Investigating variation in undergraduate students’ feedback seeking experiences: towards the integration of feedback seeking within the curriculum

Abstract

Feedback seeking research envisages pro-active student roles in feedback processes but students seem to hesitate to seek feedback from their teachers despite the potential benefits it offers. Appreciating variation in students’ experiences of feedback seeking is crucial for understanding this issue. This phenomenographic interview-based research investigated variation in the experiences of 24 undergraduate students regarding feedback seeking. An outcome space of five categories was developed: (1) feedback seeking as unnecessary, (2) feedback seeking through monitoring, (3) feedback seeking as impression management, (4) feedback seeking for academic achievement and (5) feedback seeking for broader learning. Broader significance emerges through charting interplay between the mutually reinforcing concepts of feedback seeking and feedback literacy, suggesting benefits of enabling students to appreciate the value of feedback seeking when transitioning to higher education. Surfacing some of the negative views of feedback seeking expressed by students enables us to propose some teaching and learning approaches to reduce their concerns. These implications for practice include developing curriculum-wide opportunities for sustained feedback seeking; establishing psychologically safe environments for feedback seeking to flourish; and designing complex iterative assessments that encourage feedback seeking and uptake. Future possibilities for students to seek feedback from generative artificial intelligence are briefly sketched.