Anastasiya A. Lipnevich Jeffrey K. Smith

1. “I really need feedback to learn:” students’perspectives on the effectiveness of the differential feedback messages Anastasiya A. Lipnevich Jeffrey K. Smith

2. Published • Educational Assessment Evaluation Accountability Journal • Published 2009 • Peer Review Journal

3. Study Purpose Examine Student Perceptions of the effects of different forms of instructional feedback on their: • Performance • Motivation • Emotion (level of satisfaction)

4. Participants • 49 students from an East Coast US university divided into 6 focus groups each with 8-9 students. • Convenience population • Received 5 points for participating • 2 week duration

5. Study Purpose • To understand the effects of grades, praise and source (computer vs. human) of feedback on student’s performance. • To Gain a more comprehensive picture of the student’s responses and interpretations to the feedback

6. The Experiment The Experiment consisted of 6 groups of which students took an essay exam and had a week to revise the essay and resubmit. • Students receiving extensive feedback from the instructor on an essay exam Grade/NoGrade • Students not receiving feedback from the instructor on an essay exam Grade/No Grade • Students receiving feedback on their essay exam from a computer Grade/No Grade

7. Methods Focus groups 40 minutes in length Experimenter was group moderator

8. Questions • How did you react to the feedback? How did you go about the revisions? • Did you trust your feedback? Did you find it accurate? Did you think it was fair and worthwhile? • How did your grade help you? Would have like to know your grade before you began your revisions? • Was the praise helpful? Would have like to receive praise on your performance. • What is your ideal type of feedback?

9. Results – Instructor with Grade • “loved the feedback” • Receiving a grade was discouraging since it was a draft • Students with high grades were less likely to do revisions • Praise was a “buffer for self-efficacy” when receiving poor grades • Ideal feedback: “individualized comments” • Praise enhanced “mood” but not crucial for improvement

10. Instructor feedback – No Grade • Enthusiastic about detailed comments • Comments kept the students focused • Praise not as important as comments

11. Computer feedback with Grade • Grade and detailed feedback was helpful • Want specific feedback and they were surprised the computer could be so sophisticated • Computer viewed as non-judgmental and impersonal which helped them focus on their work and not feel as they were being judged by the instructor • Ideal feedback: “specific comments with a grade and praise” • Students said they’d rather receive feedback from the instructor than a computer.

12. Computer feedback – No Grade • Clear guidelines were appreciated • Praise from the computer has a minimal impact on performance • Only value of grades is to “reduce the amount of work in cases of a high score”

13. No feedback - Grade • Not optimistic • “Freaked out” “Panicked” • Felt helpless “craved instructions” • Not capable of revising the essay • Praise when the grade was not high was not trustworthy

14. No detailed feedback – No Grade • Student reaction was overwhelmingly negative • Students didn’t know what to change in their essays • One thought no feedback meant great work • Those students who were praised on their performance had the highest negative reactions • “I didn’t know how to make it better” • Any feedback better than no feedback

15. Conclusion • Detailed Comments • Grades are obstacles • Computer feedback is unbiased • Unfavorable computer feedback was dismissed by students as invalid • Praise was the least influential type of feedback • Best to provide “detailed neutral comments”