Integrating Constructive Feedback in Personalised E-Learning
Jude T. Lubega1 and Shirley Williams2
1
Makerere University, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda, East Africa jlubeg@cit.mak.ac.ug 2 Department of Computer Science, University of Reading, P.O. Box 225, Whiteknights, Reading, Berkshire, RG6 6AY, United Kingdom shirley.williams@reading.ac.uk
Abstract. When using e-learning material some students progress readily, others have difficulties. In a traditional classroom the teacher would identify those with difficulties and direct them to additional resources. This support is not easily available within e-learning. A new approach to providing constructive feedback is developed that
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The constructive feedback depends on the tracked information from individual interactions with the learning activities.
2 E-Learning Process
E-learning is a process of knowledge construction that involves stakeholders participating in several online activities such as content authoring, assessment and collaboration. They participate in the different activities so that they can achieve their learning goals. As Constructivism states, learners play an active role and take on responsibility to construct their own knowledge and meaning [10, 11, 12]. This active role is clearly witnessed in e-learning environments which are designed to offer personalised learning process. A personalised learning process is one where learners use LMS to interact with learning content designed to suit their own learning styles with the aim of achieving new knowledge. These LMS are currently trying to cope with the paradigm shift from teacher-centred to learner-centred. In learner-centred learning, learners construct knowledge through inquiry, communication and creative thinking. They use different learning styles to make their own judgement hence making meaning out of the learning process. The different ways by which information is presented to the learners affects how they act on it. The individual learner’s actions become the basis of what feedback should be generated for them. The seven principles of good practice [13] act as a benchmark for guiding e-learning
It is always my aim to ensure that feedback is timely and given in a constructive and sensitive manner; and my approach can sometimes be influenced by what I have learned during initial assessment; and as I develop relationships with the learner. I have recently made efforts to encourage my learners to reflect and to self-assess their performance. I feel that this helps to pave the way for me to feedback to the individual and to reduce the risk of de-motivating them.
There are many kinds of feedback forms, and it is always wise to have several in a trainer’s tool kit. Within the authors sector the courses are primarily one day events, feedback questionnaires are usually presented at the end of the session. These are usually generic, and do not always meet the needs of the learners or given course. To achieve qualitative data the author tailors the questionnaires to the session, with predominantly open style questions, demanding a full response. As apposed to closed questions with yes/no answers, which usually achieves only quantative data. Feedback must be recorded and filed for quality assurance purposes, further action, planning, audit trails and management review. Feedback can help the trainer to evaluate their courses and learners.
Learners should be given the opportunity to provide feedback throughout the course, this is necessary in order to evaluate teaching. Feedback from learners can be obtained informally as a group discussion or individually. Daines advises (2006:29) “People do expect feedback about what they are doing. Constructive feedback tells them that they are on the right lines, working to an appropriate standard and provides them with ideas on how to improve and develop. It is, motivating and confirms that what’s being
This can show vocabulary words that they have learned, concepts they have mastered, or subjects that they have studied. The teacher can refer back to these lists regularly to reinforce new concepts and build on old ideas. Specific feedback can be integrated into classroom discussions or on student papers, explaining problems or elaborating further on an idea that the student has learned. Immediate feedback can be critical because it can alter the course of the student’s thinking before they become more confused. The teacher who is observant can correct misinformation or misconceptions quickly to avoid further problems in the student’s learning process. This can be a result of classroom discussions, question and answer sessions, and call and response methods. All forms of feedback have benefits and when used together can create a cohesive picture of the student’s abilities and success. Instructional feedback for students can have several benefits ranging from motivating the student to achieve more to helping them develop more refined metacognition and also possibly giving the student a sense of control over their own educational success (Malley, 1994).
Student engagement is a great part of the learning process in online courses. The professor can aide in active student participation by providing timely feedback and learner expectations. Online discussions often fall flat- are shallow, superficial, fail to engage students and result in frustration —for students and the course instructor (Wang & Chen, 2008).
This section of the encyclopedia talks about what students and teachers can contribute to online learning environment. It talks about who the average online learner is and the online relationship between the student and the teacher, and the student and their peers. Above all the author stresses that thinking differently is important to make online education work.
If the feedback is questionable then it becomes useless because it is not trusted. Positive and negative feedback will be more readily accepted if it is kept even, if it is more of one then it may not be received well by the learner for reasons that become obvious within the learner’s behavior or work.
A key issue to address would be to evaluate both teachers and students on their capacity to participate in online distance education (Lackey, 2011; American School Board Journal, 2005). Looking at Simonson’s Equivalency Theory it could be used as a gage in the creation of authentic learning situations for the learner.” Education at a distance should be built on the concept of equivalency of learning experiences. The more equivalent the learning experiences of distant learners are to those of local learners, the more equivalent will be the outcomes of the educational experiences for all learners” (Simonson, 1995). The objective would be for the instructional designer of the distance education course to provide an appropriate, equivalent learning experience for each
Feedback is a vital part of the assessment process as it gives the assessor an idea of if the learner has met the criteria set and if they haven’t, what action is needed to achieve the criteria.
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Engineering
Naturalistic inquiry from the theoretical perspective is anchored on three (3) key aspects of research: "(1) the relationship of the researcher to that being researched; (2) the role of values in a study; and (3) process of research" (5). The author ensured that when applied in her study of e-Learning, these aspects were achieved from a research methodology standpoint. The author conducted participant-observation and interviews that helped establish a relationship between the researcher and the researched, which are the students who participated in the e-Learning case studies. Values were also respected as the author took an active role in asking for consent to become a participant-observer in the e-Learning class (on-campus) group. Further, the author also conducted review and feedback meetings with the e-Learning students / research
Due March 2, 2007 Submitted by: SUDEEPTHI MOGALLA DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERISTY Email: smogall@ncsu.edu
Part of perfecting instruction is to obtain feedback from peers. Using the online environment, I will be able to complete assignments
Department Of Computer Engineering, PVG’s College of Engineering and Technology, SavitribaiPhule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra, India
The pupils who participated in the case study were between the ages of 5-16 years. The students were from lower primary school including kindergarten – to the first grade, and the rest were from a high school in the Miami-Dade County public schools. Most of the students were from middle-class families and a small portion from well-up families. The learning profiles of the pupils who used the traditional learning methods reflected poor performance as compared to those who had used the e-learning