Enhancing Student Agency Through Feedback Choices

Fostering student agency is so very important, especially for disabled and neurodivergent students, as well as otherwise marginalized students whose agency is not always assured. How we structure courses and strategize instruction can promote autonomy and support students and faculty at the same time, if we do it right.

Entering my third decade in the classroom, I have refined a teaching strategy that not only enhances student agency but is also appreciated by both students and faculty. It has to do with feedback.

Feedback is an important part of the whole educational process, though it might not always be the most enjoyable for faculty or the most comfortable for students. This teaching tip simplifies the feedback process, allowing faculty to provide more focused feedback and students to have greater control over how they receive it. This is a win-win.

Defining Student Agency in Feedback

Reflecting on my early days teaching high school math, I recall the abundance of red pens, traditionally used for marking errors. This changed when my department chair (Richard) introduced green pens, influenced by studies showing red ink could heighten student anxiety (i.e. Kaya & Epps, 2004).

Beyond changing out the red pens though, individual student preferences for receiving feedback can vary widely.

Some students absolutely love all the words. They will begin checking for your feedback the moment they submit their work.

But my dear professors, did you know that there are some students who do not want your detailed feedback at all? It’s not that they don’t want to learn and grow, nor that they don’t think you have value to add to their learning journey. They just sometimes cannot bear the risk of potential criticism.

Student agency in this situation is you, as the instructor, allowing students the freedom to personally decide how much detail comes back in that feedback.

Here’s How I Do It

Students submit their papers and get back a grade along with a filled-out rubric. The rubric is a grid that is labeled and indicates where points are earned and lost.

Students answer this key question when they submit their papers

How much feedback would you prefer on this assignment? No matter what you choose, please come by office hours with any questions.

A. Detailed feedback: Comprehensive insights into performance on the assignment
B. Brief, general feedback: Essential highlights of strengths and areas to improve
C. Conditional feedback: Details provided only if the grade is below an A
D. Grade only: No feedback, just the grade

What’s So Great About This Approach

Nieminen et al. (2021) emphasize the importance of student agency in enhancing feedback literacy, which they define as the ability to understand, engage with, and apply feedback to improve learning outcomes. By allowing students to choose their preferred feedback format, we not only respect their individual learning preferences but also strengthen their feedback literacy.

When I was a newer faculty member, I used to err on the side of detailed feedback for everybody. My course evaluations were good, and students didn’t complain, although it took for bloody ever.

Guess what the most common option is now that I ask students what they want? Most students want brief, general feedback.

Yeah.

So I write much less now. When more detailed feedback is appropriate, I provide it specifically to students who request it.

And the best part is that I’m no longer writing out detailed feedback for students who want none of it.

Which Students Want No Feedback?

Sometimes they know it’s not a great paper, and they’d rather not hear about it. Fair enough, right?

Sometimes they have mental health challenges or anxiety or some reason that makes worrying about feedback a real burden. I have had students whose work is truly a joy to read, and I have been dying to tell them all about what I loved about their work, but they have said no feedback.

What do I write to them? I write a little note into their gradebooks to let them know that I appreciate their presence while respecting their boundaries. It’s something like this:

Dear Erika, You requested no feedback on this paper, and I respect that. This is not feedback. This is just a note to say that I am glad you’re in this class. Please let me know if I can support you in any way during the remaining weeks of this semester.

Who else wants no feedback? Sometimes a Student of Color does not want to risk receiving what may potentially be some racism from a White instructor. Maybe they’re weary and not up for figuring out whether you’re one of the safe ones, and so being able to opt out is a relief.

There are so many other valid reasons for a student to opt out of receiving feedback on their work. The beauty of universal access is that the reason does not matter.

Universal Access

Not all students have the same access to formal diagnoses and thus accommodations which can accompany mental health and neurodivergent supports that a student may need. And there are no formal structures to shield students from some of the racism.

Actively providing students with choices in how they receive feedback is a great way to improve accessibility, equity and inclusivity in the classroom. Inviting students to decide how much feedback they will receive on their work is born of wisdom that has served me well for years, and which I now share with you all.

To any college students reading this, what do you think about being able to say how much feedback you’d like to receive on your work?

Would you like to discuss? There is a thread about it on the facebook page.

References

Kaya, N., & Epps, H. H. (2004). Relationship between color and emotion: A study of college students. College Student Journal, 38(3), 396-405.

Nieminen, J. H., Tai, J., Boud, D., & Henderson, M. (2021). Student agency in feedback: beyond the individual. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 47(1), 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2021.1887080