Engaging Students with Audio Feedback

Cann, Alan J.

doi:10.11120/beej.2014.00027

Cited by 40 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Overall, the results of our study support conclusions reached in other studies with regard to the benefits to students of audio feedback, especially in terms of the personal nature of this approach to feedback, its clarity, and its suitability for conveying detailed responses (Brearley & Cullen, 2012;Cooper, 2008;Ice, Swan, Kupczynski, & Richardson, 2008;Merry & Orsmond, 2008;Rotheram, 2009). Audio feedback was generally popular with our students, as was also noted by Rotheram (2009) andCann (2014), and students reported that they had a fuller learning experience, also shown by Cavanaugh and Song (2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…The scientific literacy assignment (SLA) for which audio feedback was implemented was part of the BIO152 course at UTM. This course is an appropriate site from which to expand our understanding of the utility of audio feedback in promoting student engagement as (a) it is a compulsory first year course for students in any Biology program at UTM, (b) it is a large class (821 students in 2014), thus involving more participants than most research on audio feedback, where the classes were never larger than 200 students and generally involved fewer than 50 participants (Cann, 2014;Still, 2006), and (c) it is neither an online course (Ice et al, 2007;Wood et al, 2011), nor a specifically ELL (English Language Learner) focused course (Johanson, 1999) the types of courses in which much of the prior research has been conducted. That said, BIO152 does have a large ELL population (approximately 50% of the class), thus the results of this research are relevant to work on ELL pedagogy as well.…”

Section: The Bio152 Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although logistically problematic in the past (particularly for large courses), the use of audio feedback has increased as recording devices have become more ubiquitous and electronic transmission of audio files has become simpler (France & Wheeler, 2007;Middleton, 2011;Rotheram, 2007). Using this feedback on writing assignments, along with or instead of traditional written feedback, can help to both alleviate student disengagement and encourage students to take feedback more seriously (Bauer, 2011;Cann, 2014;Cavanaugh & Song, 2014;Cooper, 2008;Ice, Swan, Diaz, Kupczynski, & Swan-Dagen, 2010;Ice, Curtis, Phillips, & Wells, 2007;Johanson, 1999;Sipple, 2007;Wood, Moskovitz, & Valiga, 2011). Audio feedback has been shown to be useful in encouraging students to grasp nuance and detail in critiques (Bauer, 2011;Cann, 2014;Cavanaugh & Song, 2014;Ice et al, 2007;Sipple, 2007), and to enhance student retention and application of formative feedback (Bauer, 2011;Ice et al, 2007;Merry & Orsmond, 2008;Sipple, 2007); research shows it to be effective (Brearley & Cullen, 2012;Macgregor, Spiers, & Taylor, 2011;Orsmond & Merry, 2011), well-liked (Rotherham, 2007, and well-used, with students being more likely to open an audio file versus picking up written comments (Lunt & Curran, 2009).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Audio Feedback: Student and Teaching Assistant Perspectives on an Alternative Mode of Feedback for Written Assignments

et al. 2018

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Competence in written scientific communication is an important learning outcome of undergraduate science degrees. Writing helps students learn, encourages them to think creatively and critically about their learning, and trains them in communicating their insights as disciplinary experts. However, challenges exist in incorporating writing assignments into large undergraduate science classes, including lack of student engagement and difficulty in providing effective and personalized formative feedback to large numbers of students. Engagement and feedback are especially important for developing writing skills, which require active, reflective, critical attention on the learner’s part: it would be very useful if one mechanism could enhance both. We recently integrated audio feedback into the stages of a term-long, multi-part scientific literacy assignment in a large undergraduate biology class at the University of Toronto Mississauga, using it for formative purposes at early stages of the assignment. In order to determine the utility and effect of the audio feedback, we collected data from both teaching assistants (TAs) and students. In general, students felt audio feedback was constructive and engaging, and both TAs and students commented that audio feedback was more personal than written feedback. However, TAs noted that it took longer for them to give audio feedback compared with written feedback, and that they encountered technical issues with emailing audio feedback to the students. Overall, the response to audio feedback from both students and TAs suggested that this approach is logistically feasible and might aid in overcoming the disengagement that is often found in large introductory courses. La compétence en communication scientifique écrite est un résultat d’apprentissage important dans le cadre des diplômes en sciences au niveau du premier cycle. L’écriture aide les étudiants à apprendre, les encourage à réfléchir avec créativité et sens critique à propos de leur apprentissage et leur donne la formation nécessaire pour communiquer leurs idées en tant qu’experts dans leur discipline. Toutefois, il existe un certain nombre de défis dans le cas de grandes classes de sciences au niveau du premier cycle quand il s’agit d’y incorporer les travaux écrits, entre autres la participation des étudiants et les difficultés à donner à un grand nombre d’étudiants des rétroactions formatives personnalisées. La participation et les rétroactions sont des éléments particulièrement importants pour que les apprenants développent des compétences en écriture, qui exigent de leur part une attention active, réflective et critique. Il serait donc très utile si un mécanisme pouvait inclure ces deux éléments. Nous avons récemment intégré la rétroaction audio dans les diverses étapes de travaux de longue haleine à parties multiples portant sur des connaissances scientifiques dans une grande classe de biologie de premier cycle à l’Université de Toronto Mississauga, avec un objectif formatif dès les premières étapes des travaux. Afin de déterminer l’utilité et les effets de la rétraction audio, nous avons recueilli des données auprès des chargés de cours et des étudiants. En général, les étudiants ont déclaré que la rétroaction audio était constructive et favorisait la participation, et tant les chargés de cours que les étudiants ont indiqué que la rétroaction audio était davantage personnelle que la rétroaction écrite. Toutefois, les chargés de cours ont fait remarquer que cela leur prenait davantage de temps de donner une rétroaction audio qu’une rétroaction écrite et qu’ils avaient eu des problèmes techniques pour envoyer par courriel à leurs étudiants les rétroactions audio. En général, la réaction à la rétroaction audio tant de la part des chargés de cours que des étudiants suggère que cette approche est logistiquement réalisable et pourrait aider à relever le défi d’absence de participation souvent présent dans les cours d’introduction offerts à un très grand nombre d’étudiants.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: The Bio152 Coursementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Audio Feedback: Student and Teaching Assistant Perspectives on an Alternative Mode of Feedback for Written Assignments

