MyFeedback: an online writing feedback service with students as partners
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi32.1481Keywords:
formative feedback, online feedback, student partners, academic writingAbstract
MyFeedback is an online feedback service run by the academic tutoring team at the University of East London (UEL). The service provides a formative type of feedback on the academic writing of students based on drafts they upload to a digital inbox. The service is a differentiating support mechanism that complements the one-to-one guidance provided by the academic writing tutors. This is possible by training and supervising students (online feedback initiators) to provide reviews of assignment drafts. In this ALDCon24 workshop, we discussed how the development and operation of the service has thrived through a partnership between learning developers and students, and thus establishing a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) of shared learning and vision. We provided insights into the working model and the ways in which students become partners and occasionally co-creators. We highlighted the opportunities and benefits that are shared among all those involved and the roles they assume. Student users of the service engage in a self-regulated learning experience (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, 2006) enacted by their repeated exposure to peer feedback interactions that is underpinned by pedagogical principles, such as the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978) and differentiation, for example in Tomlinson (2001). Tutors and student partners collaborate to consolidate their feedback mechanisms by bringing together teaching expertise, fresh enthusiasm, first-hand student experiences, and a sense of belonging, inclusivity and collaboration. At the same time, tutors direct their capacity efficiently to students who can benefit more from a live dialogue based on their assessment at hand.
References
Abrahamson, E.D., and Mann, J. (2018) 'For whom is the feedback intended? A student-focused critical analysis of Turnitin software as a tool for learning', Journal of Pedagogical Research, 2(3), pp.145-166. Available at: https://www.ijopr.com/article/for-whom-is-the-feedback-intended-a-student-focused-critical-analysis-of-turnitin-software-as-a-tool-6386 (Accessed: 29 October 2024).
Nicol, D.J. and Macfarlane‐Dick, D. (2006) ‘Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice’, Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), pp.199-218. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600572090
Tomlinson, C.A. (2001) How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. 2nd edn. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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