The university stage is a very important phase in students' lives because it prepares them to engage in future life and to become active members in their communities. Student acquire the necessary skills and competencies that qualify them to find opportunities in the marketplace. The effectiveness of university teaching is not demonstrated without being examined and evaluating students' performance. The evaluation process is an urgent necessity to achieve the continuous development of both the university student, the faculty member and the curriculum, and all other means that are used to achieve the university's goals and mission
The educational process is affected by a number of factors, including the teacher's practices and styles, such as the chosen teaching methods to achieve the teaching objectives, raising the motivation of learners, and the use of feedback methods in a manner that ensures the provision of an appropriate class environment. This can only
Feedback is one of the modern educational concepts that emerged in the second half of the twentieth century, with issues raised by Nobert Weiner. He first studied the applied sciences and engineering sciences, which are concerned with the so-called discipline, and then moved to relate feedback to the fields of education and psychology. Because of its importance, feedback patterns received great attention from educators and psychologists to include all knowledge and sciences
Many and various definitions of the concept of feedback emerged in psychology, and they differ greatly in their linguistic form, but they are similar in content. The concept of feedback was mentioned in the glossary of educational sciences as "information on the progress of teaching and learning obtained through indicators"
Feedback is based on a number of basic principles mentioned by Sutton
The goal of feedback is to modify behavior to avoid the weaknesses faced by the student and confirm positivity, and to reinforce it. Feedback is one of the basic elements of brain development and enhancement towards intelligence
Feedback builds a safe educational environment based on mutual friendliness between the teacher and the learner while affirming and appreciating the learners. It works to change the learners' perceptions related to their abilities and indicate the level of their progress and educational growth in a consecutive way. Feedback helps to improve and develop the different skills of learners and thus positively affects their academic achievement, and the advancement of their educational level during the feedback period
Practicing feedback stimulates the learners’ motivation towards learning. Learners will identify the results of their achievement by spotting weaknesses and strengths. In this sense, learners’ increase the sense of happiness associated with the correct performance, as well as the sense of shame to avoid repetition of a specific negative behavior
The student can receive feedback from multiple sources such as the teacher or his colleagues. Learners may refer to a standard to examine their behavior, such as referencing a book or dictionary to compare their answers with what was mentioned in these references. It may be subjective in the sense that learners contemplate the activity and their behavior and analyzes it, and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Learners also receive feedback from their family at home, who often give them feedback on their behavior. It is useful to have multiple sources of feedback because the individual source may present a special point of view while the views issued by multiple sources are complementary, hence educators find a starting point to practice feedback
In order for the teacher to have the opportunity to use the feedback in the classroom situations, and to achieve the desired goals in the processes of improvement and development intended to be achieved in the educational learning process, the following conditions must be met
Feedback should be provided consistently and continuously.
Feedback should be done in light of specific goals.
Interpreting and understanding the results of a feedback requires deep understanding and careful analysis.
The feedback process should be comprehensive, including all elements of the educational process and all learners of all levels, achievement, mental and age levels.
The necessary tools should be used precisely in the feedback process.
Feedback has multiple patterns and forms. Each of them has characteristics that distinguish it from the other according to different learning situations, as well as according to the purpose for which it was found and can be summarized as follows:
First: According to the source, feedback is divided into two parts:
External feedback: It consists of information or references provided by an external source, such as the teacher, trainer, or experimenter, to the student to inform him of the wrong or unnecessary answer that he should avoid. External feedback may be presented in the form of oral or written forms, in the form of a procedure or action, or in the form of apparent emotions and expressions. Perhaps the different evaluation methods are the most important sources of external feedback.
Internal Feedback: It is the information that the learner extracts directly from his experiences and practices. Through it, it is inferred how successful or failed he is to perform a specific task or behavior
Direct (explicit) feedback: It is the information that one of the parties to the communication or educational/learning process provides to the other party (the teacher, the trainer, the expert, the peers) directly and without any mediator about the results of his actions.
