Exploring impacts on students as givers of teaching feedback

Abstract

Purpose Feedback is usually given for the primary benefit of the feedback recipient and often involves the unidirectional delivery of information. The purpose of this paper is to reverse this emphasis and examines the impacts on students of giving feedback to staff as an ongoing dialogue in the delivery of a teaching unit. Design/methodology/approach This novel study uses surveys and focus groups for an in-depth case study of the impact of students giving feedback to staff. It examines different aspects of students’ experiences related to their sense of being supported and valued, together with issues of relevance, timeliness and the actionability of feedback. Findings Results show that the regular giving of feedback by students and their subsequent academic actions can help increase students’ sense of being supported and valued. The strongest correlations occurred between the responses of those who felt valued and supported and their perception that their own feedback was acted upon during the semester. There is also some evidence suggesting that students felt valued when observing that other students’ feedback was acted upon either immediately or in the future. Research limitations/implications The single case study approach to this research means that only one cohort of students was tested. Research on further cohorts would help to validate the findings. Practical implications This study could have implications for teaching quality and practice in better directing, communicating, engaging and following up on student feedback. Originality/value Whilst the benefit to the staff of student feedback is well documented, there is little evidence documenting benefits to students. This study addresses this gap in existing research.

Thanks for the feedback: Reconnecting students with educators using a metacommunication feedback tool

“…It can assist educators understand the learning experiences of students, evaluate student reactions to current learning content and activities, and improve course design and delivery (Marsh, 2007). While there are some concerns that students are over-surveyed, studies have shown that providing regular feedback gives students an increased sense of being supported and valued (Lane & Meth, 2021).…”

Assessing Teacher Competencies in Higher Education: A Sentiment Analysis of Student Feedback

“…Academic institutions have always aimed to collect and take their students' views into account, in an effort to improve their teaching and curriculums [9,10]. Flodé n [11], with thorough research, focuses on student feedback and its positive acceptance from university teachers, emphasizing that both positive and negative student feedback are equally valuable to their teachers.…”