Supporting school teachers’ rapid engagement with online education

Educational technology research and development - In response to Philipsen et al.'s (Educ Technol Res Dev 67:1145–1174, 2019) article titled “Improving teacher professional...     

The role of students’ emotions in formal feedback situations

A growing, but still relatively small body of research underscores the importance of attending to students’ experiences and emotions in higher education. One specific context in which emotions have a focal role is formal feedback situations. The aim of this paper is to provide a literature overview on the role of emotions, in sociology in general and learning in particular, and to draw on this literature in order to tentatively suggest how the role of students’ emotions can increasingly be accounted for in the context of feedback situations. The claim of the paper is that emotions should not be considered as hindering learning. Rather, it underlines the focal role of emotions in learning as being a natural part of it. The paper suggests that learning activities such as ‘feedback preparation activities’ and ‘feedback-on-the-feedback’ can be helpful in order to acknowledge students’ emotions in formal feedback situations.     

A role for technology in enhancing students’ engagement with feedback

This paper explores the potential of technology-enabled feedback to improve student learning. ‘Technology, Feedback, Action!: The impact of learning technology upon students’ engagement with their feedback’ aimed to evaluate how a range of technical interventions might encourage students to engage with feedback and formulate actions to improve future learning. The study used qualitative methods and worked in partnership with 23 undergraduate students to explore their experiences of receiving different forms of feedback with varying degrees of technical intervention including, but not limited to, electronic feedback with grades withheld; online grade publication; criteria-based feedback; and more traditional feedback methods. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, student participants were encouraged to articulate their experiences of feedback. The online publication of grades and feedback and the adaptive release of grades were found to significantly enhance students’ engagement with their feedback. Data were analysed using a thematic approach, and the main themes were used to inform the development of a series of good practice guides. The findings are discussed in the context of current literature.     

Technological factors of students’ persistence in online courses in higher education: The moderating role of gender,age and prior online course experience

Education and Information Technologies - The aim of this study was to verify if technological factors have an influence on persistence in online courses. A theoretical model encompassing seven...     

Factors associated with students’ attitude change in online peer assessment – a mixed methods study in a graduate-level course

Abstract

Positive student attitude towards peer assessment can be demonstrated through high-quality peer assessment activities. Research findings on students’ attitudes before and after such activities were mixed. This study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach to investigate the underlying factors influencing students’ attitude change. Participants were students enrolled in an online graduate-level assessment course in the college of education in a university in the southeast United States in the fall of 2017 (N?=?31). Surveys and interviews were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data separately, both of which indicated that perceived accurate and specific feedback tended to help students shift to more positive attitudes towards online peer assessment. In addition, final task score improvement after the activity was correlated with positive attitude change. Qualitative results also identified other factors, such as communication with the peers’ work and logistic concerns. The current study offers insights for researchers and instructors to promote positive attitude changes in online peer assessment activities.     

Effects of different evaluative feedback on students’ self-efficacy in learning

Two studies examined the effects of four types of teachers’ evaluative feedback on Chinese students’ self-efficacy in English vocabulary acquisition. In Study 1, a random sample of Grade 8 students (N = 79) learned prefixes and received either formative or summative feedback after failure in test. The results showed that students who received summative feedback showed a larger decrease in their self-efficacy than those who received formative feedback. In Study 2, a random sample of Grade 7 students (N = 77) went through similar procedures as in Study 1 except that students received either self-referenced or norm-referenced feedback. The results showed that self-referenced feedback was more beneficial to students’ self-efficacy than norm-referenced feedback. The influences of teachers’ evaluation and feedback on students’ self-efficacy are discussed.     

Is students’ qualitative feedback changing,now it is online?

Student feedback can be used to enable institutions to achieve the best possible outcomes for students through informing changes which enhance the quality of teaching and learning. Following the introduction of an online survey platform to gather student feedback at a top-performing UK university, anecdotal concerns raised by academics suggested students were being more critical. This exploratory study investigated the effects of switching from a paper to an online survey by comparing the open-ended responses between the two methods of collection. The main contribution of this study is the development of an analytical framework which can be used by other institutions to evaluate student comments, in order to understand and improve the student experience. Three key findings in this study were uncovered. Firstly, the quality of student feedback is not undermined by a switch to a more efficient online collection. Secondly, student comments via both methods of collection predominantly continue to focus on fulfilling basic needs, such as study resources. Finally, a small number of comments online revealed a lack of behavioural constraint and were considered to be inappropriate. These findings have important policy implications for the global higher education sector, highlighting the need for students to be given guidance on providing constructive feedback.     

