Publication Date
2018
Keywords
teacher feedback, writing attitudes, multilingual student writers
Abstract
This study examines the relationship between students’ memories of teacher feedback and these students’ writing and attitudes toward and enjoyment of writing. More than 8,500 survey responses were collected from advanced undergraduate students in a large university writing program. A question about the characteristics of teacher feedback received by student respondents was examined both quantitatively and qualitatively. Second, responses to a different survey question about students’ attitudes toward writing were statistically compared with their reported memories of teacher feedback. Responses to the teacher feedback and writing attitudes questions from different student subgroups (analyzed by first language backgrounds and by when they matriculated at the university) were also compared statistically. Results showed that students had a wide range of reactions, some positive and some negative, to teacher feedback. There also was a strong relationship between their self-reported enjoyment of writing and how they have experienced teacher feedback. Further, it was clear that multilingual students expressed more negative attitudes toward writing in general and reported less positive experiences with teacher feedback. The study suggests that students attend to and have a range of reactions to teacher feedback and that teachers should be self-reflective and sensitive about their response practices, particularly when responding to multilingual students about language issues.
Recommended Citation
Ferris, Dana
(2018)
"“They Said I Have a Lot to Learn”: How Teacher Feedback Influences Advanced University Students’ Views of Writing,"
Journal of Response to Writing: Vol. 4:
Iss.
2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/journalrw/vol4/iss2/2