The

 Benefits  of  Providing  Feedback  to  Students  

Julie  Fuller,  Instructional  Designer  
 
One  of  the  most  important  elements  in  any  course  is  providing  students  with  
formative  and  summative  feedback  about  their  performance  and  progress.  
Consistent,  ongoing  and  detailed  feedback  can  have  a  positive  effect  on  student  
success  in  online  courses,  specifically  with  regard  to  increasing  student  self-­‐
confidence,  self-­‐efficacy,  and  self-­‐esteem.  Self-­‐confidence  refers  to  a  student’s  belief  
in  him  or  herself,  while  self-­‐efficacy  refers  to  a  student’s  estimation  that  they  can  
succeed  at  a  specific  task  or  tasks  within  a  given  domain.  According  to  Tina  
Stavredes  in  Effective  Online  Teaching:  Foundations  and  Strategies  for  Student  
Success,  “self-­‐efficacy  influences  the  effort  that  learners  put  forth,  how  long  they  
persist  at  a  task  when  confronted  with  obstacles,  and  how  they  feel  about  the  task”  
(p.  63).  Both  self-­‐confidence  and  self-­‐efficacy  directly  contribute  to  a  student’s  
overall  self-­‐esteem:  “If  students  can  relate  their  effort  with  their  success,  their  self-­‐
esteem  is  positively  affected”  (Chakraborty  &  Nafukho,  2014).  
 
When  creating  feedback  for  students  individually  and  as  a  class,  you  can  build  
student  confidence  by  stressing  effort  over  ability,  as  effort  is  something  within  the  
students’  control  (Stavredes,  2011,  p.  160).  This  is  an  important  concept  in  
providing  supportive  feedback  and  direction,  as  the  feedback  that  is  communicated  
to  students  can  be  either  a  key  motivator  or  discouragement  (Stavredes,  2011,  p.  
160).  Specific,  concise,  and  actionable  feedback  goes  beyond  simply  posting  a  grade  
or  level  of  achievement,  and  instead  offers  students  personalized  strategies  for  
activating  prior  knowledge,  improving  performance,  and/or  maintaining  success.  
 
While  online  learning  can  have  many  advantages,  including  improvements  in  
students’  computer  skills  and  extended  time  for  students  to  think  critically  in  order  
to  apply  knowledge  to  practical  scenarios,  online  learning  also  comes  with  
challenges  (Chakraborty  &  Nafukho,  2014).  One  potential  challenge  of  online  
learning  is  the  reduced  interaction  between  and  among  the  students  and  course  
facilitators  (Chakraborty  &  Nafukho,  2014).  There  are  typically  four  types  of  
interactions  that  take  place  in  both  online  and  face-­‐to-­‐face  courses,  including:  
student  to  instructor  interaction,  student  to  student  interaction,  student  to  content  
interaction,  and  student  to  technology  interaction.  Strategies  for  facilitating  these  
types  of  interactions  vary  within  online  and  face-­‐to-­‐face  courses;  regardless,  these  
types  of  interactions  have  a  significant  impact  on  students’  engagement  in  the  
course  and  with  the  course  content.  Chakraborty  and  Nafukho  (2014)  note  that  the  
“content  and  level  of  interactions  [influence]  learning  climate  positively.”  
 
One  of  the  many  benefits  of  providing  personal  and  detailed  feedback  to  students  in  
online  classes  is  the  ability  to  enhance  and  strengthen  the  student  to  instructor  
interaction  and  relationship.  Students  typically  value  constructive  feedback  from  
their  instructors,  as  the  feedback  can  be  perceived  as  a  means  of  establishing  
interpersonal  and  social  relationships  within  the  course.  This  is  especially  beneficial  
for  students  who  may  be  reluctant  or  uncomfortable  with  approaching  instructors  
who  may  feel  isolated  in  the  online  environment.    
 
