Multi-Year Findings Spark Efforts to Improve Feedback to Students (Lessons from the Field–Volume 4)
According to Andrew University’s results from NSSE 2013, their students received feedback from faculty less frequently than students at comparison institutions—specifically, in the extent to which their instructors provided (a) feedback on a draft or work in progress and (b) prompt and detailed feedback on tests or completed assignments. Examining responses to these two survey items, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness noticed that the university’s average score was lower than those of the comparison group, the peer institutions, and NSSE overall that year. When these findings were presented to faculty, however, they were met with skepticism—and with comments such as “I give grades back in a week”—motivating the presenters to further investigate this aspect of education and to attempt to expand the understanding on their campus of what constitutes effective feedback.
To mitigate possible faculty apprehension about NSSE data, the office conducted a separate follow-up student survey focusing on feedback from faculty. Students were asked about the value of different types of feedback such as opportunities outside of class to ask the instructor questions, rating scales with detailed descriptions of performance, rubrics for grading, and written comments. Students were also asked about the timeframe within which feedback should given for different types of assignments (e.g., drafts of papers or projects; quizzes and short assignments; long assignments, papers, or projects; and major exams).
The results from this survey indicated that over 80% of students found most forms of feedback either “valuable” or “very valuable” and that they expected feedback in the next class period for quizzes and short assignments and within a week for larger assignments. These findings showed that Andrews University students found multiple types of feedback (beyond grades alone) valuable to their education and that the students had reasonable expectations regarding the timeframe for feedback. Presented at the general faculty meeting in April 2014, the findings informed faculty of the multiple ways they could provide feedback to students and deepened their understanding of students’ needs and expectations regarding feedback.
To evaluate the effects of this intervention, the same office compared the university’s NSSE 2013 and NSSE 2015 scores. Using their Multi-Year Report from NSSE, researchers were able to track the change in the Student-Faculty Interaction Engagement Indicator—a factor comprising four NSSE items, two of which (mentioned above) began this campus conversation. By using that report, the Assistant Provost of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness was able to see improvements in student engagement related to interaction with faculty by both first-year and senior students. In this effort, Andrews University used NSSE data to identify an area of concern; to explore it further on their campus; to provide faculty with actionable evidence on how to improve their teaching; and, by comparing old and new results in their Multi-Year Report, to measure the intervention’s effects.
