by B. Jean Mandernach
Feedback is one of the most important aspects of the online student learning experience. Assignment feedback is pivotal in correcting conceptual errors, providing guidance, and affirming understanding. Further, as a one-to-one means of instructor-student communication, assignment feedback has the potential to foster engagement, motivation, and student satisfaction with the learning experience. Students consistently report that feedback is one of the most important aspects of a quality learning experience in both the face-to-face (cite) and online classrooms (Steele, Dyer & Mandernach, in press). Yet, despite the importance of feedback, there are ongoing concerns that students fail to utilize instructors’ assignment feedback in a meaningful way (need citation). Underlying this issue is the reality that students cannot benefit from feedback that they don’t read. While the simple act of reading feedback does not imply that the feedback will be utilized, failure to read the feedback does ensure that it will have no impact. The purpose of this study is to gain a fundamental understanding of the rate at which students view instructor assignment feedback posted in the learning management system gradebook. An understanding of students’ viewing of assignment feedback provides insights into instructional strategies, curricular design, and technological interventions that can be implemented to enhance the effectiveness in which students utilize the feedback provided.
Jean Mandernach, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching at Grand Canyon University. Her research focuses on enhancing student learning in the online classroom through innovative instructional and assessment strategies.