Format innovation map items
Title (and subtitle)
Learning to ask, receive and process qualitative feedback
Stimulating students to ask feedback
Short description of innovation
The Bachelor College at TU-Eindhoven provides a very structured and compelling learning
environment. This is advantageous for freshmen and for students that normally would have a hard
time structuring their learning process. Bachelor College, however, prepares students to become
professional engineers in the TU/e graduate school. This requires active self-sustained learning.
Modern engineers should be able to keep learning independently there whole career. A key issue in
Bachelor College therefore is to find ways to make the transition from ‘scholastic’ learning to selfsustained ongoing ‘open’ professionalization. Feedback, and feedback asking in particular, may play
an important role in this.
A literature review led to a model of feedback in which both the teacher and the student are
understood to (potentially) take an active role (agent). Teachers known to be active in giving/asking
feedback were selected. Interviews were conducted and scenes where teachers stimulate feedback
were looked for. From integral video tapes, scenes were selected as ‘best practices’. The analysis of
the interviews and videotapes culminated in a set of tips on stimulating feedback asking behavior in
students, and the description of pitfalls. In addition an online quickscan questionnaire was
developed that teachers can use to make an inventory of their own views on and practice
concerning feedback. The various products are presented on a website (wiki in Dutch):
https://feedbackesoe.wikispaces.com/Feedback following the structure of a workshop.
Corresponding CEE theme(s)
□ Matching & intake
□ Differentiation / excellence
□ Internationalisation
□ Interdisciplinarity
□ Activating large groups
□ Assessment for learning
□ Blended learning
Objective / added value of the innovation
The project intends to: a) help teacher in stimulating their students to ask feedback (and thus active
self-sustained learning) and help students to process feedback productively, and b) to contribute to
enhancing teachers’ awareness of feedback as a key element in learning.
Target group
University teachers (Bachelor but also Master phase) and students of the various departments.
Engineering aspect
The project particularly focusses on fostering the engineering students’ capacities to continue
learning during their professional life and to enter the master studies effectively. These
competencies are particularly important for 21st century engineers. From a curriculum perspective,
the project makes a contribution to the students’ capacities as independent and self-propelled
learners.
Strong points and suggestions for improvement
Strong point and successes
 A clear theoretical view (model) was
developed on gathering and processing
(asking, giving) feedback including both
the teacher and the students as active
parties (agents).
 Feedback asking behavior was found to
be commonly present in university
education, but it appeared to be roughly
confined to informal (and low hazard)
settings (e.g. co-working hearing
(overhoren), checking the correctness of
results/problems solving approached by
asking the teacher after the lecture has
ended, within peer(work)groups, etc.
 Stimulating students feedback asking
behavior appeared to be intuitively
and/or implicit in most cases.
 Some teachers do not consider
stimulating feedback asking behavior as
part of their jobs. Even though it is
recognized as an important aspect of the
transition of freshmen-students into
master students, academics or engineers.
 Tips and pitfalls were identified; both
from theory and from the practices
explored using the interviews and video
observations.
 A website including tips, pittfalls,
underpinnings, video examples and selftest was built.
Lessons learned
The project set out to map the ways in which
teachers stimulate feedback asking behavior of
students and to define best practices. However, the
interviews showed that stimulation of feedback
asking behavior in students was mostly informal,
and intuitively rather than theoretically informed.
Therefore the cases observed are merely examples
and we cannot yet certify that these truly are ‘best
practices’.
Points of interest for implementation
The website (wiki in Dutch) comprises a number of tips and good practice.
Some key issues:
 Create a safe atmosphere and reinforce feedback asking behavior
 Take in account self-efficacy of the individual students, securing asking feedback is a positive
experience. Also cultural differences can be relevant
 Make feedback asking behavior worthwhile through providing adequate and helpful answers
 Help students processing the feedback they asked for productively thus securing a positive spinoff of their feedback asking behavior
Pitfalls:
 Feedback is not confined to telling what is right/wrong about a student assignment. Even if an
answer is wrong, consider positive feedback on ‘the method used’, ‘the apparent aim’, etc.
 Beware to fail providing students that ask feedback by verifying their results / problem solving
approach with straight answers. Rule of thumb:
o Students that ask questions or exploring possible problem solving approaches without
presenting their own results/ideas should be helped/stimulated to explore the problem or
problem solving strategy using open and inviting questions.
o Students that verify their current (preliminary) results or proposed problem solving
approaches while providing these explicitly to the teacher, should be provided with quick,
clear cut, and helpful feedback.
Contact info & URL
1. Contact: r.taconis@tue.nl
2. Website (wiki in Dutch): https://feedbackesoe.wikispaces.com/Feedback
3. Quickscan and self-test
 Dutch (short vers.) http://www.alle-tests.nl/quiz30/quiz/1419780112/Feedback-vraag-gedrag
 English (diagn. vers.) http://www.corfstart.nl/vragenlijst/Invullen.aspx?idMetaInstrument=695
4. Powerpoint presenting the project in brief (on website)
5. Bestpractices on video (on website)