Indirect (implicit) feedback: It is the information that is provided indirectly and using various media. For example, by submitting messages and reports, or by other people, or through designs and suggestions, or by the media. Some scholars prefer indirect feedback in many learning or working situations, in order to exclude the influence of the situation as a whole. However, the majority of educators prefer direct feedback, especially in classroom teaching and learning, and they see it as more effective than indirect feedback, especially if there are factors of accuracy, diligence, and objectivity on the part of those who provide it
This pattern comes after a behavior or a performance directly, and provide the learner with the information, directions, instructions, or suggestions required to reinforce, modify, or correct the work. This pattern is related to the observed behavior, and the student is provided with information about the progress of his performance in the test or activity immediately after the answer. This type is prevalent in individual learning methods. Scientists, headed by Skinner, stressed the importance and vitality of this type of feedback. This is confirmed by "Amons" research on this by saying: The learner's performance decreases and deteriorates if the immediate feedback is obscured or its presentation is delayed for a short period (15 seconds) after the end of the response. This may be due to the fact that the feedback given in due time as a result of the delay reduces the learner's enthusiasm, makes him frustrated and does not prevent at the same time from committing the mistakes that he had previously made.
Deferred feedback: This pattern is given to the learner after a period of time has passed since the completion of the work, or performance. This period may be longer, or shortened according to the circumstances and as the case may be. Examples include:
Waiting until the end of the year to issue results of success or failure.
Neglecting some negative behaviors.
Discussing negative behaviors with the students after a period of time has passed since the occurrence of such behaviors
Verbal feedback: It is linguistic utterances provided to the student and the learner cannot refer to it at all times, and it is subject to forgetfulness.
Non-verbal feedback: It happens with guidance and kinesthetic gestures such as head movement or looking at the eyes, which are of great influence in the educational process.
Written feedback: It is by writing and the learner can refer to it all the time, such as the notes written on the answer sheet, or written on the subject matter
Informative feedback, which is to give the learner information about the accuracy of the answer.
Corrective feedback, through which the learner is provided with information about the accuracy of his answer, while correcting the wrong answers.
Explanatory feedback, which includes providing the learner with the necessary information about the correctness of his answer, and correcting it.
Reinforcing feedback, which is to give the learner information about the accuracy of his answer, correct wrong answers, and discuss the causes of the error in addition to providing expressive terms
Positive: It means telling the learner that his answer to the question is correct, praising the answer, which increases his confidence in retrieving his experiences in other situations, and this may change his level of motivation.
Negative: It indicates the teacher’s dissatisfaction with the learner’s answer to a specific question without giving any comment or explanation. Negative feedback may lead to more stress to the learner
Many researchers have been interested in feedback. They used the technique of feedback in their research and studies at all educational levels, starting from the primary stage to the university stage.
Ayasrah and Shabibi
Ashour and Al-Harahsheh
Al-Qawas
Brown et al.
Carver
Mansantiah et al.
Al-Mutairi
Abdullah
Tarif et al.
The primary function of contemporary education is to create a sound practical plan that will achieve comprehensive growth for students, helping them to live in a constantly changing society. This could be achieved by providing favorable conditions for learning and education that enable them to reach their full potential. In the core of the learning and teaching processes, feedback emerges as a vital and important element that contributes to achieving effective learning processes. The role that feedback plays in education stems from the principles of behavioral, correlational theories that confirm the fact that an individual changes his behavior when he knows the results of his previous behavior. This theory confirms the role of motivating feedback in motivating students and directing their energy toward learning. It also contributes in strengthening information, and thus contribute to improving the level of their performance of subsequent educational tasks.
Hence, the study problem is to answer following main question:
What is the level of practicing feedback pattern by students of field education who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University?
More specifically, the study tries to answer the following questions:
What are the feedback patterns to be used by field education students who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University?
What is the level of practicing feedback patterns by students of field education who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University?
