Abstract: | A peer review process, in which students reviewed other students' projects in a graduate introductory instructional design course, was evaluated. Peer review was experienced by these students as a learning activity about the process of instructional design (ID). The role of traditional ID models in representing ID as overly procedural‐ized was mitigated, and the value, inter‐personal processes, and affective aspects of formative evaluation were recognized. The effectiveness of peer review was influenced by the culture of the course in which it was embedded and by the structure of the process itself. Peer review is proposed as an authentic and efficient means to introduce graduate students to the strategic knowledge needed to apply ID skills. Recommendations are made to increase the effectiveness of peer review. |