Kristen Pham, EDUC 764 p.

1








The Importance of Individualized Feedback in e-Learning Courses
Internship Experience in Instructional Design with Dr. Susan Manning
Kristen Pham
July 7, 2014


Kristen Pham, EDUC 764 p. 2

Activating and Engaging
Prior to taking the five courses that are a part of the University of Wisconsin-Stouts e-Learning
certification program, I was hesitant when considering leaving the face-to-face classroom
because I felt that I would be missing the relationships formed with students as I walked around
the classroom and provided them with feedback on their essays or ideas to consider for their
collaborative group project. I wondered how I could engage students in higher level discussions
without having Socratic Seminars where students sat in circles and looked in each others eyes.
I feared discussion would never delve deep enough to explore hidden motifs in literature or
important thematic messages.
Contextual Information
Throughout the e-Learning courses I have been taking as part of the certification program, I have
increasingly realized that online students feel more connected with each other than students in
the face-to-face classroom. I have connected with certain peers and instructors more in my
online courses than in the face-to-face courses I have taken for previous masters degrees.
However, the turning point for me really came during one of my phone conversations with Dr.
Manning, for something just clicked in my mind. Dr. Manning was explaining to me how to
review and to give feedback to students on items submitted in the dropbox. She said that when
giving individualized feedback to students, thats where the teaching really occurs. She
explained that in giving that feedback, you can make sure that all students are taking away the
important ideas or concepts that you want them to. If something hasnt come out in discussion or
you want to explain how this one topic relates to the bigger picture, you can write a generic
comment that says all of that, and then modify it for each individual student. As an instructor, I
know the students are learning the key ideas, and I am guiding them in the right direction while
personalizing their feedback.
In my mind I realized that yes, online instructors are almost giving more individualized feedback
than face-to-face teachers because theyre constantly reviewing a students dropbox submission,
paper, discussion comments, quiz results, etc., and they are providing specific written or video
comments to the student about how he/she is doing. When giving feedback, the instructor is
guaranteed a captive audience. Each student knows the instructor is talking to him/her, so if the
instructor is worried that a topic or concept hasnt been discussed or mastered, the instructor can
convey that to the student through the individualized feedback, which the student is almost
certainly going to read (especially since it is attached to his/her grade). In a face-to-face
classroom, students do not always pay attention, and you may not remember saying one thing to
one student, but not another. The online forum provides the perfect opportunity to ensure all
students receive the feedback, and it gives you a one-on-one forum for open dialogue between
instructor and student.

Kristen Pham, EDUC 764 p. 3

Information about the Event
I had previously been having doubts about how meaningful my instruction could be online
versus in the face-to-face classroom. Would I be able to reach as many students in the online
classroom? Could I teach them as effectively without seeing them? Would my feedback be
enough to replace my physical presence? Would students learn the important concepts and be
proficient, or will they be lacking as they continue on to the next course?
After talking with Dr. Manning about the ways to give more effective individualized feedback, I
felt much more confident about my ability to have a positive influence on students in the online
environment, and I felt that most of my anxiety lifted from my shoulders.
Presenting Issues/Concerns
My biggest concern when discussing specific individualized feedback is class size. Currently, I
teach five sections of English courses (plus one duty assignment), and each course can have up
to 30 students in it. English courses usually have a higher average class size than many other
subjects, like science, art, and Chinese. This is partly because of graduation requirements from
the state of Illinois that mandate all students to take four years of English. With so many
students enrolling in English classes, we have limited space available. I think that even the most
experienced online instructor would have difficulty monitoring the progress of 150 students
online and providing adequate feedback. The more class size increases, the less likely it is that I
am truly able to help each student with the feedback. Bigger class sizes make me worry that
achieving a healthy work-life balance might not be possible as an online instructor.
I am also concerned with ensuring that students do indeed read the feedback. While it is likely
that they will because most students at some point are concerned about their grades, what if they
do not? What if this becomes a repeated pattern? What if I spend the time to give the feedback,
and it is all for nothing?
Finally, I am long-winded, so I am concerned about overwhelming students with the quantity of
feedback that I provide to them. I am already finding in my internship experience that when
assessing students discussion performance, I write a lot and have trouble being concise. I do not
want to overwhelm the students with an abundance of written feedback. There must be a
reasonable balance.
Perspectives and Perceptions
I have a biased perspective about individualized feedback because of my role as an English
teacher. I am constantly providing both formative and summative comments on writing
assignments, like papers, research projects, etc. Especially with the formative comments (when I
give them feedback in Google drive as they compose their first draft), I can see students
immediately make changes to their document/argument/style after they see my comment. I
Kristen Pham, EDUC 764 p. 4

