What makes for effective feedback: staff and student perspectives

Since the early 2010s the literature has shifted to view feedback as a process that students do where they make sense of information about work they have done, and use it to improve the quality of their subsequent work. In this view, effective feedback needs to demonstrate effects. However, it is unclear if educators and students share this understanding of feedback. This paper reports a qualitative investigation of what educators and students think the purpose of feedback is, and what they think makes feedback effective. We administered a survey on feedback that was completed by 406 staff and 4514 students from two Australian universities. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted on data from a sample of 323 staff with assessment responsibilities and 400 students. Staff and students largely thought the purpose of feedback was improvement. With respect to what makes feedback effective, staff mostly discussed feedback design matters like timing, modalities and connected tasks. In contrast, students mostly wrote that high-quality feedback comments make feedback effective – especially comments that are usable, detailed, considerate of affect and personalised to the student’s own work. This study may assist researchers, educators and academic developers in refocusing their efforts in improving feedbac

Acting upon student voice-based teaching assessment initiatives:an account of participatory action research for teacher professional learning

Numerous nations implement Student Perception Surveys (SPS) in their schools to assess teaching for student learning improvement. However, research suggests no significant change in teachers’ practices following such student voice-based assessment initiatives, noting their struggle to act upon it. Utilizing the pyramid of student voice as a key framework, we investigate how a Participatory Action Research (PAR)-based professional development (PD) shapes a group of Australian secondary teachers’ interaction with SPS and professional learning. Analyses of the teachers’ interviews, research projects, and reflective notes about their use of SPS illustrate how the PAR-based PD informed their practice, specifically: (i) transforming ‘survey fatigue’ to increased student voice; (ii) contemplating personal, professional, and political entanglements; and (iii) (re)building teacher agency—employing SPS as collective learning tools of professional empowerment rather than accountability measures of teaching. Implications include pathways to strengthen teachers’ agency—honoring their professionalism—in assessment spaces increasingly shaped by student voices.</p

How social are social media? A review of online social behaviour and connectedness

The use of social media is rapidly increasing, and one of the major discussions of the 21st century revolvesaround how the use of these applications will impact on the social relationships of users. To contribute tothis discussion, we present a brief narrative review highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of socialmedia use on three key aspects of social connectedness: social capital, sense of community, and loneliness.The results indicate that using social media can increase social capital, lead to the formation of friendshipsand communities, and reduce loneliness. However, some social media site users may experience weakeningfriendships, online ostracism, and heightened loneliness. Therefore, we argue that the use of social mediahas contradictory effects on social connectedness. Moreover, the direction of these outcomes is contingentupon who is using the site and how they are using it. Based on these arguments, possible directions for futureresearch are discussed. It is recommended that discourse be continued relating to the association betweenonline social behaviour and connectedness, as this will enable researchers to establish whether the positiveoutcomes of social media use outweigh the negative

Who gets hooked on Facebook?:An exploratory typology of problematic Facebook users

Scholars have suggested that there are multiple pathways to problematic Facebook use, and each are linked to the types of activities that users engage in. However, these concepts have yet to be empirically explored. The present paper addresses this gap in the literature by presenting a pilot study based on a sample of 59 (50 females, 9 males) problematic Facebook users. Closed and open-ended data were collected using an online survey. Cluster analysis was then used to identify three types of problematic Facebook users: those with high engagement in social activities and browsing, those with low engagement in social activities but high engagement in browsing, and those with low engagement in both social activities and browsing, but moderate engagement in gaming. This paper presents an in depth discussion of the patterns of behavior identified within these clusters. In addition, four potential pathways to problematic Facebook use are proposed: online social enhancement, social monitoring, procrastination, and entertainment. This study contributes to the development of a much-needed theoretical framework of problematic Facebook use, and provides direction for future research