Visualizing formative feedback in statistics writing: An exploratory study of student motivation using DocuScope Write & Audit

• Published in: Assessing writing 2024-04, Vol.60, p.100830, Article 100830
• Main Authors: Laudenbach, Michael, Brown, David West, Guo, Zhiyu, Ishizaki, Suguru, Reinhart, Alex, Weinberg, Gordon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE); Formative feedback; Statistics; Writing assessment; Writing in the Disciplines (WID)
• ISSN: 1075-2935; 1873-5916
• DOI: 10.1016/j.asw.2024.100830

Recently, formative feedback in writing instruction has been supported by technologies generally referred to as Automated Writing Evaluation tools. However, such tools are limited in their capacity to explore specific disciplinary genres, and they have shown mixed results in student writing improvement. We explore how technology-enhanced writing interventions can positively affect student attitudes toward and beliefs about writing, both reinforcing content knowledge and increasing student motivation. Using a student-facing text-visualization tool called Write & Audit, we hosted revision workshops for students (n = 30) in an introductory-level statistics course at a large North American University. The tool is designed to be flexible: instructors of various courses can create expectations and predefine topics that are genre-specific. In this way, students are offered non-evaluative formative feedback which redirects them to field-specific strategies. To gauge the usefulness of Write & Audit, we used a previously validated survey instrument designed to measure the construct model of student motivation (Ling et al. 2021). Our results show significant increases in student self-efficacy and beliefs about the importance of content in successful writing. We contextualize these findings with data from three student think-aloud interviews, which demonstrate metacognitive awareness while using the tool. Ultimately, this exploratory study is non-experimental, but it contributes a novel approach to automated formative feedback and confirms the promising potential of Write & Audit. •A new student-facing writing technology, Write & Audit, is introduced.•The tool offers formative feedback for specialized, disciplinary genres.•Our initial implementation of the tool in a statistics workshop shows promising results.•Student participants showed improvements in motivation.•Think-aloud data display the tool’s encouragement of metacognitive reflection.