Now What? (Education and Technology in a Post COVID World)

“Dear Friend, I thought your point about Case Study A was spot on. You did a great job of synthesizing your thoughts and opinions on this topic, and I agree with you about how important this concept is. I, too, found the reading this week to be valuable and thought-provoking. Thank you for sharing! Keep up the good work!”

Feedback. The dreaded requirement for online students and instructors alike that often results in canned discussion posts like the one above. I confess that I too am guilty of posts like these. It seems that writing feedback—particularly in online classes’ discussion boards—is a ‘Wild West’ of pedagogy where anything goes as long as a box is checked that the student posted something. Or so I thought.

Ertmer et al. (2007) make a compelling case for the importance of both peer and instructor feedback with their research, even going so far as to state “both instructors and researchers agree that this where real learning takes place” (p. 412). They go on to investigate the role that feedback plays in ‘the co-construction of knowledge,’ making my constructivist heart beat just a little bit faster.

Ertmer et al. (2007) go on to explain that “instructional feedback provides students with information that either confirms what they already know or changes their existing knowledge and beliefs” (p. 413). In fact, good feedback has the power to clarify what successful completion of the assignment might look like, help foster reflection and assessment of one’s own work, motivate the beginning of dialogue between a student and their instructor, and even inspire higher self esteem in the student. Without good feedback, students in online courses are likely to lose motivation or even withdraw from the course (Ertmer et al., 2007, p. 414).

Interestingly, Ertmer et al. (2007) also cite other authors who champion the use of feedback for “improving the skills needed for the construction of end products more than on the end products themselves,” all the while acknowledging that timely and helpful feedback from the course instructor is likely to burden them with more work than is feasible (p. 414).  

The solution? Peer feedback. This allows for timely feedback and also helps to build a sense of community among the students online (Ertmer et al., 2007). In addition, the authors note that it can also benefit the student giving the feedback by helping them formulate their thoughts on the content, as well as evaluate their own work compared to their classmates’ work (p. 415).

In an effort to measure all of this, Ertmer et al. (2007) designed a study to explore some of the facets of feedback when it comes to online learners.

Specifically, Ertmer et al. (2007) purported to ask:

“RQ1: What is the impact of peer feedback on the quality of students’ postings in an online environment? Can the quality of discourse/learning be maintained and/or increased through the use of peer feedback?

RQ2: What are students’ perceptions of the value of receiving peer feedback? How do these perceptions compare to the perceived value of receiving instructor feedback?

RQ3: What are students’ perceptions of the value of giving peer feedback?” (p. 416).

Ertmer et al. (2007) used Bloom’s Taxonomy as the basis for their measurement/scoring rubric. Participants were non-traditional students in a course asked to provide feedback and a score, grading their classmates’ discussion posts. Both quantitative data and qualitative data was gathered, including surveys and interviews with participants.

The results? Students appear to find instructor feedback more valuable but think that feedback from peers is important as well. Students also confessed that part of their reaction to the study was out of concern for receiving a lower grade from a peer who was not an expert in the subject at hand (Ertmer et al., 2007).

I really appreciated the authors of this study taking such great care to lay out the details of the study so carefully, including the conceptual framework, the theories behind feedback and motivation, and how the research design came together. I also appreciated that Ertmer et al. (2007) took time to examine the study’s potential weaknesses and how certain design elements may have impacted the study results. Ertmer et al. (2007) conclude with what they believe should be the next steps in studying feedback.

So, running the risk of sounding like a canned discussion board feedback post, “I thought their points were spot on. They did a great job of synthesizing their thoughts and opinions on this topic, and I agree with them about how important this concept is. I, too, found the concepts discussed to be valuable and thought-provoking. Thank you for sharing, Ertmer et al.! Keep up the good work!”

‘Til next time…

Ertmer, Richardson, J. C., Belland, B., Camin, D., Connolly, P., Coulthard, G., Lei, K., & Mong, C. (2007). Using Peer Feedback to Enhance the Quality of Student Online Postings: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(2), 412–433. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00331.x