The value of feedback in improving collaborative writing assignments in an online learning environment

Abstract

This exploratory study aims to analyse the nature of teacher feedback during a collaborative writing assignment, and to identify the possible effects feedback has on the revision of a text written by university students in an asynchronous online learning environment. Under analysis are three editions of a master’s course in e-learning, during which, over a period of two weeks, the students (n = 83) divided into 16 work groups to carry out a co-evaluation assignment with the support of a technology tool. The results obtained indicate that, when teacher feedback includes suggestions and questions, instead of direct corrections, the students respond more constructively, they discuss the content they are working with, and, as a result, they effect significant changes in the arguments of the text they are revising.

Keywords:

• online collaborative writing
• assessment of learning
• feedback
• regulation of learning
• online learning environment

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr Paul Kirschner for his useful comments and suggestions during the revision of this article.