Actual and preferred teacher feedback on student blog writing

Abstract

This research illustrates the provisions and receptivity of teacher feedback in a blog-mediated writing project between two colleges. The blog serves as a peer collaboration platform, as well as a mediating tool for teachers to offer timely feedback or prompt student idea exchanges. This paper discusses how teacher feedback may alter in response to students’ online writing activities, and examines the reciprocity between the teachers’ provision and the students’ receptivity. Thirty-four students, two teachers, and two teaching assistants (TAs) participated in the two-semester tele-collaboration. Feedback from the teachers and TAs was categorized by Hattie and Timperley’s (2007) taxonomy, which comprises four levels of feedback: the task, the process, self-regulation, and superficial praise. In addition, a new category, mediative feedback, was created to highlight the networked learning. Data were collected from blog message archives, a perception survey, and interviews for qualitative and quantitative analyses. The findings illustrate the evolution of feedback provisions, specifically the addition of mediative feedback type and reduction of superficial comments during online writing tasks. Furthermore, a clear mismatch between the highest rated and most provided feedback type also illustrates the impact of web 2.0 tools on teaching practices.