The Influence of Student Characteristics on Responses to Academic Feedback

该项目旨在通过改善教师向本科生反馈其学习成绩的方式来服务于国家利益。反馈的目的是促进学生的学习和成就。 然而，相对较少的研究明确研究了STEM学生如何解释反馈以及反馈是否具有预期效果。该项目将研究学生对反馈的反应如何受到他们的自我认知的影响，例如他们对掌握STEM材料的信心以及他们在该领域被接受的感觉。 该项目将测试几种类型的反馈是否对具有不同自我感知的学生产生同样有益的结果。该项目的目标是建立一个关于影响学生对学术反馈反应的因素的知识库。 预计这些知识可能会被纳入许多类型机构的循证STEM教学实践中。此外，关于学生的自我认知如何塑造他们的反应的知识应该与STEM教学和课程设计的其他方面相关，例如描述学习目标或教师的教学理念。个人在学业自我认知上各不相同，有些人在该领域的效能感和归属感高于其他人。学生之间也存在系统性差异，平均而言，女性在STEM方面的效能和归属感低于男性。这些个人和性别差异对学生对学术反馈的反应的影响将在实验室研究中进行检查，在实验室研究中，学生志愿者同意完成代表性的STEM作业，这些作业由与学生在线交流的人进行评估。这项研究将审查在其他情况下影响对反馈的反应的关键变量，例如评估者的性别、学生的自我效能感以及学生是否认为评估者知道他们的性别。作为第二个主要目标，该项目还将评估具体的理论知情的方式来提供反馈，以最大限度地提高反馈对所有学生的好处。NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。该项目是在学生学习的轨道，通过该计划支持的创建，探索和实施有前途的做法和工具。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving the way faculty give undergraduates feedback about their academic performance. Feedback is intended to promote student learning and achievement. However, relatively little research has explicitly studied how STEM students interpret feedback and whether feedback has its intended effects. This project will examine how students’ reactions to feedback are shaped by their self-perceptions, such as their confidence in mastering STEM material and their feelings of being accepted in the field. The project will test whether several types of feedback produce equally beneficial outcomes for students with different self-perceptions. The goal of the project is to build a knowledge base about the factors that affect students’ responses to academic feedback. It is anticipated that this knowledge may be incorporated into evidence-based STEM teaching practices at many types of institutions. In addition, knowledge gained about how students’ self-perceptions shape their reactions should be relevant to other aspects of STEM teaching and course design, such as describing learning goals or the instructor’s teaching philosophy. Individuals vary in their academic self-perceptions, with some feeling higher efficacy and belonging in the field than others. Systematic differences also exist between students, with women on average reporting lower efficacy and belonging in STEM than men. The impact of these individual and gender differences on students’ reactions to academic feedback will be examined in laboratory studies in which student volunteers agree to complete representative STEM assignments that are evaluated by a person who is communicating with the student online. The study will examine key variables shown to affect responses to feedback in other contexts, such as the gender of the evaluator, students’ self-efficacy, and whether students think the evaluator knows their gender. As a second major goal, the project will also evaluate specific theory-informed ways to deliver feedback with the goal of maximizing the benefits of feedback for all students. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. This project is in the Engaged Student Learning track, through which the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.