Providing  feedback  that  is  timely  and  relevant  is  also  key  for  empowering  students  
to  use  the  feedback  to  not  only  evaluate  their  current  performance,  but  also  to  
incorporate  into  their  future  performance.  Delayed  or  untimely  feedback  can  result  
in  students  not  valuing  the  feedback  process  or  the  feedback  itself.  The  same  can  be  
said  for  offering  students  generic,  impersonal  feedback.  The  investment  of  time  is  
almost  always  a  concern  for  faculty  when  it  comes  to  grading  and  constructing  
feedback  for  students.  Effectively  using  technology  to  assist  and  enhance  the  
feedback  process  can  be  a  successful  time  management  strategy.  In  the  article  
Teaching  Today’s  Online  Students,  Errol  Craig  Sull  (2014)  points  out  that  a  solid  
integration  of  technology  with  the  course  materials  can  keep  students  engaged,  
particularly  if  those  students  are  tech  savvy  and  are  accustomed  to  the  immediacy  of  
technology    
 
Consider  the  formats  in  which  you  offer  feedback  to  students.  While  written  
feedback  is  the  traditional  method  used  by  most  instructors,  it  can  sometimes  be  
time  consuming  and  can  run  the  risk  of  failing  to  make  it  clear  to  students  how  
exactly  to  improve  their  performance  or  shift  their  ways  of  interacting  with  the  
course  materials.  Additional  challenges  for  students  trying  to  decipher  written  
feedback  are  unintentional  vague  statements,  illegible  handwriting,  or  a  lack  of  
cohesion  within  the  feedback.  Written  feedback  can  be  enhanced  or  improved  upon  
by  combining  or  replacing  it  with  audio,  video  or  screencast  feedback.    
 
Recording  audio  feedback  using  a  free,  open-­‐source  recording  tool  like  Audacity  is  
an  easy  way  to  verbally  review  students’  work  as  you  are  grading  it.  The  audio  files  
can  be  exported  to  .mp3  format  and  delivered  to  students  through  the  learning  
management  system.  Audio  feedback  can  assist  students  with  reviewing  their  
performance  on  assessments,  as  the  verbal  cues  and  stresses  in  intonation  help  
point  toward  areas  on  which  students  should  focus.  Merry  and  Orsmond  (2008)  
found  that  “students  appreciated  audio  feedback  because  it  was  perceived  as  being  
of  good  quality,  was  easier  to  understand,  had  more  depth  and  was  more  personal  
that  written  feedback.  Staff  found  audio  feedback  particularly  valuable  to  explain  
complex  ideas…and  consequently  more  [student]  understanding  could  be  gained  
from  the  spoken  word”  (as  cited  in  Crook  et  al.,  2012,  p.  387).  
 
Video  feedback  can  be  equally  as  successful,  as  it  combines  the  voice  inflection  cues  
of  audio  recordings  with  the  ability  for  students  to  see  the  instructor’s  facial  cues  
and  body  language.  Video  feedback  can  easily  be  recorded  directly  in  Blackboard  
then  published  to  YouTube  using  Blackboard’s  Video  Everywhere  tool.  It  should  be  
noted  that  a  best  practice  for  uploading  feedback  videos  to  YouTube  is  to  make  sure  
that  the  videos  are  marked  as  unlisted  so  that  they  cannot  be  searched  for  on  the  
site.  Screencasting  with  video  and  audio  using  programs  like  Screencast-­‐O-­‐Matic  
(free)  or  Camtasia  (license  required)  can  further  enhance  feedback  by  combining  
the  verbal  and  body  language  cues  with  an  on-­‐screen  recording  of  the  student’s  
actual  work,  which  can  be  helpful  for  pointing  toward  areas  of  weakness  and  
strength.  Both  video  and  screencasting  files  can  be  exported  to  .mp4  formats  and  
provided  to  students  through  the  learning  management  system..    
 
