The Effects of Two Types of Peer Comments on the Use of Paragraphing in Written Composition by Elementary Schoolchildren

Although several studies have shown that comments made by peers can influence student behavior, little is known about the relative efficacy of different types of peer comments. In the present experiment, the effects of two different types of peer comments on the correct use of paragraphs by fourth grade students were compared using a multiple-baseline-across-subjects design. During one condition, peers who were confederates of the experimenters made comments which stated how much they liked writing paragraphs in their stories (preferential comments) before and after writing stories. During another condition, confederate peers made comments referring to the number of paragraphs they used in their stories (performance comments) before and after writing stories. Performance comments increased the percentage of correct paragraphing in target peers' stories whereas preferential comments did not. These findings suggest that teachers should encourage students to make comments about performance on the aspects of behavior they wish to change.