Understanding classroom feedback practices: A study of New Zealand student experiences, perceptions, and emotional responses

• Published in: Educational assessment, evaluation and accountability evaluation and accountability, 2014-05, Vol.26 (2), p.107-133
• Main Authors: Harris, Lois R., Brown, Gavin T. L., Harnett, Jennifer A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Assessment; Classroom Techniques; Classrooms; Education; Educational Practices; Educational Strategies; Elementary Secondary Education; Emotional Response; Emotions; Feedback; Feedback (Response); Foreign Countries; Freehand Drawing; Learner Engagement; Learning; Learning Processes; New Zealand; Participant Satisfaction; Peers; Perceptions; Student Attitudes; Student Centered Curriculum; Student Experience; Student Improvement; Student Reaction; Student Surveys; Students; Studies; Teachers; Testing and Evaluation
• ISSN: 1874-8597; 1874-8600
• DOI: 10.1007/s11092-013-9187-5

While feedback is a key factor for improving student learning, little is known about how students understand and experience feedback within the classroom. This study analysed 193 New Zealand primary and secondary students’ survey responses alongside drawings of their understandings and experiences of feedback to examine how they experience, understand, and respond to feedback. It found that despite New Zealand’s strong commitment to student-centred Assessment for Learning practices, the majority of students still drew, selected, and endorsed teacher-led feedback practices, with pictures dominated by written comments or grades. However, they generally depicted and described this feedback as positive and constructive, suggesting that negative emotional responses to evaluative comments and grades may be lessened if students perceive such feedback will help them improve.