Feedback-seeking behaviors

Abstract

This paper reports an exploratory study regarding students' beliefs and feedback-seeking behaviors. Students believe that developing their engineering-identity involves cultivating their technical skills and they rely on feedback to provide competence-information with respect to engineering work. However, obtaining feedback can have negative cognitive, emotional, and motivational costs, such as when students doubt their skills, feel shame, and lack motivation to proceed. If engineering students seek feedback and experience shame, they may have maladaptive responses, including dropping out. We collected data from 133 junior-level mechanical (n=93) and electrical (n=40) engineering-students, taking their initial engineering-design classes for their (1) beliefs about engineering intelligence (fixed/growth mindsets), (2) perceptions of cost/value for seeking feedback, and (3) feedback-seeking behaviors (indirect feedback-monitoring, direct from instructors/peers). Results suggested that, when students have a growth mindset and value feedback, they may perceive feedback as a learning-resource that they can seek, either indirectly or directly. Engineering students who associate feedback with negative costs may not invest in feedback-seeking behaviors. These students may see feedback-seeking as hindering their ability to maintain good impressions, and thus, they are less motivated to risk their self-presentations.