Abstract
A significant and somewhat under-exploited aspect of feedback literacy research lies in students’ feedback-seeking behaviors. This research charts progress in oral feedback seeking by means of a three-year longitudinal inquiry focused on the feedback literacy development of an undergraduate co-author. The study is framed through sociocultural learning theories and the notion of feedback encounters to illustrate how social and relational feedback interactions encourage meaning-making and feedback uptake. Data comprise the student’s reflective journal of feedback experiences; regular documented interactions between the two co-researchers; digitally recorded and transcribed feedback encounters over four consecutive semesters; and teacher feedback on completed assignments. Sociocultural discourse analysis is deployed to uncover how the student and her teachers used talk to co-construct shared thinking about assignment work-in-progress. Features of the selected feedback encounters include interthinking and the interweaving of cumulative and exploratory talk. Reflecting on feedback-seeking experiences over time stimulated student feedback literacy development through progress in preparing for, participating in, following up, and working with emotions in feedback encounters. Originality and significance lie in drawing conceptual linkages between feedback seeking, reflection, and the development of student feedback literacy and in exemplifying innovative ways of conducting feedback research on the student experience of feedback. We introduce the concept of student reflective feedback literacy to represent considered analysis of feedback evidence and experiences informing ongoing efforts to seek, make sense of, and use feedback. Incorporating within the curriculum sustained opportunities for student reflections about feedback carries the potential to develop student feedback literacy and merits further investigation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.References
Adams, G. (2018). A narrative study of the experience of feedback on a professional doctorate: ‘A kind of flowing conversation.’ Studies in Continuing Education, 41(2), 191–206.
Ajjawi, R., & Boud, D. (2017). Researching feedback dialogue: An interactional analysis approach. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(2), 252–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1102863
Anseel, F., Beatty, A., Shen, W., Lievens, F., & Sackett, P. (2015). How are we doing after 30 years? A meta-analytic review of the antecedents and outcomes of feedback-seeking behavior. Journal of Management, 41(1), 318–348. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206313484521
Bing-You, R., Palka, P., Ford, M., & Trowbridge, R. (2018). The art (and artifice) of seeking feedback: Clerkship students’ approaches to asking for feedback. Academic Medicine, 93(8), 1218–1226. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000002256
Boud, D., & Molloy, E. (2013). Rethinking models of feedback for learning: The challenge of design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(6), 698–712. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2012.691462
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). One size fits all? What counts as quality practice in (reflexive) thematic analysis? Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 328–352.
Carless, D. (2020). A longitudinal inquiry into students’ experiences of feedback: A need for teacher-student partnerships. Higher Education Research & Development, 39(3), 425–438.
Carless, D., & Boud, D. (2018). The development of student feedback literacy: Enabling uptake of feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(8), 1315–1325. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354
Coppens, K., van den Broeck, L., Winstone, N., & Langie, G. (2023). Capturing student feedback literacy using reflective logs. European Journal of Engineering Education, 48(4), 653–666. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043797.2023.2185501
De Kleijn, R. (2023). Supporting student and teacher feedback literacy: An instructional model for student feedback processes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 48(2), 186–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1967283
Esterhazy, R. (2018). What matters for productive feedback? Disciplinary practices and their relational dynamics. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(8), 1302–1314. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1463353
Esterhazy, R., & Damşa, C. (2019). Unpacking the feedback process: An analysis of undergraduate students’ interactional meaning-making of feedback comments. Studies in Higher Education, 44(2), 260–274.
Gaunt, A., Patel, A., Fallis, S., et al. (2017). Surgical trainee feedback-seeking behavior in the context of workplace-based assessment in clinical settings. Academic Medicine, 92(6), 827–834. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000001523
Gravett, K., & Winstone, N. (2019). ‘Feedback interpreters’: The role of learning development professionals in facilitating university students’ engagement with feedback. Teaching in Higher Education, 24(6), 723–738. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2018.1498076
Henderson, M., Ajjawi, R., Boud, D., & Molloy, E. (2019). Identifying feedback that has impact. In M. Henderson, R. Ajjawi, D. Boud, & E. Molloy (Eds.), The Impact of Feedback in Higher Education (pp. 15–34). Palgrave.
