Teacher online feedback to students is an integral aspect of teaching/learning. In this presentation, researchers share study results of student perceptions about teacher online feedback in higher education. The researchers explain student perceptions, preferred feedback format, support for teacher social presence, research appraisals, and Scholarship of Teaching and Learning implications.
Introduction of Topic and Background: Feedback from teachers to students in higher education is a core feature of the student educational experience. Effective formative and summative teacher online feedback enhances the development of students. Well-crafted and valuable feedback can make a lasting impression on the development of a student. Student perspectives about teacher online feedback inform educators about best teaching practices from the student viewpoint.
Research Objective: The objective of the present research study aims to explore student perceptions of teacher online feedback in higher education.
The Research Questions were:
1). What are student perceptions of teacher online feedback to students in higher education?
2). What are student perceptions of typed, handwritten, audio, and video feedback in higher education?
3). What are student perceptions related to feedback about teacher online social presence in higher education?
4). What are the qualities of the study methods and designs in the integrative review?
Study Design: The research design was an integrative review of evidence about teacher online feedback using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines adjusted for integrative reviews.
Data Sources: Seven research databases, Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, Education, Education Research Complete, ERIC, OVID, and ProQuest, were searched for the latest research about teacher online feedback from 2014 to 2020.
Study Eligibility Criteria Process: After three rounds of article reviews were conducted by applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria; the researchers chose 12 articles for deep analysis and evaluation.
Results: Specific teacher behaviors, such as timely, detailed, and clear online feedback, were consistent. Some students reported a lack of understanding that they should use feedback to improve future performance. A variety of student preferences were related to the format (written, typed, audio, video). Support for the theoretical framework of Community of Inquiry and conceptual framework of teacher online social presence was present in the research findings. A higher rigor of further research with designs that include control and intervention groups will allow for causality. Larger research sample sizes would improve rigor.
Conclusions: Consistently, students reported that they prefer timely, detailed, and clear online feedback from teachers. A variance of the preferred feedback format was present from the student's perspective. The study findings support teacher social presence in the online courseroom and Community of Inquiry framework. Increased research rigor, including experimental designs in the future, is warranted to examine causality. Larger sample sizes would improve confidence in study findings.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Implications: Providing online feedback to students is a complex and advanced skill for online teachers to develop. The researchers recommend framing feedback with comments such as "Please use this feedback to help you improve for the next paper and beyond!" Teachers may also include specific details, such as "Please use this feedback to help improve ____ (fill in the area to improve) for your next assignment." SoTL implications include asking students what format of online feedback (written, typed, audio, video) they prefer. Interacting with students in the online courseroom by announcements, videos, helpful tips about muddy areas, intelligent agent emails, and the discussion forum are ways to promote teacher online social presence. Online educators can use the evidence findings to inform their practice of providing timely, clear, detailed, and supportive feedback framed to help students improve their performance. Empirically-based knowledge of student perceptions about online teacher feedback in higher education is critical for application by faculty to advance the scholarship of teaching and learning.