Students’ uptake and perspectives on teacher and peer feedback on written assignments

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the uptake of peer vs. instructor feedback provided on written essays by undergraduates in a writing course at a public university in Saudi Arabia.Design/methodology/approachThis was a classroom intervention exploratory study with 16 pairs of students attending a writing class over a period of 14 weeks.FindingsAnalysis of feedback and uptake indicated that the students incorporated a high rate (85.21%) of feedback in revising their essays. The results also showed that the quantity of students’ uptake of instructor feedback (88.77%) was higher than that of peer feedback (82.17%). In terms of the rate of uptake of global feedback focusing on content and organization vs. local feedback focusing on language and formatting, the rate of uptake of local feedback (85.34%) was slightly higher than the uptake of global feedback (84.90%). The current results also showed that the quality of feedback (peer vs. instructor feedback and global vs. local feedback) also varied. Students’ perspectives on feedback underlined their perceived value of feedback on writing, their preference for instructor feedback and the perceived benefits of providing and receiving feedback.Originality/valueThis study investigated an area that has been under-researched in the Saudi higher education context and it has direct implications for the provision of feedback in writing classes.