Offering Timely, Substantive, and Constructive Feedback
By: Amanda Campbell, MA
University of West Georgia
An instructor’s work is not complete after posting the assignment. The crucial work of grading student submissions and offering substantive and constructive feedback remains. In approaching the task of grading, it is wise to carefully review the assignment and the criteria for success. Not only will this re-attune you to the expectations stated in the assignment, but also it will make it easier to identify ways in which the assignment could be revised for improved clarity. For instance, if several students misinterpreted a particular part of the assignment, you should consider revising it. The temptation simply to give students a grade without feedback is real. However, taking time to carefully assess assignments and articulate a substantive response to student work is an important part of online teaching. When students do not receive substantive feedback, they might assume that the instructor has not even read their work. This can be discouraging to students who have exerted great effort to complete an assignment. Rabidoux and Rottman (2017) say, “Meaningful feedback on assignments enhances critical thinking, reflective practice, and develops instructor-student relationships which is important in an online environment. While feedback fosters reflection, correction and performance extension, it also increases student motivation as they feel the instructor is interested in their success” (para. 1). Feedback can also help students a growth mindset as discussed in the Start Here module. Letting students know that you are reading their work and are dedicated to helping them learn fosters engagement and growth.
So How Do We Offer Timely and Substantive Feedback?
Offering substantive feedback is time-consuming and taxing work. I once had a mentor who said, “I teach for free; they pay me to grade.” Indeed, anyone whose teaching involves grading student writing will tell you that the hard part of the job is definitely the grading. In online classes, written discussions often replace oral discussions, so courses that might not typically involve a lot of writing have a more substantial written component. While there is no magic wand that will make the process of offering feedback easier, there are ways to streamline the process.
Rubics
Fillable rubrics can save time and are good for helping students understand both the overall expectations of the assignment and how well they met those expectations. Using rubrics not only helps students understand how their work meets a certain criterion but also it helps the instructor maintain consistency and fairness in grading. Rubrics that are built in your Learning Management System (LMS) or Turnitin are easy to use: The instructor merely selects the appropriate level for each criterion, and the rubric calculates the final grade.
Consider Varying the Format of Your Feedback
Aside from offering written feedback in the gradebook, you might consider leaving audio or video feedback. Here are some tools that you can use to accomplish that:
In GoView, for assignments (but not discussions), instructors can record their feedback by clicking the Record Audio button below the Feedback box. (Provide Screenshot with button circled).
Vocaroo allows instructors to provide verbal feedback through an audio podcast. For example, Vocaroo allows instructors to record comments concerning the student’s submission in an audio podcast format, and then place the recording link for playback with the assigned grade.
SnagIt allows instructors to combine screen capturing and verbal feedback in a video format. There are several ways online instructors can utilize this program to provide feedback to students. For example, Jing allows instructors to screen capture students’ submissions and provide verbal feedback. Instructors can also screen capture written feedback and provide additional verbal feedback that elaborates on the written comments. Once the feedback is completed, a feedback video link is provided to students with their assigned grades.
One of our favorite tools to use is VoiceThread, which allows instructors and students to provide written, verbal, and/or video feedback in a presentation format. Peer feedback also heightens social presence in online environments because it provides an inclusive atmosphere where students are more apt to openly share and support one another.
Beyond the Rubric
While a rubric is certainly helpful, a personalized message to the student helps strengthen the student-instructor rapport. When constructing feedback, consider creating a template based on the assignment that can be tailored for individual students. For instance, if the assignment calls for the students to complete the following tasks:
Write a thesis-driven essay with structured and organized body paragraphs
Include textual evidence to support and illustrate your claims
Adhere to APA guidelines, then the instructor could compose a standard response to student work that addresses those points.
In tailoring the message, it is helpful to pull up your feedback on a student’s prior work. This will help you make note of improvements and growth, which can be very encouraging to the student, especially if there is not a significant improvement in the student’s grade.
Consider Varying the Format of Your Feedback
Conclusion
Leaving meaningful feedback helps create a sense of community by connecting the student to the instructor: “Many students have mentioned to us that online courses can be intimidating because of the isolated nature that often comes with online classes. Recently, students in our online courses completed reflections concerning learning in an online environment. A common theme within the reflections was the feeling of being connected to a community because they had the comradery of their peers combined with the support of their instructor. They specifically attributed this feeling to the meaningful feedback provided throughout the course” (Rabidoux and Rottman, 2017, para. 11).