HOW HAPPY ARE

STUDENTS WITH THE

FEEDBACK THEY GET?
INTERESTINGFINDINGSAND
RESULTS

LET'S GET YOU UP TO SPEED

An international survey was conducted in order
to find out more about how satisfied students
are with the quality of the feedback they receive
from their teachers. The results show that
students do receive some feedback, just NOT
the kind that they NEED.

Check the Results

36%

Get grades followed

by NO feedback

"Grades are my only form of feedback. If I want

more, I can ask for it, but I almost never do."
-Bachelors Student

Out of the 64% of the

students that get
feedback

40%

Have to ask
for the
feedback,
as it is not
just given
by the
teacher

Out of the 64% of the students that get

feedback

Have problems
understanding
the feedback
they get

37%

Misunderstandings occur
because of language
differences. Students find it
difficult to understand the
feedback because of the
academic language used by
professors.
Students could be asking
follow-up questions to get a
more clear understanding of
the feedback.

However,

15%
Do NOT have
that option

And the 85% that have the

possibility to follow-up,

Feel reluctant to do so, because

they believe the teacher doesn't
have the time for it

61%
Want to learn how to
give feedback on
someone else's work

Learning in Groups
The 39% that know how to give
feedback have learned it through
"group work"
"A teacher told us to sit in groups of
three. One should give feedback, one
should receive, and the last should
observe the feedback. Then the
observer gave feedback to the
feedbacker"
Masters student

What do
students want

Constructive Feedback
Students complain about how some
teachers use a counterproductive
technique for giving feedback. It is called
"The feedback sandwich" technique and it
works like this:

PRAISE

Critique
PRAISE

The teacher starts by pointing out

something positive regarding the
student's work. Then, go on by
pointing out the mistakes. And
finally, top it off with another
positive aspect.

Students only feel more confused after

receiving feedback in this format.
Students want more clear and
constructive feedback.

Students want more

feedback

Ontheirfinal
exams

"We don't get any

feedback on our final
exams. I find the
exams to be the most
important since I use
the most time on
that."
- Bachelors student

In General
"Feedback plays such an
important part in our
improvement. Unfortunately,
we get less and less of it."
- Masters student

Students want more personal feedback

"I wish there was more of an

effort to give tailored feedback,
rather than relying on a onesize-fits-all model...

I would find it very helpful to get detailed

feedback after each assignment - I find a crucial
prerequisite to improve my skills."
-Masters student

TAKEAWAY

A great majority of the surveyed

students receive only grades,
followed by no feedback.

Some of the students

who have gotten used
to it, see grades as a
kind of feedback.

Thinking of grades as a
form of feedback makes
students chase higher
grades

Instead of knowledge

Giving feedback to a group that

worked together on an assignment
can be confusing to an individual
member of the group.

The student needs to know

what they have to work on at
an individual and personal
level

Not everyone needs the

same kind of feedback
Students who do well in class
want to hear more critique.

Students who don't do as well

need to get more positive,
reinforcing feedback.

Master degree and Ph.D. students feel

the need for more feedback
ComparedtoBachelordegreeorhighschool

Besides feedback they also need

guidance with academic
writing.

The amount of feedback given by

teachers varies from one type of
study to another.

Results show that students

following applied sciences
get little to no feedback
compared to students
following social sciences or
humanities.

There is a need
for an
improvement
in teacherstudent
communication

Students
want clear
feedback in a
less academic
language.

Overall
There is no organized system for
giving feedback, not even within
the same learning institution. The
method is implemented by the
teacher.

This means that the way students

receive feedback differs from
class to class.

The lack of an organized

feedback system makes it
difficult for the student to keep
track of their overall
improvement.

Meet the

STUDENTS
40%

Of the students that

responded to the survey
study in
Denmark

The rest of the respondents are from all

over the world. The majority that responded
study in

60% of the
respondents
are females

42% of the
respondents study
at a Master degree
level