Características fundamentales de las antenas inteligentes

The fourth and fifth items in the questionnaire investigated the timing of feedback: when the participants actually typically received it and when they preferred to receive it. Figure 4.8 provides a comparative view of the total number of responses for each timing category.

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Figure 4.8 Actual vs. preferred timing of feedback

The results show a clear trend. The participants who believed they obtained feedback, generally, only after an assessment had been returned to them represents a substantial majority (81%). A very small number (3%) answered that they believed they usually received feedback only while they were working on an assessment with a higher though still relatively small number (16%) stating that they felt they received feedback both while working on an assessment as well as after turning it in.

Students’ preferences contrast distinctly with their perceptions of the real situation. The majority (53.9%) answered that they favoured receiving feedback both during the process of working on an assessment and after turning it in. However, not inconsequential numbers of respondents stated that they preferred to receive feedback either only after an assessment had been returned to them (27.1%) or only while they were working on an assessment (19%).

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 While working on assessment After assessment received back Both N o . o f r e sp o n ses Actual Preferred

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Figure 4.8 clearly demonstrates the discrepancy between the respondents’ experiences and preferences concerning the timing of feedback. While the incongruity is quite stark in all three categories, it is, at least in numerical terms, most extreme in the case of receiving feedback only after an assessment has been returned; far fewer students claimed they preferred this timing than was believed to actually occur.

Timing was, with references made in 35 (15.4%) answers, the most frequently occurring

aspect amongst participants’ responses to the seventh item (which asked respondents to describe the situation when feedback was most helpful for them) in the questionnaire. This reflects Mason & Bruning’s (2001) positioning of this aspect as the key component

(amongst six others) of learners’ decision-making framework for the provision of feedback. It also mirrors the importance given to timing in terms of researchers’

characterisation of “effective feedback” (Poulos & Mahony, 2008). Some examples of students’ comments within this theme include:

I receive it during working on a complicated assignment rather than after having finished it. For example, to make a computer programme, if the mistakes are found out too late, any kinds of debugging will be meaningless. In a word, timeliness of feedback is the most important factor which matters (QIU134).

it’s given to me when I’m trying to solve a complicated problem and have spent much time without getting any progress. I also consider it valuable after I’ve

finished a project / an assessment, etc. (QU140).

I finish the assessment, that is, when I have already thought by myself, then I have received the feedback. It helps me to compare (QU195).

It is interesting to note that QIU134 and QU140 preferred to receive feedback while

completing a difficult task. This contrasts with Mason & Bruning’s (2001) argument that students completing tasks with a high level of complexity ought to receive delayed feedback since this may give them the time necessary to “draw from [and ‘actively

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According to their responses, these two participants’ preference for synchronous feedback is more likely explained by a perceived higher risk of completing the task incorrectly, leading to loss of time. In a similar vein, QU169 pointed out:

If teachers could give me comments while I’m working on the assessment, time

wouldn’t be spent too much meaninglessly.

Timing was also investigated in the interviews. QIU30 pointed out that, since most of the assessments she did were quizzes and exams, she usually received feedback only after completion of the assessment. However, in the case of other types of assessments, such as essays and projects where multiple drafts were possible, she preferred to receive feedback during the assessment process. Similar to other students, IU16 stated that receiving critical feedback on such assignments during the assessment process was vital since, otherwise, he “may do a lot of work in vain”which would be “a real waste of

time.” QIU6 differentiated between different types and timing of feedback. For instance, while she received marks or grades after finalising an assessment, her teachers may provide the class or groups with oral comments beforehand.

Most students questioned on the issue of typically receiving feedback only after submitting an assessment felt the reason to be the large class sizes and the corresponding burdensome workload of the teachers. QIU119 reported that even the teaching assistants were too heavily engaged in other duties to be able to provide more than a score. IU156 concurred and added that this feedback was not provided in person but typically through the Internet, as this was more efficient. IU39 stated that more individualised feedback could be provided on assessments – for instance, on a draft of an essay – by visiting the teacher during their office hours. She admitted, however, that she and most of her peers rarely bothered doing so, again because of the limited time

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made available by the teacher for such meetings and the high demand for the same. An additional explanation may be fear of the teachers, akin to IP167's remark cited in Section 4.3.3.

As noted above, more than a quarter of respondents answered that they actually favoured receiving feedback only after completing an assessment. Some of these were interviewed to uncover the possible reasons for this. IU26 explained that feedback given during the assessment process could be “disturbing” and cause him to “lose focus,” particularly when he was close to finding an answer by himself. This reminds of

Scriven’s (1967) early caution of the intrusion of evaluation into the learning process.

IU104 and IU94 appeared to stress independent learning and both stated that they would accept feedback while they were completing a task, but only if they actively sought it.

QIU18 explained that he preferred to receive feedback on a task once it had been completed since incomplete work was not “evidence” or a “valid” representation of his true ability. However, in this case, it is likely he was referring to summative judgments rather than formative comments, and not wanting the former type of feedback to be given prematurely. QIU113 portrayed any given task as learning and problem-solving processes which he preferred to complete unaided. He stated that, if he was interrupted during this process, he would “just follow the ideas of the professors,” leading to the production of a piece of work which was not wholly his own.