1020QBT: Benefits and challenges of student feedback

Benefits and Challenges of Students Feedback
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Introduction
In every learning setup, feedback is crucial to both the teacher and the students. For the teachers it can be used to making good of their delivery, as they are in a position to evaluate the rate at which the students are getting to understand the material. The end result of any leaning experience is the ultimate understanding of the new concept integrating it with the already existing knowledge for use in different scenarios. This cannot happen if the students do not understand the material. At this point the feedback mechanism helps the student to give their insight on the favourability of the learning material and the methods that the teacher is applying. In most of the cases the teachers get the feedback through the tests that are taken during or after the course, where they get the chance to assess the performance of the students alongside the material that has been taught in and out od class. The following are some of the researches and reports that have been produced in light of the benefits and the challenges that are experienced with the feedback mechanism, either from the teachers’ perspective or the students’.
Row, A.(2010).The personal dimension in teaching: why students valuefeedback. International Journal of EducationalManagementVol. 25 No. 4, 2011pp. 343-360.DOI 10.1108/09513541111136630.
In this research the author has focused on the feedback from the students’ perspective. In the study the researchers tried to establish the reason as to why there are low ratings on feedback in the Australian higher education institutions. Most of the material that exists according to the authoris related to the feedback that focuses on the teachers, which she uses as the justification of the study.Other than the student feedback questionnaire by Rowe and Wood, the research also applied the use of two open ended questions that requires the student to state why the feedback is important to them and how best to improve the program. The open ended questions made sure that the students gave their genuine response in their own words and perspectives. The study indicated that some of the students preferred that they have an in-depth learning with the teachers while others preferred that they have the bare minimum of the study requirements. Demographics according to the study are not a strong predictor of the results and so is nationality of the students. Most of the feedback mechanisms were also found to be lacking on their attention to the emotions and personal significance. While some of the students may view the poor results from a test as a motivation towards correcting their study methods, other may have a difficult time coming around. These are responses that are rarely considered with reference to the feedback mechanisms used in the higher education institutions.The impacts are highly related to the social implications that the tests have on the students. While some of the students felt that feedback is waste of time, there were some fundamental benefits that were cited by a majority of the students. These include the fact that the feedback is acts as a guide to better grades, it is a learning tool, it is encouraging, it breeds academic interaction with the teachers and other students, it is a sign of respect and care as well as helping the students and the teachers bring down anxiety and provide emotions control.
Omorogiuwa, K. O. (n.d). Benefits and Challenges of Feedback in Formative Assessment of Distance Learners. Retrieved from /url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2F%2Fcontents%2Fconferences%2Fodl2012%2Fdocs%2Fsubmissions%2FODL-036-2010_1_edJBFinal_OmorogiuwaO.pdf&ei=0s2RUoHpGcKI7AbX44C4CA&usg=AFQjCNF8I402kl74wkBSfBWOxiGjL_nPZg&sig2=lNw1qF0FF7uUGsva1EVFuw&bvm=bv.56988011,d.ZGU
According to the author, most of the assessments preferred use of formative platforms other than the summative ones. This trend is fed by the fact that the assessment is supposed to enhance the learning process of the students and the teachers other than the grading protocols.The formative assessment helps the students to easily identify the weaknesses that they may have alongside their strengths. According to the author the study concentrated on the benefits and the challenges that both the students and teachers experience during the assessment process. The study involved two teachers and five students within the higher learning institutions, who had to answer a set of four questions. The questions were centred on the benefits and challenges that the students and the teachers perceived in the feedback mechanisms. According to the study, the formative assessments helped the students to understand the content that was presented to them in class. In addition the students got the chance to receive guidance from the teachers on the various ways in which they can improve their performance. It also showed that the feedback encourages the students to learn.The students also expressed their fears on the fact that the feedback mechanisms tend to scrutinise them, which is uncomfortable. There was also the aspect of having the difficulty in interpreting the results as part of the challenge. According to the teachers, the feedback provided a means to enhance the learning process. However they also cited the fact that it is time consuming and requires high levels of objectivity and scores.
Alison Cook –Sather. (2009). From Traditional Accountability to SharedResponsibility: The Benefitsand Challenges of Student Consultants Gathering MidcourseFeedback in College Classrooms. Retrieved from /url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CEAQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Frepository.brynmawr.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1006%26context%3Dedu_pubs&ei=aMSRUrv5A4aM7QbVoID4DA&usg=AFQjCNHmq3jAdjLEdsVf62hzsl1R3SUK5A&sig2=YOUq7RpRU7xNhpaRfeGVfQ&bvm=bv.56988011,d.ZGU
According to the author the feedback mechanisms at the college levels classes are designed to help improve the reception of the material, pace, organisation and structure among other elements of the learning process that the lecturers have control.According to the author a less obvious shift of the responsibilities in the feedback mechanisms with respect to which party has influence over what part. The author brings to light the premise of the paper with regard to the benefits that can be derived from the feedback mechanisms.According to the author much of the emphasis is given to the end of the semester evaluatio...