Are there any statistically significant differences in the level of practicing feedback patterns by students of field education who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University attributable to the specialty?
The significance of this study stems from the nature of the subject of the patterns of feedback that should be used by field education students who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University. Feedback patterns are important pillars of the education process and should be investigated to identify the impact of using such technique. Moreover, the results of the current study may represent a starting point for more general and comprehensive research and studies that will prepare pre-service and in-service training courses for teachers.
The study attempts to achieve the following objectives:
Identifying feedback patterns that should be used by field education students who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University.
Identifying the feedback patterns used by field education students who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University during their training.
Identifying the difference between the responses of the study sample to determine the feedback patterns used by field education students who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University due to specialization.
The study was conducted in light of the following limitations:
The study was limited to a sample of field education students specialized in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University.
The study was conducted during the first semester of the academic year 2019-2020.
The results of the study are determined by the method of selecting the study sample, the extent of its representation to the original study population, as well as the extent of assessments of the sample.
Practicing feedback patterns: The performance of field education students who specialize in Sharia and primary education in applying feedback patterns during the teaching process. It is related to and track the observed behavior directly, and provide the other party individually with information, guidance, and instructions to enhance, improve, develop, or correct the behavior. These patterns could be written or oral. In this study, it is measured in what was mentioned in the researcher's observation of the sample according to the observation card.
Field education students: Students of the last level from the Faculty of Sharia or the Faculty of Education who have successfully completed all their courses and study the field education course during the first semester of the academic year 2019-2020.
The study followed the descriptive analytical method, which depends on collecting data, tabulating them, analyzing them, then extracting the results. Darwish
Specialization | No. |
Primary education | 15 |
Sharia | 15 |
Total | 30 |
The study population consisted of field education students who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University during the academic year 2019-2020. The sample of the study consisted of (30) students from field education students, who were chosen purposefully and study the field education course during the first semester of the academic year 2019-2020 as shown in
To achieve the objectives of this study, the researcher developed the study instrument as an observation card to collect data. It was prepared according to the following steps:
Preparing a list of feedback patterns that field education students should use.
Determining the goal of the list, which is to identify the types of feedback patterns that should be used by field education students and formulating them as measurable operational procedures.
Identifying the sources for preparing the list through reviewing the theoretical literature and previous studies related to the topic.
Preparing the list in its initial form, and it included (28) items that represent the feedback patterns.
Presenting the preliminary list to a group of 8 judges specialized in curricula, teaching methods and educational psychology in order to ensure the integrity of the language and the reliability of the items to the patterns of feedback.
After taking the opinions of the judges into consideration, the list was converted into an observation card that measures the feedback patterns used by field education students during class visits. The card included (25) items.
Determining the method of measurement in the observation card. The five-Likert scale was approved to correspond to each paragraph included in the observation card. The levels of measurement were very high, high, medium, low, and very low. These alternatives have been granted the following grades: (5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1), respectively. The following table shows the degrees of weight value and the degree of practice of the feedback patterns.
Category | Category boundaries | Level of practice |
1 | 0 -1.8 | Very low |
2 | 1.81-2.60 | Low |
3 | 2.61 – 3.40 | Medium |
4 | 3.41 – 4.20 | High |
The validity of the observation card was confirmed by the following two methods:
Construct validity: To ensure the validity of the observation card and its suitability, it was presented to a group of judges who specialize in curricula and teaching methods at the Faculty of Education at King Khalid University in Abha. The judges indicated that some modifications were made to the way paragraphs were drafted by deletion and addition, and after making the required amendments the judges indicated the validity of the instrument for application to the study sample.
Internal consistency: After verifying the construct validity of the observation card, the researcher applied the tool to an exploratory sample of 3 students outside the study sample. The Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between the score of each paragraph and the total score of the card. The value of the Pearson correlation coefficient between all the paragraphs and the total score of the card was (0.84225), which was positive and statistically significant at (0.01), which indicates the internal consistency of the paragraphs of the card.
