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Meaningful Feedback in the Online Learning
EnvironmentBy Jenna Linskens
Northcentral UniversityPrescott Valley, AZ
ELT7008-8-6
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Focus Concepts:Definition of Feedback
Importance of Meaningful FeedbackBenefits of Feedback
Strategies for Meaningful FeedbackFinal Thoughts
Definition of Feedback“Feedback is information about how a student has performed in relation to some standard or goal (knowledge of results)” (Nicol and Milligan, 2006, p. 1).
Compared Feedback
Constructivist Theory of Feedback
Constructivism stresses that “meaning is a function of how the individual creates meaning from his or her experiences and actions” (Jonassen, 1991, as cited by Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland, 2005, p.167).
Feedback “creates a point of connection between participants and allows them to look at their ideas in another light” (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p. 179).
Cognitive Theory of Feedback
Cognitive theorists recognize that learning involves “associations established through contiguity and repetition. They also acknowledge the importance of reinforcement, and stress its role in providing feedback about the correctness of the response over its role as a motivator” (Good & Brophy, 1990, as cited by Mergel, 1998, p. 7).
Importance of Meaningful Feedback“Students learn faster and more effectively when they are provided with the feedback of their current performance and what might be needed in order to improve” (Balaji & Chakrabarti, 2010, p. 6).
Results of Feedback
In a Learner-Centered
Environment
Encourages meaningful dialogue
Increases collaboration
Promotes peer and self-evaluation
Builds a sense of community
Prompts reflection
Allows students to summarize, evaluate and construct broader connections
In an Instructor-Led Environment
Provides organized instruction
Enhances the learner’s self control of information processing
Relies on learning strategies to facilitate understanding
Focuses on performance mastery
Supports learning strategies that promote articulation of understanding and reflection on performance
Benefits of Feedback
“The e-moderator has a critical role to play in identifying key issues remaining to be addressed, making explicit ideas or issues that have newly emerged, [and] suggesting paths for further development” (Benfield, 2002, p. 4).
Good Feedback Practice
helps clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards);
facilitates the development of reflection and self-assessment in learning;
delivers high quality information to students about their learning;
encourages teacher and peer dialogue around learning;
encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem;
provides opportunities to close the gap between current and desired
performance;
provides information to teachers that can be used to help shape the teaching.
Strategies for Meaningful Feedback“External feedback should focus on scaffolding students towards greater self-regulation in learning” (Nicol and Milligan, 2006, p. 1).
Best eLearning Practices 4 Prompt Feedback
Video Prompt feedback is attained through: online quizzes, layered responses, online surveys, emails, and chat forums, all completed in a timely manner.
How to improve feedback: escape distractions, be more specific, asking probing questions, using peer evaluations, recycling responses, and increasing 1:1 feedback, managing time better, tagging comments, using chat rooms for more immediate feedback, triaging questions, improving time management skills, and using the cut & paste features.
Instructor’s Role in Feedback
In the Constructivist Theory of Feedback
Facilitator, mentor or coach
Feedback occurs through online discussions with periodic and timely summaries, timely feedback to questions, and written acknowledgment or confirmation, and affirmation to work and participation through praise and reassurance.
In the Cognitive Theory of Feedback
Lecturer
The delivery of curriculum and instruction is the central focus of the course.
Feedback is limited to successful completion and understanding of specific goals often times measured through standardized assessment
Guidelines for Feedback
Plan ahead, don’t make up the feedback
Think first, get your thoughts straight before you type
Make notes, figure out what you want to say
Use short paragraphs, less is more
Make it clear, the reader needs to be able to understand what you are saying
Don’t over quote, and then say “I agree”, summarize the message and add your comment
Don’t just agree (or disagree) with the writer, tell why you feel a certain way and support it with facts
Read through before clicking submit, check for spelling & grammatical errors and that the message is appropriate without being demeaning or insulting
Provide feedback in a timely manner, don’t wait until the end, which can result in feeling rushed and providing less meaningful feedback
Final Thoughts“Detailed instructions provided for completing the activities, regular feedback from the instructor and increased communication among students encourages greater participation” in an online environment (Balaji & Chakrabarti, 2010, p. 16).
The Empowered Learner: A Constructivist View
The more we engage students in self-evaluation, the more meaningful the course.
The more we engage students in collaborative activities and assessments, the longer the learning community will last
The more meaningful the course, the more likely to build lifelong learners
“Learning online is about inclusion, caring, and inquiry. It is a co-constructed learning environment” (Palloff & Pratt, 2005, p. 53).
ReferencesAlley, L.R. & Jansak, K.E. (2001, Winter). The ten keys to quality assurance and assessment in online learning. Journal of Interactive Instruction Development, (13)3, 3-18. Balaji, M.S. & Chakrabarti, D. (2010, Spring). Student interactions in online discussion forum: Empirical research from ‘media richness theory’ perspective. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 9(1), 1-22. Benfield, G. (2002, June 27). Designing and managing effective online discussions. Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development Learning and Teaching Briefing Papers Series. Retrieved from http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsd/2_learntch/briefing_papers/online_discussions.pdf Dabbagh, N. & Bannan-Ritland, B. (2005). Online learning: Concepts, strategies, andapplication. Columbus, OH: Pearson. *Lee, J., Carter-Wells, J., Glaeser, B., Ivers, K., & Street, C. (2006). Facilitating the development of a learning community in an online graduate program. Quarterly Review of Distance Education. (7)1 pp. 13-33. Retrieved from Proquest. Nicol, D.J. & Milligan, C. (2006). Rethinking technology-supported assessment in relation to the seven principals of good feedback practice. Innovative Assessment in Higher Education. London: Taylor and Francis Group Ltd. Palloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Palloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (Ed.) (2007). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Vonderwell, S., Liang, X., & Alderman, K. (2007, Spring). Asynchronous discussions and assessment in online learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 39(3), 309-328. Retrieved from ProQuest.
Winegar, M. & Burns, E. (2012). Best eLearning Practices 4 Prompt Feedback [Video]. Retrieved from YouTube http://youtu.be/TPsaQRYG3d0