Supporting students’ literacy development in the secondary school

Abstract

This paper highlights the importance of teaching all students in inclusive settings multiple literacies through their subject disciplines in the secondary school. After briefly discussing the responsibilities of the major stakeholders in the literacy process, the author provides examples of how strategies can be used to improve students’ literacy skills in the different subject disciplines.     

Effectiveness of feedback: the students’ perspective

While effective feedback has frequently been identified as a key strategy in learning and teaching, little known research has focused on students’ perceptions of feedback and the contribution feedback makes to students’ learning and teaching. This reported qualitative study aims to enrich our understanding of these perceptions and importantly to provide insight into the meaning of ‘effective’ when related to feedback. The study involved four focus groups of undergraduate students of varying levels and from a range of Schools completing degrees in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney. Students’ perceptions relating to a definition of feedback, how they use it and preferences for delivery were prompted by the facilitators. Thematic analysis resulted in three key dimensions: perceptions of feedback, impact of feedback and credibility of feedback. The analysis demonstrated that effectiveness of feedback extends beyond mode of delivery and timeliness to include the credibility of the lecturer giving the feedback. The role of effective feedback includes not only enhancing learning and teaching but also facilitating the transition between school and university.     

Why not? Examining college students’ reasons for avoiding an online course

A large number of studies have compared learning outcomes in fully online courses to those in face-to-face courses. Fewer studies have examined why students choose to enrol in fully online courses to begin with, and no study has yet addressed the question of why some students choose not to register in online courses. This study contributes to scholarly understanding of online education by examining for the first time why students may choose to take a large lecture course face-to-face, when they know that the same course is offered by their institution online in the same semester, for the same credit and at the same tuition cost. Through a survey, 48 students in a face-to-face offering of an introductory Educational Psychology course reported why they chose to attend lectures and tutorials in person when they could have earned the same credit without doing so. A majority of respondents suggested that they believed they would learn better face-to-face, and expressed informal theories about why this would be the case. We examine these informal theories, and the possible implications they may have for future research and institutional planning with regard to online course offerings.     

Predictors for Chinese students’ management of study environment in online groupwork

Management of the study environment is crucial to the learning process, and this management in an online class setting is even more challenging. This study investigates models of environmental structuring in online groupwork in China, as reported by 307 graduate students in 80 groups. At the group level, environment management was positively associated with earning-oriented reasons. At the individual level, environment management was positively associated with feedback, peer-oriented reasons and help seeking. In addition, males were less likely to take initiatives in arranging the study environment.     

Psychology students’ perception of and engagement with feedback as a function of year of study

Undergraduate students’ perception of feedback and level of engagement with the feedback they receive have gained increasing attention in the educational literature recently to identify areas which require educators’ attention. However, research in this area has generally been based on limited self-selecting samples, and has not considered how students’ relationship with feedback may alter depending on their year of study. To address this, a survey measuring students’ views and practices regarding feedback was completed at a higher education institution by 447 first-, second- and third-year psychology students, representing 77% of the cohort. Findings revealed that third years responded more negatively in both areas than their first- and second-year counterparts, whose ratings on these aspects themselves were far from optimal. These findings highlight the need for early interventions to improve students’ perception of and engagement with feedback in the earlier years, and to prevent the recorded deterioration later on in the degree course.     