The reliability of the instrument was verified by the way of stability across individuals, where the researcher used the observation of the respondents who participated in the exploratory sample (No. 3). To determine the stability factor, the Cooper equation was used, which states:
The value of the stability coefficients was (91.34), which is an appropriate stability value, suitable for study purposes.
The study was carried out according to the following procedures and steps:
Reviewing the literature and previous studies related to feedback patterns.
Preparing a list of feedback patterns that field education students should use.
Presenting the list to a group of specialized judges to take their views and make adjustments accordingly.
Choosing the study sample purposefully from students who are supervised by the researcher in the field.
Determining the application time of the study, which is the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020.
Application of the instrument to the exploratory sample, which is outside the study sample, to determine the validity of internal consistency and reliability.
Applying the study instrument to the study sample and collecting and unloading data via statistical packages (SPSS) to reach the results of the study for discussion and come up with appropriate recommendations.
What are the feedback patterns to be used by field education students who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University?
To answer this question, a list of feedback patterns that should be used by field education students specializing in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University was prepared. The list went through a set of steps and procedures previously mentioned that resulted in (25) paragraphs as shown in the
No. | Paragraph | No. | Paragraph |
1 | Providing learners with their results in the tests immediately after completing the correction | 14 | Ensuring that the distinguished works of the learners are presented and published at the school level |
2 | Ensuring the enhancement of learners' performance orally | 15 | Avoiding uncontrolled feelings when a student is offended |
3 | Providing learners with multiple resources that they can refer to | 16 | Using visual gestures to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a specific answer |
4 | Linking the educational situation to the interests of learners | 17 | Providing learners with the rules and regulations of the school |
5 | Using verbal auditory reinforcement to express satisfaction about a specific behavior | 18 | Using modern teaching methods to help learners develop creative and critical thinking |
6 | Urging learners to take responsibility for studying and obtaining knowledge | 19 | Giving learners multiple opportunities to try to straighten their performance before providing them with the correct performance |
7 | Planning and working to discover some special talents and develop them | 20 | Providing an opportunity for learners to correct the mistakes of their classmates |
8 | Identifying common weaknesses and design remedial activities | 21 | Informing the learners of their goals and what they did not achieve |
9 | Urging learners to use technology | 22 | Praising the learners for their calm and positive interaction after completing the assignments. |
10 | Using written reinforcement to express satisfaction with a specific behavior | 23 | Explaining the reasons for the learner that made his performance right or incorrect |
11 | Informing learners of the importance of performing what they are assigned to and the benefit that comes to them of their mastery | 24 | Discussing the learners' answers upon completion |
12 | Teachers discuss how to motivate learners and increase their positive interaction. | 25 | Specifying a monthly class for learners to review the course |
13 | Informing the learners of the importance of sharing between themselves. |
What is the level of practicing feedback patterns by students of field education who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University?
