It was an interesting day! I had some technical issues… several fun meetings, and lots of coursework. Tonight, I watched another recorded session from the June 2021 Elon Teaching and Learning Conference. The session entitled “Students’ Perceptions of Effective Feedback” was presented by Pablo Celis-Castillo, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Elon University. Celis-Castillo mentioned that this project has been going on for several years and is still ongoing. Feedback on written assignments was described as being “an integral part of the learning process” an important for both teachers and students. Citing a study by Elola and Oskoz 2016, Celis-Castillo mentioned that students expect to receive feedback. However, most students “recognize to be more interested in the grade they received for the submitted paper than in the feedback provided by the teacher (Radecky and Swales, 19988). Celis-Castillo had two research questions focusing on feedback strategies on how others can implement the advice. The methods used were to carefully and systematically document the assignments and the feedback provided. Three surveys were used: one at the beginning of the semester, one after returning the first draft, and a third survey after returning the second draft. The surveys were anonymous and asked participants to rank the feedback strategies from most effective to least effective. Celis-Castillo hypothesized that feedback on grammar was the most helpful to improve their writing skills in Spanish. The results of the first survey “somewhat confirmed the hypothesis. Eventually, students focused on other items: content was stressed. Interestingly, the third essay indicated an emphasis on grammar and one-on-one meetings. Celis-Castillo talked about the importance of multi-draft assignments and learner training to communicate with students that each feedback strategy has a purpose. As part of learner training, access to the instructor was mentioned. Celis-Castillo shared a preliminary model with suggestions that included clear and concise instructions for a multi-draft assignment, transparent expectations regarding feedback, and a first draft focusing on content. The number of one-on-one meetings that Celis-Castillo had was impressive: 40+! Even though the topic and subject area was different, the findings provide insights on student perceptions of feedback expectations for written work. I thought that the evolution of student preferences was fascinating. I wonder how much the prompts for the assignment or instructor description influenced this.
