Supporting Peer Feedback on Learning Strategies: Effects on Self-Efficacy and Feedback Quality

Abstract

The study focused on supporting the distinct processes of assessment and providing feedback within a peer feedback setting in teacher education and investigates the effects on student teachers’ self-efficacy and feedback quality in a quasi-experiment. Student teachers ( n = 129) were asked to repeatedly provide peer feedback on learning strategies and were supported by a digital tool. The support was varied: support in assessment (A; realized by rubrics), in formulating the feedback (F; by providing sentence starters), in both components (A+F), or no support (Control). We conducted a 2 × 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) to measure the effect on feedback quality and 2 × 2×2 mixed ANOVAs to investigate the effects on self-efficacy. Results revealed that student teachers perceived higher self-efficacy regarding assessing learning strategies and giving feedback after repeatedly giving and receiving peer feedback. While supporting feedback-writing (F) was immediately beneficial for students’ self-efficacy, the combination (A + F) was most advantageous in the long run. In addition, feedback quality was higher when students were supported in writing the feedback. The findings show that competencies to assess and to give feedback seem to be distinct components that should be fostered individually. The developed support by the digital tool seems to be one beneficial approach here.

PLAT 20(3) 2021: Promoting Self-Regulated Learning: Training, Feedback, and Addressing Teachers’ Misconceptions

“…Alternatively, feedback can simply address the task level by providing more or less elaborate information about the task performance in simple, fact-based quizzes (e.g., Enders et al, 2021) or more comprehension-based learning tasks (e.g., "You do not yet have a sufficient understanding of a concept X"). It is important to consider the quality of feedback and the level on which feedback information is given when supporting self-regulated learning via feedback (Bürgermeister et al, 2021).…”

“…This is perhaps why automated tutoring systems by and large have been focusing on the task level (Kulik & Fletcher, 2016). Bürgermeister et al (2021) addressed this research gap and explored how to best support self-regulated learning through feedback. Bürgermeister et al (2021) had students give each other peer-feedback on the self-regulatory level.…”

“…Bürgermeister et al (2021) addressed this research gap and explored how to best support self-regulated learning through feedback. Bürgermeister et al (2021) had students give each other peer-feedback on the self-regulatory level. Students used learning journals (see Nückles et al, 2020) to make their self-regulated learning strategies visible to their peers.…”

“…To facilitate the phrasing of feedback by peers, provided sentence starters can be structured according to these three questions (i.e., procedural facilitation; Scardamalia et al, 1984). Bürgermeister et al (2021) investigated whether feedback quality is enhanced if learners are offered support using sentence starters. In a quasi-experiment, the authors manipulated the type of support that students received when providing peer-feedback: they received support in assessing feedback, in formulating the feedback, in assessing and formulating feedback, or they received no additional support.…”

“…Another approach to support self-regulated learning is to enhance students' processing and utilization of feedback. Bürgermeister et al (2021) developed a tool to support preservice teachers in assessing students' self-regulated learning habits and formulating effective feedback accordingly. Furthermore, teachers can tweak their instruction within a course to improve students' self-regulated learning.…”