To answer this question, frequencies and mean scores of responses of field education students were calculated as shown in
No. | Paragraph | Frequency | Mean score | St. deviation | Level of practice | Rank | ||||
Very high | High | Medium | Low | Very low | ||||||
1 | Providing learners with their results in the tests immediately after completing the correction | 0 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 2.467 | 1.176 | Low | 22 |
2 | Ensuring the enhancement of learners' performance orally | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.000 | 0.000 | Very high | 1 |
3 | Providing learners with multiple resources that they can refer to | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 1.500 | 0.500 | Very low | 23 |
4 | Linking the educational situation to the interests of learners | 9 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3.867 | 0.846 | high | 10 |
5 | Using verbal auditory reinforcement to express satisfaction about a specific behavior | 19 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.633 | 0.482 | Very high | 6 |
6 | Urging learners to take responsibility for studying and obtaining knowledge | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 2.667 | 1.247 | Medium | 20 |
7 | Planning and working to discover some special talents and develop them | 1 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 3.400 | 0.663 | Medium | 13 |
8 | Identifying common weaknesses and design remedial activities | 0 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2.767 | 1.023 | Medium | 18 |
9 | Urging learners to use technology | 2 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 2.933 | 0.857 | Medium | 16 |
10 | Using written reinforcement to express satisfaction with a specific behavior | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.800 | 0.400 | Very high | 4 |
11 | Informing learners of the importance of performing what they are assigned to and the benefit that comes to them of their mastery | 22 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.733 | 0.442 | Very high | 5 |
12 | Teachers discuss how to motivate learners and increase their positive interaction. | 6 | 6 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 3.300 | 1.187 | Medium | 15 |
13 | Informing the learners of the importance of sharing between themselves. | 3 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 2.900 | 1.165 | Medium | 17 |
14 | Ensuring that the distinguished works of the learners are presented and published at the school level | 2 | 14 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 3.733 | 0.769 | high | 11 |
15 | Avoiding uncontrolled feelings when a student is offended | 0 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 3.500 | 0.500 | high | 12 |
16 | Using visual gestures to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a specific answer | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.867 | 0.340 | Very high | 3 |
17 | Providing learners with the rules and regulations of the school | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.900 | 0.300 | Very high | 2 |
18 | Using modern teaching methods to help learners develop creative and critical thinking | 0 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 2.700 | 0.823 | Medium | 19 |
19 | Giving learners multiple opportunities to try to straighten their performance before providing them with the correct performance | 0 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 3.100 | 0.831 | Medium | 15 |
20 | Providing an opportunity for learners to correct the mistakes of their classmates | 0 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3.333 | 0.745 | Medium | 14 |
21 | Informing the learners of their goals and what they did not achieve | 7 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3.733 | 0.998 | high | 11 |
22 | Praising the learners for their calm and positive interaction after completing the assignments. | 14 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.467 | 0.499 | Very high | 9 |
23 | Explaining the reasons for the learner that made his performance right or incorrect | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.500 | 0.500 | Very high | 7 |
24 | Discussing the learners' answers upon completion | 0 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 2.600 | 0.611 | Low | 21 |
25 | Specifying a monthly class for learners to review the course | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.000 | 0.000 | Very high | 1 |
Total | 3.656 | 0.676 | High |
It is also clear from the table that the highest practice of feedback patterns was (Ensuring the enhancement of learners' performance orally), followed by (Specifying a monthly class for learners to review the course), where the mean scores of the two paragraphs reached (5,000) and with a standard deviation of (0,000). This indicates the keenness of supervisors on students of field education to the importance of paying attention to feedback and setting a monthly class for reviewing the course and the commitment of the trainees. The least practice of the feedback patterns was represented in the paragraph (providing learners with multiple sources they can refer to). This may be due to the lack of experience of the trainee students with the necessary references for the course as well as their keenness to finish the official course without the commitment of learners to references and other learning resources.
Are there any statistically significant differences in the level of practicing feedback patterns by students of field education who specialize in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University attributable to the specialty?
To answer this question, the sum of the grades and their means were extracted. The Mann-Whitney test was used for two independent groups as shown in
Specialization | No. | Sum of ranks | U-value | Z-value | Sig. |
Sharia | 15 | 202.00 | 13.4717.53 | 1.267 | 0.205 |
Primary education | 15 | 263.00 |
This study aimed at identifying the level of practicing feedback by students of field education specializing in Sharia and primary education at King Khalid University. The findings show that the level of using feedback patterns was high, which is a positive outcome. Students are enrolled in different courses that prepare them to be aware of the importance of feedback before they start their final application in the field education course. The findings did not show differences in levels due to the difference in specialization, which might be due the many common courses between the two specializations.
In light of the results, the study recommends the following:
Explaining the importance of feedback in university study.
Holding training courses for faculty members in universities, and focusing on new members with little experience.
Urging authors to write separate books on feedback because of its great importance in the teaching process at all educational levels.
The author expresses gratitude to King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia for providing administrative and technical support.