et al. 2018

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“…Although several studies have been carried out on RAF, they were mostly conducted in class courses, in which it is not clear if revised versions of the learners' assignments were involved. Further, most studies were done in face-to-face class contexts, in which face-to-face dialogue with the supervisor can help to clarify RAF comments (Cavanaugh & Song, 2014;Stern & Solomon, 2006;Cann, 2014;Cavanaugh & Song, 2015;Chew, 2014;Eckhouse & Carroll, 2013). Overall in these cases, the impact of RAF on the learning process is unclear.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Recorded Audio Feedback in Cross-Cultural e-Education Environments to Enhance Assessment Practices in a Higher Education

Heimbürger¹

2018

AASoci

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Providing feedback to learners on their writing assignments is perhaps one of the most important and time-consuming tasks that a supervisor performs. In e-Education environments, giving feedback becomes more challenging because there are often no possibilities for face-to-face discussions with learners. Typically, a supervisor provides comments to learners in written form via email; however, the use of recorded audio feedback (RAF) in e-Education environments has become a viable alternative. The purpose of this case study was to examine learners' perceptions of RAF and written feedback for their assignments at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) and at Keio University SFC (Japan). Formative feedback was used to study RAF. Data were collected through surveys and interviews. The results show that learners tend to have positive feelings toward RAF. The findings also indicate that learners' methods of revising their assignments based on the feedback they receive may impact their preference for one modality over the other. We introduce a process model based on the findings of our study that highlights RAF best practices and guides supervisors in effective use of RAF.

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“…Several studies have found that most learners and supervisors have an overall positive attitude towards RAF [19][20][21][22][23]. The underlying reasons for this attitude given in these references include the following: (1) Audio feedback means more feedback; a supervisor can say a lot more in five minutes than they can write in the same amount of time.…”

Section: Raf In Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Moderating cultural effects in a higher e-education context? Supervisor's tone of voice in recorded audio feedback

Heimbürger

Isomöttönen

2017

2017 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)

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Abstract-Providing feedback to learners on their writing assignments is one of the most important and time-consuming tasks that a supervisor performs. In e-Education environments, especially in the case of distance learning, giving feedback becomes more challenging because there are often no opportunities for face-to-face interaction. Typically, a supervisor provides comments to learners in written form via email; however, the use of recorded audio feedback (RAF) in e-Education environments has become a viable alternative. This work in progress reports on learners' perceptions of RAF in a multi-cultural higher eEducation context. Our observations indicate that learners tend to have positive feelings toward RAF and that RAF potentially moderates cultural effects. The observations are discussed in light of the relevant literature, and future research questions are proposed.

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Engaging Students with Audio Feedback

Cited by 40 publications

References 13 publications

Audio Feedback: Student and Teaching Assistant Perspectives on an Alternative Mode of Feedback for Written Assignments

Audio Feedback: Student and Teaching Assistant Perspectives on an Alternative Mode of Feedback for Written Assignments

Using Recorded Audio Feedback in Cross-Cultural e-Education Environments to Enhance Assessment Practices in a Higher Education

Moderating cultural effects in a higher e-education context? Supervisor's tone of voice in recorded audio feedback

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