Providing Effective
Instructor Feedback in the
Virtual Classroom:
Strategies that Improve Learner Motivation,
Satisfaction, and Performance
Jody S. Oomen, PhD
Tara Gallien, PhD
What do online students want?
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Flexibility
Convenience
Technical assistance
A sense of community
and connection with
peers and instructor
Effective course design
A “present” and
interactive instructor
Source: Johnston, Killian & Oomen,
2004
Primary Contributor to Online
Student Satisfaction

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Contact and
interaction
with the
instructor
was the primary
contributor to
student
satisfaction
(Source: Johnston, Killiarn &
Oomen, 2004)
Types of Feedback
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Collective—Feedback which is
aimed at course participants as
a group
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Individual—Feedback which is
addressed to an individual
learner
Strategies for Providing
Collective Feedback
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Weekly announcements
Weekly content summaries
Instructor’s observation/s of class
performance on assignment/s
Emailed Correspondence
Q&A Boards
Grading codes and legend (for large
sections)
Use of “gold stars” or “Hall of Fame”
posts
Strategies for Providing
Individual Feedback
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Posting individual grades and
comments in grade book
Providing critique on Discussion
Board posts
Email
Mid term progress reports
Online Office hours—virtual or
telephone chat
Letters or memos
Taxonomy of Feedback
source: Blignaut & Trollip, 2003
Socratic
Ask reflective questions
about the learner’s posting;
foster critical thought
Informative
Comment on learner’s
posting as it relates to
subject content
Corrective
Correct the content of a
student’s posting
Non-content related
Misc. messages that do not
relate to course content but
foster community
Affective
Acknowledge learner
participation and provide
affective support
Administrative
Relate to general course
administrative topics
Administrative Feedback
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Relates to general course
administrative topics
Example: Navigation through
course shell; Setting up Profiles;
Calendar; Course greeting
“Welcome to class! Please take
a few minutes to set up your
student profile.”
Affective Feedback
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Acknowledges learner
participation and provide
affective support
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Example: “I am enjoying your
comments and especially the replies
and threads that are forming. Keep
up the great work!”
Non-Content Related
Messages
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Aimed to foster community; Misc.
messages that do not relate to course
content
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Strategies: “CyberCafe” or “Watercooler”
Discussion threads in the course shell; Ecards to students; Learning Tips
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Example: “To all the Mothers in the Course,
Happy Mother’s Day!”
Corrective Feedback
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Correct the content of a student’s posting
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Example 1: “You have talked about the
benefits of qualitative research, yet did not
discuss some of the limitations. Please
address this component of the question.”
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Example 2: While your post hit on some vital
aspects of HIV treatment, your response
was not supported by credible sources.
Please include citations in APA within this
post along with your list of references.
Repost by Sunday at 11:59 pm CST.
Thanks.
Informative Feedback
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Comment on learner’s posting as it relates
to subject content
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Example: “This is a quality post! Not only
did you answer all of the discussion item
components, but you applied your own
experiences to solve the problem. In
addition, though you framed the problem
with supporting documentation, you posed
a sound counter argument as well. This is
scholarly discourse!”
Socratic Feedback
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Ask reflective questions about the
learner’s posting; foster critical
thought
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Example: “In your posting you took
the position of a teacher. Please
explain the same scenario from the
position of the learner.”
Interaction and Feedback Strategies for
Small Online Courses
(20 or less)
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Online Chats
Group Study “Pods”
Asynchronous Discussion Board
Phone chats
Peer Evaluation of Assignments
Weekly individual feedback from
instructor
Collective Summary
Interaction and Feedback Strategies
for Large Online Courses
(over 20)
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Note: Research shows that keeping online
course sections smaller than 20 is most
effective (Johnston, Killian, & Oomen, 2004)
Weekly or Bi-weekly Discussion Boards
Collective Summaries
Q&A Discussion Thread
Group Discussion Pods or Groups
Comment Codes on Assignments
Mid-term progress reports
Rotational chat sessions (ex: choose 2 out
of the 4 online chats this semester…)
Online office hours for instructor
Phone chats (may be facilitated by groups)
Using Course Comment Codes for
Assignment Feedback
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Having problems providing
timely individual on course
projects?
Try using assignment feedback
comment codes (i.e. content
analysis)
Example handout
Additional Effective Strategies
for Small or Large Sections
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Collective Emails
Unit Summaries
TIPS are of the course
Cybercafe (where students can
post non-content related information)
Rubrics for discussion and projects
Plenty of Examples! Post a section in
your discussion are called
“Coursework Examples.”
Parting Thoughts
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As online instructors, we may
grow complacent with just
“keeping up.”
Strive to provide more than just
administrative or corrective
types of feedback messages
Utilize a variety of feedback
strategies
References
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Blignaut, A.S. & Trollip, S.T. (Aug.
2003). Measuring Faculty
Participation in Asynchonous
Discussion Forums. Journal of
Education for Business. Pp. 347353.
Johnston, J., Killion, J., Oomen, J.
Student satisfaction in the virtual
Classroom. The Internet Journal of
Allied Health Sciences and Practice.
April 2005. Volume 3 Number 2.