Back to Feedback Basics Using Asynchronous Video Recordings
Concurrent Session 10
Brief Abstract
Quality feedback should be timely, friendly, and specific. Quality feedback can be challenging to provide online using only text but asynchronous video can help when used strategically. In this session we use several feedback examples to explore the types of potential benefits of providing feedback using video.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Feedback is critical to students' learning. In fact, John Hattie's (2009) seminal research found that providing feedback is one of the most powerful things instructors can do to impact student learning. Feedback has always been a part of teaching and learning, but the internet has dramatically changed how students demonstrate their learning and how instructors provide them with useful feedback. Although text feedback is still the most common form in our digital world, instructors are increasingly providing their students with video-recorded feedback messages—for good reason.
Types of Feedback Videos
Instructors can provide video feedback to students in three ways: (1) webcam video, (2) screen recording, and (3) screen recording with webcam video. Each type of video feedback can be used for different purposes.
- Webcam videos are appropriate when you are providing feedback that doesn't require you to show student work. By only showing your webcam video, you can help students form a sense of connection with you and know that your goal is to facilitate their learning.
- Screen recording videos are appropriate when you need to show and verbally describe specific aspects of students work. For instance, if a student created a project, such as a website, image, or document, showing specific parts of the project as you are giving feedback—as seen in figure 1—can be an effective way to provide feedback. In these videos, students can see their work and hear the instructor's voice but can't actually see the instructor speaking.
- Screen recording with webcam videos combine the best of both worlds by placing a small webcam video within the screen recording video. With most tools, however, the webcam video is fairly small, so it can be difficult for students to connect with you, if that is your purpose. Furthermore, if you are not careful, the webcam video can cover up portions of the screen that you are trying to describe. Some tools allow you to change the size and location of the webcam or even remove it completely.
Regardless of the type of video that instructors use to provide feedback, the nature of recording a video allows them to provide more information to students. However, simply providing more feedback is unlikely to benefit students unless it is also quality feedback.
Quality Feedback and How Video Can Help
Considering the amount of time instructors spend providing feedback, the topic is surprisingly under-researched. I echo Michael Eraut (2006), who said "We need more feedback on feedback." When reviewing the research on feedback, my co-researchers and I identified three elements of quality feedback. Specifically, quality feedback should be timely, friendly, and specific (see figure 2).
Figure 2. Characteristics of effective feedback
Using Video to Provide Feedback that Is Specific and Timely
The primary purpose of feedback is to improve student performance. However, not only should feedback highlight what students need to improve and how to improve it, but it should also affirm to students the specific strengths of their work. It's highly important that feedback comments be grounded in a student's actual performance. If not, it can harm their learning. For instance, if a student did poorly on an assignment but then got a "Great work!" comment, this feedback could reinforce low effort or poor performance.
Giving students comments that are both timely and specific can be a challenge. Too often instructors either provide quick, generic feedback or provide feedback that is specific but not timely. Having to pick one over the other can be frustrating for instructors. Furthermore, even when instructors take the time to review students' work thoroughly, if they only provide students with scores on a rubric and/or generic-sounding comments, students may question whether the instructors really reviewed their work at all.
Teachers increasingly provide students with feedback via video in an attempt to give more-detailed comments that are rooted in students' specific work. Video comments can also be quicker than providing text feedback when the feedback needs to be detailed and unique to the student (i.e., when copying and pasting text comments would not work). One drawback of providing feedback by video is that students might find it more difficult to refer back to specific parts of the feedback. This is especially important when students are asked to go back to their project and make revisions based on instructor feedback. In other cases, it just makes more sense to provide feedback in text. For instance, if an instructor is reading a student's essay and needs the student to add a comma in a sentence, the student does not need a video explaining that. As a result, in many cases it is best for instructors to provide feedback using some combination of text and video. For instance, if a student has submitted an essay in a word processing document, the teacher can track edits directly within the document but then provide a video feedback comment describing the overall strengths and areas that can be improved. Similarly, as you review students' work, you might jot down notes on what you would like to highlight in your video comment. If these comments are typed on your computer, you can easily send them to the student with a video comment that elaborates on those points.
Providing Friendly Feedback
Even though feedback will likely correct students' work, it should be delivered in a friendly manner that strengthens rather than harms the instructor–student relationship. One drawback of text is that the recipient can misinterpret the meaning behind the message. In video, the instructor can communicate using facial expressions and body language that remove much of the ambiguity present in text-only messages. That said, if the instructor is trying to hide frustration or displeasure, text is a better choice because in a video, the student will see the frustration all over the instructor's face. Sometimes ending a sentence with an exclamation mark in text is easier than showing actual excitement in video.
Video alone isn't enough to make our feedback friendly. We also need to structure what we say in a way that balances the praise with the critiques while still being social and friendly. One approach to ensure that your feedback is balanced and friendly is to apply the Feedback Cheeseburger.
Feedback Cheeseburger, created by the George Mason University's College of Education and Human Development Online Teaching Initiative (licensed under CC BY SA)
Presentation Format and Participant Engagement
In this session, participants will explore together what makes for quality feedback and how video can help instructors to provide meaningful feedback more efficiently using video compared to text. Having published several research articles on the topic, I will be able to support claims with empirical research. Having worked with faculty, I have also curated examples of feedback with varying levels of quality. In the workshop, I will use those examples to springboard into discussions. I have also co-authored an open book on teaching with asynchronous video that will be freely provided to participants. In the book, there is a chapter on providing feedback. The following describes the topics that will be addressed.