Understanding the role of students’ reflections in their uptake of teacher written feedback

This study reports on the role of students’ reflections in their teacher written feedback. Informed by a qualitative case study approach, this study collected data from 18 students across a semester of an English-as-a-foreign language writing course at a university in China. In the course, teacher written feedback and students’ reflections were both informed by writing as a meaning-making process. The data sources included 72 pieces of student essays, 144 pieces of reflection written by the students, and post-semester interviews with the students. The study showed that engaging students in writing reflections was helpful for developing their knowledge of writing, although the process somewhat followed a zigzag trajectory. The exercise helped them transcend their previous knowledge repertoires, thereby assisting them in critically understanding their revision process and refining their knowledge of writing in response to the teacher’s written feedback. In particular, the students felt that the meaning-making-based reflections provided clear and accessible layers for them to understand the close relationship between language and content. As such, the students felt that they were able to harness their reflections as a written venue through which they could critically digest the teacher’s written feedback and develop their knowledge of writing as a meaning-making process while dialoguing with their instructor.     

‘Feedback interpreters’: the role of learning development professionals in facilitating university students’ engagement with feedback

Understanding how students engage with assessment feedback is a key concern of higher education professionals. Research commonly represents the perspectives of students and academic staff, yet little consideration is given to the role of learning development staff, despite these individuals supporting students when interpreting and implementing feedback. We report the findings from interviews with learning developers working in a UK University, exploring their insights into the barriers students confront when engaging with feedback, and into the role of learning developers within the feedback landscape. This study suggests that, while many challenges exist for staff and students in the context of assessment feedback, learning development professionals are able to provide a meaningful source of guidance, in partnership with academic staff, and are able to promote students’ development through dialogic interactions. Hitherto these interactions have not been fully explored, yet they provide powerful insight into the hidden processes of feedback recipience.     

Predictors for students’ self-efficacy in online collaborative groupwork

Educational technology research and development - This study examines factors related to student self-efficacy beliefs in on-line groupwork. Participants in this study were 204 graduate students...     

Participation in online courses from the students’ perspective

The purpose of this study is to uncover factors that affect participation in online classes from the student’s perspective. Interest in the online environment has been increasing and renders the opinions of students participating in online courses more important since the opinions of students in this environment are closely related to interaction. It has been seen that lack of interaction creates a sense of loneliness, which causes students to drop their classes. For this reason, a qualitative study has been conducted about student experiences on the use of methods that increase interaction in an online environment and participation. Participants were given tasks based on collaboration, special attention was paid to make sure that the setting in which the participants found themselves was in accordance with the principles of the community of inquiry, computerized equipment was used to facilitate online interactions. 15 students worked based on collaboration and 15 students worked individually. Data was collected with interviews and reflection reports. Open, axial and selective coding was made by using the theorizing method. At the end of the study, it was determined that participation in online environment was affected in both groups by factors such as personal approaches, changing variables, mediated attributes.     

The relationship between second language college students’ perceptions of online feedback on draft-writing and academic procrastination

Reading and Writing - Though essay writing is an essential part of postsecondary education, it can be challenging for second language learners, who are required to organize ideas coherently in a...     

Interrogating students’ perceptions of their online learning experiences with Brookfield’s critical incident questionnaire

This article discusses whether the very act of accessing online students’ experiences of teaching may itself foster students’ sense of belonging to a learning community. The article reports and reflects on the application of Brookfield’s critical incident questionnaire (CIQ) in postgraduate courses delivered online in 2008–2010 through the University of Newcastle in Australia. The anonymous CIQ is designed in part to access students’ views of teaching practice, and was deployed as part of an ongoing interest in quality teaching. The article makes recommendations for deploying the CIQ in online learning spaces and concludes with some reflections on unexpected opportunities thoughtful CIQ deployment may provide. The practice of sharing students’ anonymous responses may have helped to foster students’ sense of a shared learning community. This may be particularly valuable in an asynchronous online learning context where students are typically geographically isolated from one another.     

Exploring students’ perceptions of service-learning experiences in an undergraduate web design course

Service-learning is an experiential learning experience where students learn and develop through active participation in community service to meet the needs of a community. This study explored student learning experiences in a service-learning group project and their perceptions of service-learning in an undergraduate web design course. The data showed that the service-learning project helped students learn the course material, feel more connected to the surrounding community, and improve their communication and problem-solving skills for their careers. The participants appreciated the opportunity to work with the service-learning partner and will be likely to look for more opportunities to get involved in the community. Time constraints, group work, working with real clients, and technical limitations were reported as major challenges in the group project.