L5 1 1

=Students are provided with feedback beyond the marks assigned for assessed work. =

Evidence
Timely, constructive feedback affects students’ participation, performance, and engagement on a course, and learning outcomes (Laurillard, 2002). Feedback can promote positive experiences during online interaction. If instructors provide prompt feedback, participate in discussions, encourage social interaction and employ collaborative learning strategies (McIsaac et al. 1999). Substantive and timely feedback improves online learning participation (Dennen, 2005).

Feedback that learners’ receive from teachers and from other students enables comparison of actual performance with expectations (Mory, 2004).

A lack of immediate feedback from instructors in online discussions allows students to procrastinate in entering their responses or withdraw from the discussion (Mikulecky 1998).

Communication processes that promote learning, rather than technology, are the research focus of Visser and Visser (2005). In the first of two exploratory studies they identified three needs areas: cognitive communication and support; affective, motivational support; and communication strategies to ensure that students maintained involvement in the courses. The research demonstrated the need for more than traditional feedback and conventional encouragement and the quality of teacher communication and the content was found to be important. The second study explored communication issues more extensively and concluded that there were obvious and sometimes ‘critical’ communication shortcomings that fail to meet student expectations regarding ‘the quality of the interaction and the degree of comfort and motivation provided’ (p. 28). Suggestions are made to help address the shortcomings including: providing training and documentation; establishing student expectations and requirements; incorporating communication exercises in introductions to courses; ensuring communication media is used to interact meaningfully; use teaching approaches that are relevant and appropriate to e-learning; ensure that communication creates a shared experience, rather than shares an experience; use language to communicate collaboratively; use concrete elements to formatively assess quality/frequency of communication and students’ perceptions of these (pp. 28-9).

Resources
Evidence of capability in this practice is seen through the use of informal feedback through various communication channels complemented by formal assessment feedback processes such as marking rubrics.

The JISC provides a summary of evidence for good practice in marking and providing feedback. http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/effective-use-of-VLEs/e-assessment/assess-feedback

There is also a guide produced by the Student Enhanced Learning through Effective Feedback project: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/resourcedatabase/id353_senlef_guide.pdf

Rashad et al. (2008) describe an Electronic Assessment System for giving feedback for learning rather than feedback on learning and detail a case study where this automated feedback system was employed in a Java programming course.