Case Study: University of Waterloo strengthens organic chemistry learning with Kritik

Leveraging Peer Assessment to Strengthen Core Concepts

The University of Waterloo lecturer Steven Forsey faced the challenge of effectively teaching foundational organic chemistry concepts in large classes of up to 350 students. With a limited number of teaching assistants, ensuring each student received personalized feedback on their homework was a significant hurdle. He turned to Kritik's peer assessment platform to address this.

By implementing Kritik, Professor Forsey transformed the homework process. Students submitted work on the platform and then used provided answer keys and rubrics to evaluate their peers. This process deepened their understanding of the material and developed crucial soft skills. Kritik enabled personalized feedback at a scale impossible for the teaching team alone to deliver. The solution was successfully adopted by the large class with minimal issues, as Kritik's support team handled all technical questions, allowing the professor to focus on pedagogy.

University of Waterloo

Steven Forsey

Lecturer & Medicinal Chemistry Advisor