Learners’ Understanding and Preferences of Feedback

Institut für Informatik und Wirtschaftsinformatik (ICB)

Learner’s Perceptions of Feedback: A Study across Five Countries

eLearn 2012, Montreal Thomas Richter

Picture: Winding-tower, Essen

Pictures: University of Duisburg Essen

Learners‘ Perceptions of Feedback: A Study across Five Countries

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Open Discovery Space: European project as example for specific research situation

n  started April 2012, http://www.opendiscoveryspace.eu/ n  51 partners, 20 European countries, 14,3 Mio € budget n  Objective: Build up a Meta-OER-Portal for European Schools

o  transparently connecting 1.5 Mio open learning resources o  penetrate > 1% of all European schools o  motivate teachers and students to use the resources in their daily school work o  & support building local and international communities

How to ensure that courses in selected repositories that originally were designed for national contexts also are appropriate for

international contexts?


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Previous Research: Obstacles in using learning contents from other contexts (OER) 1.  OPAL Project (EC funded LLP): International survey on Open

Educational Practices (500 samples) – Success factors and obstacles (online survey)1 o  Findings: One of the major challenges to adapt contents from other

(foreign) contexts is the missing awareness on possible (cultural) conflicting potential

2.  Investigation on German school teachers on special challenges related to the use of OER (group-interviews)2 o  Findings: German teachers almost exclusively use German learning

contents because they are not aware on how to determine cultural adaptation needs and thus, they fear to cause conflicts

3.  Study with e-Learning professionals in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on special skills, learners need for e-Learning3 o  Findings: Self-motivation revealed being the most impacting ability

and motivation the core success-factor

1. Andrade, A., et al. (2011). Beyond OER – Shifting Focus to Open Educational Practices: OPAL Report 2011. Due-Publico, Essen. 2. Richter, T., & Ehlers, U.D. (2011). Barriers and Motivators for Using Open Educational Resources in Schools. eLearning Papers, No. 23, March 2011. 3. Richter, T. & Adelsberger, H.H. (2011). E-Learning: Education for Everyone? Special Requirements on Learners in Internet-based Learning Environments. In: T. Bastiaens & M. Ebner (Eds.), Proceedings of the World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hyper-media and Telecommunications 2011, (Lisbon, Portugal), Chesapeake, VA: AACE, pp. 1598-1604


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Open Questions …

What can educators do to foster the learners in online-scenarios to keep their motivation on the

necessary high level?

We at least can give feedback!

Consideration: If I know my local students, I can give them proper feedback, but … aren’t as well the demand for feedback as also the expected/required method/context culturally different? How to do it properly?


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Feedback – Can it be wrong?

n  International distribution of learning resources meets national and thus, cultural borders

n  The consensus regarding “culture research” is that the concept of errors and the relationship to authorities have a cultural background1 … but what about perceptions of feedback?

n  Does the concept of errors in a society allow deducing if, how, and when learners want to receive feedback?

n  Investigated Culture-related aspects of Feedback: (various sources) o  When to give feedback (point of time?) o  Scope (item- or task-related?) o  Situation to give feedback (in group situations or individually?) o  Transmission code (explicit or implicit?)

-  Form (just evaluation? tell what’s wrong? How to do it better?) o  Is laud actually considered being motivating? o  Is critique motivating or discouraging? o  How about not providing any feedback?

1. Hofstede, G., Hofstede G. J. (2005). Cultures and Organizations. Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for Survival. USA, revised and expanded 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill Publishers.


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Survey Questions (Feedback)

1.  When to give feedback? o  Directly when mistake found o  At the end of the task

2.  Scope/Situation o  Item related o  Task related o  Directly in group

3.  Transmission code o  Clearly point on errors o  Show how to do it better o  Just fair evaluation o  Show errors and explain why o  Point on errors but don’t explain why o  Show errors, explain why, and how to do it better

4.  Laud effects my motivation o  Positive o  Negative

5.  Critique effects my motivation o  Positive o  Negative

6.  I feel confused if there is no feedback


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Survey Settings

n  Survey with university students from Bulgaria, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, Ukraine: July 2010-May 2012

n  Questionnaire using 4 point Likert-scale n  Only fully (100%) completed questionnaires were evaluated n  Settings per country:

o  Bulgarian students: online survey; language Bulgarian; link distributed through local students’ associations; 30 evaluated sample elements; response-rate unknown

o  German students (in-depth study): online survey; language German; full investigation in 3 universities; 1817 evaluated sample elements; response rate: 2-5%

o  South Korean students (broad study): paper survey; random path algorithm for choice of sample-elements; students from 39 universities in and around Seoul; 286 evaluated sample elements; non-response rate 50%

o  Turkish students: online survey; language Bulgarian; link distributed through local students’ associations; 40 evaluated sample elements; response-rate unknown

o  Ukrainian students: online survey; language Bulgarian; link distributed through local students’ associations; 53 evaluated sample elements; response-rate unknown


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Survey Results

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Displayed here: % positive answers (fully agree & agree); No significant differences between male and female students were found.


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Findings

n  Amazingly little differences have been found between the national contexts.

n  In all contexts, laud as well as critique have positive effects on the motivation of the questioned students. In general, students in both contexts are irritated if not receiving any feedback.

n  Students in all contexts expect and want to receive qualified feedback. Just pointing on errors or evaluating is not enough: The students in all contexts like to receive explanations on what the mistake is like and how to do it better.

n  Feedback should individually be given in the Korean and Bulgarian contexts. In Germany and Turkey, receiving feedback in the group-context seems to provide little conflicts.

n  German, Bulgarian, and Turkish students prefer item-related feedback while Korean and Ukrainian students rather like to receive task related feedback. Turkish students prefer feedback after a task is finalized while all others prefer it directly when the mistake gets obvious.


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Are there any questions?

(Feel free to contact me via e-Mail)

contact: [email protected]