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Teacher feedback: Oral feedback in an audio file

Brief description

You as a teacher may record your feedback in an audio file and send this to your students. In this way you may give oral feedback even if there is no time for a physical meeting between you and a student.

Motivation for the exercise and required outcome

The students often ask for feedback on their exam papers and projects in progress, and if feedback is provided well, they may learn much from this. By recording your feedback in an audio file, you may save the time and effort involved in the scheduling of meetings, while maintaining the oral element. In contrast to written feedback, the audio file enables more nuanced and down-to-earth feedback, which may benefit the students.

Performing the exercise

  • You as a teacher must consider if you wish to use feedback by audio file or give feedback on a completed assignment or a project in progress.
  • The students submit their completed assignments or a part of a project in progress.
  • Once you have reviewed an assignment, you must record your feedback for the student on a smartphone or dictaphone.
    • You may use notes, a list of items or an assessment form to make sure you address all relevant issues in your feedback. This adds more structure to the oral feedback.
  • Finally, you save the audio file and send it to the student by email with a short accompanying text.

Options:

  • You may ask the students who are interested in receiving feedback to reflect on their product after they received the feedback. They may then write a revised version of their own work on the basis of your feedback.

  • You may invite the students to bring concrete questions or issues they want your feedback on. This can ensure that they receive answers to their actual questions rather than more general feedback, which they will end up asking questions about afterwards anyway.

Activities

    Examples of practice

      Teaching plans

      Under development


      You will need:

      • A smartphone, dictaphone or other equipment to record you feedback. Further information: Video and audio in teaching

      Worth considering:

      • Should the students take any action to receive feedback? For instance ask concrete questions or point out specific issues they want explained.

      • How can you provide appreciative and constructive feedback to your students?

      • How can you ensure that the student can view their text, for instance, while you are providing your feedback?