Value of Feedback to Teachers and Students

Teacher Feedback in the Learning Process

Teacher feedback has traditionally been a normal part of the teacher-students relationship in the learning process. This is primarily because feedback is widely acknowledged as a significant part of the learning cycle. Despite the significance of teacher feedback in the learning process, few studies have focused on examining whether university teachers and students value feedback differently. Actually, teachers and students have often expressed their frustrations and dissatisfaction on how the feedback process is carried out. The frustrations and disappointment has in turn acted as a sign of the differences in how university teachers and students value feedback in different ways. In light of this fact as well as findings on student-centered research, it is quite evident that university teachers and students value feedback in different ways.

Importance of Teacher Feedback

As previously mentioned, teacher feedback has long been an important and usual component of the relationship between teachers and students. Teacher feedback is generally described as the information provided by teachers regarding students' understanding or performance in the learning process (Rowe, 2010, p.343). Consequently, teacher feedback is an important component in the learning process since it is a platform through which students obtain significant information regarding their understanding in order to enhance their performance. In essence, feedback is a vital element in teacher-students relationship because it acts as a guide through which students can obtain good results and enhance performance.

Generally, teachers provide feedback to students through various means such as feedback on assessment, feedback on performance, and feedback on behavior. This implies that teachers adopt a multifaceted approach towards providing essential information to students by examining the various issues and areas that may affect students' performance and results in the classroom. When provided adequately and through proper channels, teacher feedback plays a crucial role as a direct help to the learning process by addressing students' social and emotional issues and promoting better understanding of learning material and ideas.

How Teachers and Students Value Feedback

The way through which teachers and students value feedback is largely influenced by their perceptions or views about it. While feedback is generally viewed as a means for improved academic performance through gaining better understanding of ideas and concepts, the perceptions of teachers and students regarding feedback vary significantly. In the past few years, teachers and students have increasingly complained that the conduct of the feedback process does not necessarily result in improved students' performance. These complaints have largely been expressed as disappointments and frustrations, which have affected the impact of feedback on the learning process. According to the findings of a recent study by Vanderbilt University, feedback does not usually assist students largely because of these disappointments and frustrations (Tatter, 2015).

Students have increasingly viewed feedback as unclear or unhelpful because it is sometimes demoralizing. While teachers strive to ensure that their feedback helps improve students' engagement in the learning process, it does not necessary improve subsequent students' performance because students do not receive guidance on how to utilize the feedback towards better academic results (Spiller, 2009). In some situations, students have reported that feedback is offered too late for any significant use or relevance in the learning process. The other reason for students' negative perception about feedback is that it sometimes draws attention to students' self-image and performance. In this case, it affects performance by acting as a distraction that undermines students' efforts and denying them the opportunity to understand course concepts and ideas on their own.

On the contrary, teachers have increasingly reported that students do not seem interested in feedback and are increasingly focused with the mark. University teachers state that students do not view feedback as important in the overall learning process and behavior but are simply concerned with the mark. In essence, students do not necessarily take teachers' comments seriously and valuable in their overall well-being but as information that is only vital for better grades. Moreover, teachers have expressed their disappointments that students do not include feedback into the learning process and relevant tasks.

Given the differences in perceptions and views of feedback by teachers and students, it is quite evident that they value feedback in different ways. According to the findings of research, teachers value feedback as a means significantly enhancing student achievement and improving the overall learning process (Stenger, 2014). Teachers view feedback as a means of improving student achievement because it helps contribute towards mastery of course concepts and ideas. Therefore, teachers value feedback as a tool through which students can increase motivation, build on present knowledge, and reflect on their learning.

Teachers value feedback as a component for improved students' performance since it not only enhances learning but also meets the students' individual and emotional needs. With regards to improving learning, teachers consider feedback as a mechanism for providing encouragement to students and providing intellectual interaction. The encouragement in turn enhances motivation and enthusiasm as well as lessening stress, which promotes students' emotional well-being and results in improved academic performance. This implies that feedback helps in enhancing students' learning and academic achievement through providing intellectual encouragement. This is achieved through enhancing students' confidence on their educational capability and improves enthusiasm for the course and other intellectual tasks. In relation to meeting individual or emotional needs, teachers value feedback as a measure for students' social interaction, sign of caring, and demonstration of respect as a person. These are crucial elements towards promoting a students' emotional well-being, which is crucial towards improved learning outcomes and mastery of course concepts.

While students also view feedback as an important element in improving their achievement, they value it in different ways as compared to teachers. One of the different ways with which students value teacher feedback is considering it as a means for improving their grades. In this case, students do not necessarily consider teacher feedback as important component in improving learning outcomes and their engagement in the learning process but as information that should be solely used to obtain better grades. This essentially means that students do not view feedback as a mechanism for improved interaction with teachers in the learning process but as comments towards improved grades without enhanced teacher-student interaction. As a result, students increasingly become lethargic in using feedback to seek connections and improved interactions with teachers (Christenson, Reschly & Wylie, 2012, p.449).