies through correlational analysis, Multidimensional Scaling, and cluster analysis, using data from 844 students engaged in online peer feedback in a university-level course. The separability of the conceptual dimensions is largely supported in the cluster analysis. However, the cluster analysis also suggests restructuring perceived and actual comment quality in terms of initial impact and ultimate impact. The Multi-Dimensional Scaling suggests the dimensions of peer feedback can be conceptualized in terms of relative emphasis on expertise vs. effort and on overall review quality vs. individual comment quality. The findings provide a new road map for meta-analyses, empirical studies, and system design work focused on peer feedback literacy.

Synchronous online learning via technology has become a major trend in institutions of higher education, allowing students to learn from video lectures alongside their peers online. However, relatively little research has focused on the influence of these peers on students’ learning during video lectures and even less on the effect of peer familiarity. The present study aimed to test the various effects of peer presence and peer familiarity on learning from video lectures. There were three experimental conditions: individual-learning, paired-learning with an unfamiliar peer, and paired-learning with a familiar peer. ANCOVA results found that students paired with a familiar peer reported higher motivation in learning and more self-monitoring behaviors than those paired with an unfamiliar peer or who learned alone. Furthermore, students paired with both unfamiliar or familiar peers demonstrated better learning transfer than those who learned alone. Together, these results confirm the benefits of and support learning alongside a familiar peer during video lectures.