know that the feedback is helping, and then students usually seek out additional feedback during
the process to make sure they are on the right track. However, not all teachers are in this unique
position and may not buy in to the idea of individualized feedback so easily. After all, its
easier to just assign a number score and move on rather than taking the time to give feedback. It
is possible I may have to sell my colleagues on the idea of individualized feedback.
Exploring and Discovering
Weigh Priorities
My biggest focus going into the last four weeks of my practicum experience will be to make my
feedback as effective as possible. I will continue to ask for Dr. Mannings feedback about
whether my feedback is too long or too short, too frequent or too infrequent, or too detailed or
too vague. Dr. Manning has continuously told me that feedback is an art form, and it gets easier
with practice. I want to have as much practice as possible while under the tutelage of a master
online educator like Dr. Manning. If I can become as efficient as possible, that will save time
and frustration later.
Search for Patterns
The patterns I perceive regarding individualized feedback is that it will take significantly more
time to give feedback at the beginning of the semester, especially on formative assessments.
However, as the semester continues, and students become aware of the expectations of the
instructor, the feedback should lessen as students will become more self-sufficient. Formative
feedback will be key to helping students succeed on the summative assessments. Allowing
students the opportunity to redo assignments or make revisions will allow students to fully
master the learning objectives.
Compare/Contrast
I received positive feedback from several students thanking me for feedback on their discussion
posts, especially during the first few weeks. This reinforces that the feedback is working and is
worthwhile. I have seen a lot of improvement on discussion posts from week 1 to week 3 and 4.
The quality of writing and depth of thought has increased tremendously, and students are aware
of the high expectations. I had very few constructive comments to give students during weeks 3
and 4. However, some students never responded to the constructive feedback, and two have
failed to adjust their habits to earn full credit. For example, one student has lost a point for
posting late every week, but continues to post on Saturday night when the module ends on
Sunday. This has resulted in the student receiving very little feedback from peers and having
less interaction with classmates. Despite repeated feedback, the student has not changed his
habits and may just be satisfied earning the A- instead of the A. Dr. Manning said not every
student will apply the feedback, but you get out of the course what you put into it, which I
Kristen Pham, EDUC 764 p. 5

believe is true. The more intrinsically motivated students will take the feedback to heart and will
modify their habits to perform better.
Analyze Cause-Effect Relationships
The significant element in my event that caused me to come to the realization about the value of
individualized feedback in an online course was Dr. Manning asking me to assess students
dropbox assignments for the first time this week and to post the grades and written feedback
myself. Had we not had the conversation about the dropbox feedback, I probably would not
have come to the realization that I did.
One thing that caused this event to occur was the fact that we were midway through the course,
and knowing that it was midterms for the practicum course, I reviewed my original internship
contract with Dr. Manning (per Dr. OConnors suggestion) and made sure that I was fulfilling
all of my duties. I asked if there was any other responsibilities I might take on to gain additional
experience, and Dr. Manning suggested the dropbox grading.
Organizing and Integrating
Connections
Providing students with individualized feedback is a large part of my involvement with the
Instructional Design course. Each week, I monitor half of the students discussion participation,
and I reply to students so that they know I am present and can share resources and experiences;
however, I am careful not to dominate discussion.
The practicum course is designed to help students prepare to be instructors, and as I have learned
through my internship, providing individualized feedback is one of the most crucial components
of that process. It allows students to know which objectives they have mastered and where they
need to make adjustments. It also provides positive, motivating feedback for the high achieving
students while holding the less motivated students to high expectations. Simply providing
students with a number of points is not motivating, but the feedback is helpful at shaping
behavior and scaffolding learning.
As an online instructor, providing individualized feedback will be a significant part of my role. I
think it is the single most important thing that instructors can do to increase engagement and to
make learning more meaningful. This is something I am passionate about, and even though it
takes significantly more time, it is worthwhile, as I have experienced clear benefits myself both
as a student and as a teacher watching students grow.
Generalizations
If I could give one piece of advice to a future instructor, it would be to take the time to give
students feedback that is specific and individualized. This really helps the instructor connect
Kristen Pham, EDUC 764 p. 6

with the student and send the message that they care, thus earning the students respect. The best
graduate level courses I have taken are ones where I have received the most feedback from my
instructors. In many of my face-to-face graduate level courses, I often received no
individualized feedback whatsoever, and I often doubted whether my professors even read my
research papers. However, it has been clear from the courses that I have taken through UW-
Stout that professors do read my work and care enough to provide detailed feedback, and that
really makes all the difference in terms of my motivation and my long-term retention of the
information. For projects where I received no feedback, I cannot remember the topic of the
paper, but when a professor gives detailed feedback, I remember it. For example, I remember
that Dr. Manning asked to use my Instructional Design project as an exemplar for a conference
in Florida, and I can recall very detailed information about that project. Although time-
consuming, providing this feedback is necessary and part of an online instructors job description
in all subject areas, not just English.
Applications
The importance of individualized feedback is definitely something that I will take away from this
internship and practice in the future. I think that feedback also goes hand in hand with building
relationships with students, which I now truly believe is possible to do more effectively in an
online environment than a face-to-face environment. Once the course is designed, the students
work more independently, so the instructor can spend his/her time providing detailed feedback
during each module.
Personal Learning
I am learning that it is difficult for me to be concise while giving feedback. While I do not want
to be too brief because I want students to know that I care and to receive adequate guidance, I do
need to find a happier medium, so my goal with discussion comments this week is to be brief,
but still effective. I think this is a skill that needs to be honed.
I am learning that most students are very open and receptive to feedback, and they are
appreciative for the guidance. After all, these learners have pursued this path and pay for it out
of their own pockets, so it makes sense that most of them are intrinsically motivated to learn. I
have also learned that students will usually rise to and exceed your expectations, simply because
of this motivation.
While I knew that individualized feedback was a huge part of online instruction, I do not think I
thought it took up this much of my time and focus. It takes dedication to truly be effective, and
instructors never truly unplug because the discussion boards are always live, even on holidays
and weekends. While being connected all the time can be a benefit, it can also cause stress, too,
and I often find myself feeling guilty if a day passes and I havent checked the discussion boards.
Kristen Pham, EDUC 764 p. 7

While I think I am very skilled at delivering feedback and I am definitely dedicated to it, it does
take a significant amount of time. As a result, I need to carefully manage my time and become
more efficient so as not to burn myself out too early. This career does need to be sustainable and
not just a passing whim.