Delivering student feedback in higher education: the role of podcasting.
In the field of music education, feedback is immediate and ongoing. In a one-to-one lesson setting, for example, a student will play a musical selection for the teacher, and the teacher will respond with immediate feedback. The student will replay the passage incorporating the teacher’s feedback, and the teacher will comment again. This cycle continues throughout the lesson. A good example of this interaction is available on this YouTube video. The student and teacher engage in a sort of “assessment dialogue” in which the teacher responds in “real time” to the student’s performance, and the student has the opportunity to make adjustments on the spot. This cyclical interaction not only strengthens the relationship between student and teacher, but it develops the student’s ability to develop a process of learning that can be applied in a practice or performance setting, such as what to think about during certain passages or how to identify problem spots and the appropriate technique for addressing them. In this way, the learning process is organic and continuously evolving. Students always know what is expected, where they stand, and what they need to improve upon. The expectations are driven by the actions and assessment is a natural part of the process.
This type of feedback is ideal, but unlikely, as teachers and students do not always have the opportunity for this type of ongoing interaction, however, this article offers a suggestion for creating a personalized assessment that is comparable to that described above. It is no surprise that studies show greater motivation for learning among students who receive good-quality feedback. Students respond with a more concerted effort for improvement and tend toward habits of reflective and self-regulated learning. If viewed as part of an ongoing process, students learn to adapt their own assessment methods (as in the example of one-to-one private music lessons) that will enhance their learning experience and foster self-confidence. The key to good-quality feedback is dialogue. The idea of a single, written grade on a returned paper leaves a cold, detached feeling in the student. Often times, the grade stands alone with no explanation or rationale. This alienates the student from the teacher, and in some ways from the learning process. Through an ongoing dialogue students and teachers can clarify expectations, revise assignments, and create opportunities for learning beyond assignments. In this way, students and teachers “co-produce” (p. 156) learning. This is an important component not only with regard to feedback, but to the larger spectrum of media literacy, in which the learning community is guided by the strengths and talents of the group as a whole, and not just the teacher.
This article was based on a qualitative study that investigated the effectiveness of a podcast feedback experiment in which students downloaded mp3 files containing feedback from their tutor in relation to an assignment. 75% of the students indicated that the audio feedback had a positive effect on their motivation and encouraged self-reflection. Additionally, students felt the “…level of detail and the personal and unique nature of the audio feedback made the context of the comments very clear” (p. 158). As this was as music assignment asking music students to create their own composition according to a set of rules, students found the specifics of the feedback, including demonstrations from the tutor to be very helpful and something to which they referred back to at a later point in time. Overall, students agreed this was a more effective method of feedback deliver than receiving written grades. This study reinforces the need among students to interact with their teachers about their work, discuss opportunities for improvement, and articulate the specifics of assessment objectives.
Cooper, S. (2008). Delivering student feedback in higher education: the role of podcasting. Journal of Music, Technology and Education. 1(2), 153-165. doi: 10.1386/jmte.1.2 and 3.153/1
The detail you included in your posting here, Jennifer, really demonstrates the untapped but positive potential of audio feedback for students. Although I have never conducted a systematic study of audio feedback in this way, when I have had to use audio to respond to student work, students have responded very favorably, stressing in particular “the friendliness” of the response, which I take to heart as I do know that I tend to write rather formally. In the music field, in particular, I can imagine great potential for this technique, perhaps even to the extent of making the exchange of mp3 files a two way process?
And I do appreciate your title to the post!
I love it – easier for faculty – and feels better to the student. A real voice conveys so much more feeling than a typed comment.
I think it would be good and useful in most grading situations. A technique I would likle to learn. Audio feedback might also be “quicker” for both the grader and the student. I like that they mention that positive, or at least positively constructive feedback, can motiavate students to do well. We forget the power of the positive word sometimes.