Keele Research Repository

Research on feedback for undergraduate students has usually focused on either the tutor or the student perspective. Some tutors perceive that students do not read or learn from feedback, whilst students sometimes claim that feedback can be difficult to understand and unconstructive. We investigated tutor and student perspectives through online questionnaires. Fifty-seven staff and 213 psychology undergraduates responded. The questionnaires were used to determine the extent to which students learn from feedback, and the extent to which tutors employ feedback as a teaching tool. Our preliminary findings suggest that both groups agree that written feedback is not ideal, and that the two-way dialogue intended is not always effective. There may be a lack of understanding of communication on both sides. Staff feel that their feedback is clear, but students sometimes disagree, and students do not value feedback on grammar and referencing, whereas staff believe that this is useful. Further research is now being conducted to develop understanding of staff and student perspectives on feedback, and to use the findings to inform improved accessibility of feedback for students, and efficiency of feedback provision for tutors.