A quest for helpful feedback to programming coursework

Shun Ha Sylvia Wong; Anthony J. Beaumont

A quest for helpful feedback to programming coursework

Shun Ha Sylvia Wong
, Anthony J. Beaumont

Research output: Chapter in Book/Published conference output › Conference publication

1 Citation (Scopus)

130 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The 2011 National Student Survey (NSS) revealed that 40% of full-time students in England did not think that the feedback on their work has been helpful, even though 66% of these students agreed that the feedback was detailed and 62% of them agreed that the feedback has been prompt. Detailed feedback that is not considered helpful by students means a waste of tutors' time while students continue to struggle with their learning.
What do students consider as helpful feedback? What are the qualities of helpful feedback? What are the preferred forms of feedback? How should tutors write feedback so that students will find it helpful? Can ICT help to improve the quality of feedback?
In our ongoing search for answers to the above questions, we have trialled the use of a novel Internet application, called eCAF, to assess programming coursework from Engineering, Mathematics and Computing students and have collected their views on the feedback received through a survey. The survey reveals that most students prefer electronic feedback as given through eCAF, with verbal feedback ranked second and hand-written feedback ranked even lower. The survey also indicates that the feedback from some tutors is considered more helpful than others. We report on the detailed findings of the survey. By comparing the kinds of feedback given by each tutor who took part in the trial, we explore ways to improve the helpfulness of feedback on programming coursework in a bid to promote learning amongst engineering students.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Conference proceedings for EE2012
Subtitle of host publication	innovation, practice and research in engineering education
Publisher	Higher Education Academy
Number of pages	11
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-907632-16-7
Publication status	Published - 2012
Event	International conference on innovation, practice and research in Engineering Education - Coventry, United Kingdom Duration: 18 Sept 2012 → 20 Sept 2012

Conference

Conference	International conference on innovation, practice and research in Engineering Education
Abbreviated title	EE 2012
Country/Territory	United Kingdom
City	Coventry
Period	18/09/12 → 20/09/12

Bibliographical note

Keywords

feedback
assessment
programming coursework
NSS
ICT
Virtual Learning Environment

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A quest for helpful feedback to programming coursework
Copyright © September 2012, authors as listed at the start of this paper. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)
Final published version, 125 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

http://cede.lboro.ac.uk/ee2012/papers/ee2012_submission_152_gp.pdf

Cite this

@inproceedings{58d20b88332b45ec82cd4a618591e49d,

title = "A quest for helpful feedback to programming coursework",

abstract = "The 2011 National Student Survey (NSS) revealed that 40\% of full-time students in England did not think that the feedback on their work has been helpful, even though 66\% of these students agreed that the feedback was detailed and 62\% of them agreed that the feedback has been prompt. Detailed feedback that is not considered helpful by students means a waste of tutors' time while students continue to struggle with their learning. What do students consider as helpful feedback? What are the qualities of helpful feedback? What are the preferred forms of feedback? How should tutors write feedback so that students will find it helpful? Can ICT help to improve the quality of feedback? In our ongoing search for answers to the above questions, we have trialled the use of a novel Internet application, called eCAF, to assess programming coursework from Engineering, Mathematics and Computing students and have collected their views on the feedback received through a survey. The survey reveals that most students prefer electronic feedback as given through eCAF, with verbal feedback ranked second and hand-written feedback ranked even lower. The survey also indicates that the feedback from some tutors is considered more helpful than others. We report on the detailed findings of the survey. By comparing the kinds of feedback given by each tutor who took part in the trial, we explore ways to improve the helpfulness of feedback on programming coursework in a bid to promote learning amongst engineering students.",

keywords = "feedback, assessment, programming coursework, NSS, ICT, Virtual Learning Environment",

author = "Wong, \{Shun Ha Sylvia\} and Beaumont, \{Anthony J.\}",

note = "Copyright {\textcopyright} September 2012, authors as listed at the start of this paper. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0); International conference on innovation, practice and research in Engineering Education, EE 2012 ; Conference date: 18-09-2012 Through 20-09-2012",

year = "2012",

language = "English",

booktitle = "Conference proceedings for EE2012",

publisher = "Higher Education Academy",

address = "United Kingdom",

}

Wong, SHS & Beaumont, AJ 2012, A quest for helpful feedback to programming coursework. in Conference proceedings for EE2012: innovation, practice and research in engineering education., GP152/abs084, Higher Education Academy, International conference on innovation, practice and research in Engineering Education, Coventry, United Kingdom, 18/09/12. <http://cede.lboro.ac.uk/ee2012/papers/ee2012_submission_152_gp.pdf>

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AU - Wong, Shun Ha Sylvia

AU - Beaumont, Anthony J.

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - The 2011 National Student Survey (NSS) revealed that 40% of full-time students in England did not think that the feedback on their work has been helpful, even though 66% of these students agreed that the feedback was detailed and 62% of them agreed that the feedback has been prompt. Detailed feedback that is not considered helpful by students means a waste of tutors' time while students continue to struggle with their learning. What do students consider as helpful feedback? What are the qualities of helpful feedback? What are the preferred forms of feedback? How should tutors write feedback so that students will find it helpful? Can ICT help to improve the quality of feedback? In our ongoing search for answers to the above questions, we have trialled the use of a novel Internet application, called eCAF, to assess programming coursework from Engineering, Mathematics and Computing students and have collected their views on the feedback received through a survey. The survey reveals that most students prefer electronic feedback as given through eCAF, with verbal feedback ranked second and hand-written feedback ranked even lower. The survey also indicates that the feedback from some tutors is considered more helpful than others. We report on the detailed findings of the survey. By comparing the kinds of feedback given by each tutor who took part in the trial, we explore ways to improve the helpfulness of feedback on programming coursework in a bid to promote learning amongst engineering students.

AB - The 2011 National Student Survey (NSS) revealed that 40% of full-time students in England did not think that the feedback on their work has been helpful, even though 66% of these students agreed that the feedback was detailed and 62% of them agreed that the feedback has been prompt. Detailed feedback that is not considered helpful by students means a waste of tutors' time while students continue to struggle with their learning. What do students consider as helpful feedback? What are the qualities of helpful feedback? What are the preferred forms of feedback? How should tutors write feedback so that students will find it helpful? Can ICT help to improve the quality of feedback? In our ongoing search for answers to the above questions, we have trialled the use of a novel Internet application, called eCAF, to assess programming coursework from Engineering, Mathematics and Computing students and have collected their views on the feedback received through a survey. The survey reveals that most students prefer electronic feedback as given through eCAF, with verbal feedback ranked second and hand-written feedback ranked even lower. The survey also indicates that the feedback from some tutors is considered more helpful than others. We report on the detailed findings of the survey. By comparing the kinds of feedback given by each tutor who took part in the trial, we explore ways to improve the helpfulness of feedback on programming coursework in a bid to promote learning amongst engineering students.

KW - feedback

KW - assessment

KW - programming coursework

KW - NSS

KW - ICT

KW - Virtual Learning Environment

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M3 - Conference publication

BT - Conference proceedings for EE2012

PB - Higher Education Academy

T2 - International conference on innovation, practice and research in Engineering Education

Y2 - 18 September 2012 through 20 September 2012

ER -

A quest for helpful feedback to programming coursework

Abstract

Conference

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

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