Heron, M., Medland, E., Winstone, N., & Pitt, E. (2023). Developing the relational in teacher feedback literacy: Exploring feedback talk. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 48(2), 172–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1932735
Jensen, L., Bearman, M., & Boud, D. (2023). Feedback encounters: Towards a framework for analyzing and understanding feedback processes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 48(1), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2022.2059446
Johnson, M., & Mercer, N. (2019). Using sociocultural discourse analysis to analyse professional discourse. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 21, 267–277.
Johnson, C., Keating, J., & Molloy, E. (2020). Psychological safety in feedback: What does it look like and how can educators work with learners to foster it? Medical Education, 54, 559–570.
Joughin, G., Boud, D., Dawson, P., & Tai, J. (2021). What can higher education learn from feedback seeking behaviour in organisations? Implications for feedback literacy. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(1), 80–91.
Kim, K. M. (2018). Academic socialization of doctoral students through feedback networks: A qualitative understanding of the graduate feedback landscape. Teaching in Higher Education, 23(8), 963–980.
Knight, S., & Mercer, N. (2015). The role of exploratory talk in classroom search engine tasks. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 24(3), 303–319.
Leenknecht, M., & Carless, D. (2023). Students’ feedback seeking behaviour in undergraduate education: A scoping review. Educational Research Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100549
Li, S., & Seale, C. (2007). Managing criticism in PhD supervision: A qualitative case study. Studies in Higher Education, 32(4), 511–526.
Littleton, K., & Mercer, N. (2013). Interthinking: Putting Talk to Work. Routledge.
McArthur, J. (2023). Rethinking authentic assessment: Work, well-being, and society. Higher Education., 85, 85–101. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00822-y
McCune, V. (2004). Development of first-year students’ conceptions of essay writing. Higher Education, 47, 257–282.
Mercer, N. (2004). Sociocultural discourse analysis: Analysing classroom talk as a social mode of thinking. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1(2), 137–168.
Molloy, E., Boud, D., & Henderson, M. (2020). Developing a learning-centred framework for feedback literacy. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(4), 527–540. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2019.1667955
Mulliner, E., & Tucker, M. (2017). Feedback on feedback practice: Perceptions of students and academics. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(2), 266–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1103365
Nguyen, N. T. B., & Mushin, I. (2022). Understanding equivocal feedback in PhD supervision meetings: A conversation analysis. Teaching in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2022.2068348
Nieminen, J. H., & Carless, D. (2023). Feedback literacy: A critical review of an emerging concept. Higher Education, 85, 1381–1400. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00895-9
O’Donovan, B. (2017). How student beliefs about knowledge and knowing influence their satisfaction with assessment and feedback. Higher Education, 74(4), 617–633.
O’Donovan, B., Rust, C., & Price, M. (2016). A scholarly approach to solving the feedback dilStephanie in practice. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(6), 938–949. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2015.1052774
Papi, M., Rios, A., Pelt, H., & Esra, O. (2019). Feedback-seeking behavior in language learning: Basic components and motivational antecedents. The Modern Language Journal, 103(1), 205–226. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12538
Steen-Utheim, A., & Hopfenbeck, T. (2019). To do or not to do with feedback: A study of undergraduate students’ engagement within a portfolio assessment design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(1), 80–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1476669
Wanberg, C., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. (2000). Predictors and outcomes of proactivity in the socialization process. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(3), 373–385. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.85.3.373
Warwick, P., Vrikki, M., Vermunt, J., Mercer, N., & van Halem, N. (2016). Connecting observations of student and teacher learning: An examination of dialogic processes in lesson study discussions in Mathematics. ZDM, 48(4), 555–569.
Wood, J. (2023). Enabling feedback seeking, agency and uptake through dialogic screencast feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 48(4), 464–484. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2022.2089973
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Marion Heron, Jiahui Luo, Emma Medland, Neil Mercer, Juuso Nieminen, Steve Walsh, and the anonymous reviewers for their advice.
Funding
The first author’s work was supported by a Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme Award from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, HKU 37000421.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendix 1. Transcript conventions (adapted from Nguyen & Mushin, 2022)
Appendix 1. Transcript conventions (adapted from Nguyen & Mushin, 2022)
= | Temporary latched talk |
() | Stephanie’s identification of para-linguistic features |
(()) | Additional commentary by Stephanie |
… | Short pause |
[…] | Utterances omitted |
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Carless, D., Young, S. Feedback seeking and student reflective feedback literacy: a sociocultural discourse analysis. High Educ 88, 857–873 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01146-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01146-1