Table Of Contents
Giving feedback (1)
Student comments
There was a fairly even balance in the comments on the feedback the students got on their assignments. Students were impressed by the conscientiousness of their lecturers in giving quite detailed feedback on their assignments, and saw it as contributing significantly to the value of the assignments as learning experiences. (And, of course, feedback has a pragmatic value as well....) By the same token, where feedback was inadequate or not provided at all, students felt the lack of it.
They give you written feedback on your assignment, I guess; do you find that helpful?
Yes, quite helpful. It's very important for student if they want to improve their - study technique and skill; it's very important to learn.
— Luke
... actually, from the assignment we could get some idea, because they gave some clear comments about that assignment.
— Keith
So you improved your results by adjusting the way you work?
Yes, definitely. For example, in writing an essay, it is through writing different types of assignments and the feedback I have had on them, this sort of comparison, with regard to essay writing, ... even though they don't seem to be interrelated, in fact there are links between them, and the better it helps you to write.
— Daniel
What about the feedback you got from the lecturer? Did you find that helpful?
Of course I did. If you don't write the way they want, there's no way you can pass.
— Lionel
I would like more more feed back of the assignments because I think not much not many lecturers or tutors would do this. They only give you the mark and that's all.
— Anne
What sort of feedback did you get from the lecturer?
He didn't give me any feedback. Because that assignment wasn't marked by the lecturer. This was that OB course. The lecturer said s/he was too busy, and got a tutor to do the marking; s/he didn't mark any of the answers on that assignment.
You say there was no feedback. Do you mean just for this assignment, or for the whole course, from beginning to end?
Basically, no feedback at all. Up to now we haven't had any feedback.
You didn't contact the lecturer?
I sent an email asking how I could improve my writing, but I didn't get a reply. Perhaps s/he was too busy...
— Jade
I think, because my English language is not as good as the local students, so I need more feedback or practice.
— Lucy
Issues that bothered students were:
- Inconsistent standards or practice
Feedback can be confusing, even upsetting, if it appears inconsistent with earlier feedback given in the same course, particularly if it's not obvious that a different person has done the marking. - Timing
Feedback that came too late in the semester was felt to be of little use. This is particularly problematic if the only assignment for a course is due at or after semester end. - Clarity
More confident students could make up for unclear or overly elliptical feedback by contacting the lecturer directly, in some cases with very satisfactory results; but weaker students tended to blame themselves rather than the marker if they could not understand, and did not have the courage to seek clarification from the lecturer or tutor. - Tone
As one (otherwise appreciative) student noted, "Where we did something wrong, they would tell us. But they didn't comment on what we did well." Another student qualified some of the feedback she got as "aggressive".
Some teachers gave very little feedback – just a note or two at the end, whereas others gave very detailed feedback, correcting every grammar mistake; so even if you think your mark is quite low, at least you feel the marker read it with some attention; because although I knew that what I wrote wasn't very good, still, I had put a lot of effort into it, so you want to feel that the lecturer has read it carefully; and if you get a lot of feedback, that's good. But sometimes you don't really know if the lecturer has read it conscientiously or not, if they only put a couple of comments; and if the marks don't seem to correspond with the comments, you don't feel like being very conscientious yourself in your next assignment for that teacher.
On every assignment I read the feedback very conscientiously; but sometimes I was confused. Because the teachers don't all have the same standards in marking. In the first few assignments there were practically no comments or corrections about language or grammar; but suddenly, in the 4th or 5th, was it even the 6th assignment, suddenly there were lots of grammar corrections! Every paragraph was full of grammar mistakes!
It was quite depressing: in the very last assignment, right before the exam, they write: "You'd better go to see Language and Learning because of your English grammar, so many mistakes. If you don't do that, I think the barrier of English perhaps will hamper your study of Master in the next year." So disappointing, because the first assignment was OK! This was the last one!
— Nova
Download a printable version of this page (.doc ~10Kb)Problems? Questions? Comments? Please provide us feedback.
Do you think the teacher should write more feedback?
No, no, not at all. They're very careful, they put many recommendations and comments on my papers. That's not something a Chinese teacher will do....
— Nana