In  a  study  on  the  efficiency  of  providing  video  feedback  to  students,  Crook  et  al.  
(2012)  found  that  not  only  did  students  find  video  feedback  to  be  “easy/clear  to  
understand  in  comparison  to  normal  methods  of  feedback…[students]  suggested  
that  the  feedback  was  more  extensive,  informative,  the  key  points  were  better  
emphasized  and  that  it  aided  their  visualization  of  the  task  through  demonstrations  
and/or  diagrams”  (p.  391).  In  this  same  study  it  was  found  that  “in  general,  video  
was  found  to  take  a  similar  amount  of  time  [for  instructors  to  create]  to  other  
methods  of  generic  feedback  provision”  (Crook  et  al,  2012,  p.  390).  It  should  be  
noted  that  for  students  requiring  accommodations,  additional  steps  like  captioning  
or  providing  a  transcript  may  be  needed  to  make  sure  their  audio,  video  or  
screencast  feedback  is  accessible.  
 
This  is  not  to  say  that  audio,  video  or  screencast  feedback  should  replace  written  
feedback,  but  rather  that  these  types  of  feedback  can  enhance  the  overall  feedback  
process  which  directly  impacts  instructor  presence  and  student  performance.  Based  
on  the  assessment  being  evaluated,  one  or  more  types  of  feedback,  including  
written,  audio,  video  and  screencast  feedback,  might  be  utilized  in  order  to  
communicate  which  areas  of  their  performance  students  should  focus  on  or  
prioritize.  
 
Stavredes  (2011)  suggests  that  “ongoing  feedback  can  help  learners  build  
confidence  by  communicating  specifically  what  they  are  doing  well,  as  well  as  how  
they  can  improve  performance.”  Stavredes  advises  that  detailed  feedback  should  
include:  
 
• Specifics  about  areas  of  the  assessment(s)  in  which  the  student  excelled  
• Specifics  about  areas  of  the  assessment(s)  where  the  learner  needs  
improvement  
• Actionable  directives  for  continued  or  improved  performance  
• Positive  reinforcement  (p.  197)  
 
Additionally,  Crook  et  al.  (2011)  suggest  that  the  process  for  generating  detailed  
feedback  aim  to:  
 
• Engage  students  so  that  they  can  make  use  of  the  feedback  
• Make  efficient  use  of  instructor  time  
• Return  feedback  to  students  in  a  timeframe  that  enables  them  to  incorporate  
the  feedback  for  success  in  future  assessments  
 
Regardless  of  the  type  of  feedback  being  provided  to  students,  it  is  important  to  
communicate  the  purpose  of  the  feedback  and  the  process  through  which  it  will  be  
delivered.  This  will  help  provide  direction  to  students  about  how  to  interact  with  
their  individual  feedback  so  that  they  can  get  the  most  out  of  it  while  potentially  
contributing  to  instructor  presence  and  student  self-­‐confidence,  self-­‐efficacy  and  
self-­‐esteem.  If  you  have  further  questions  or  curiosities  about  constructing  and  
delivering  feedback  to  students,  please  contact  CIRT  for  assistance.  
 
 
 
REFERENCES  
 
Chakraborty,  M.,  &  Nafukho,  F.  M.  (2014).  Strengthening  student  engagement:  what  
do  students  want  in  online  courses?.  European  Journal  Of  Training  &  
Development,  38(9),  782-­‐802.  doi:10.1108/EJTD-­‐11-­‐2013-­‐0123  
 
 
Crook,  A.,  Mauchline,  A.,  Maw,  S.,  Lawson,  C.,  Drinkwater,  R.,  Lundqvist,  K.,  &  ...  Park,  
J.  (2012).  The  use  of  video  technology  for  providing  feedback  to  students:  
Can  it  enhance  the  feedback  experience  for  staff  and  students?.  Computers  &  
Education,  58386-­‐396.  doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.025  
 
 
Stavredes,  T.  (2011).  Effective  online  teaching:  Foundations  and  strategies  for  student  
success.  San  Francisco,  CA:  Jossey-­‐Bass.  
 
Sull,  E.  \(2014).  Teaching  Today's  Online  Students.  Distance  Learning,  11(2),  49-­‐52.