1. The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) requires online courses to offer "regular feedback scheduled in a timely manner throughout the course." What does this mean to you?
When I think about regular feedback scheduled in a timely manner throughout the course I try to imagine what I would want to have as a student. For myself I always like knowing where I stand with respect to graded assignments so that I can tell in a objective format just how well I actually understood the material. To support this as an instructor that means that where possible I should employ automated grading with feedback so that students are getting their scores as quickly as possible. For any assignments that are not automated I would need to ensure that I as the instructor grade all assignments in a timely manner (I think aiming for 24-48 hours is a good ideal). Another important pillar for myself as both a student and as an instructor would be to allow for one on one interactions that allow me as the instructor to really dive into helping with comprehension, explaining why something was not correct, or to simply just build a working relationship. Given that students are more digital than ever I think that supporting scheduled office hours in a virtual or in person format would allow for the most flexibility for both the student and the instructor to get that crucial time.
2. How much feedback is too much feedback? Is there such a thing as too much feedback?
Personally I don't think you can ever actually give too much feedback. In my observations over time I have found that most people will generally prefer to have as much feedback as you will give them and in the rare exception that they don't want that much they will generally let you know and you can adjust accordingly. In general I have found that most people would say that they don't get enough feedback so I would always prefer to over correct and be asked to let off than to not give students enough feedback for their success.
3. Does giving a student a numerical score in the gradebook count as feedback? Does there have to be written commentary to make that feedback "meaningful"?
I would say that it does certainly count as feedback, but it isn't the only feedback that should be given with the exception that the student is getting 100% on everything. And even in the case of the perfect scores for a student it is still immensely beneficial to affirm that they are doing well and encourage them to keep it up. There doesn't always have to be written feedback to be meaningful, but written feedback is very useful for adding context to a score. Perhaps I give out a 60% score which looks really bad, but if I add some context that clarifies how they were really close to the desired response then I think that student will be far more likely to review and retain the information rather than just discard the score and never look at it again without the feedback being given along side the score.
When I think about regular feedback scheduled in a timely manner throughout the course I try to imagine what I would want to have as a student. For myself I always like knowing where I stand with respect to graded assignments so that I can tell in a objective format just how well I actually understood the material. To support this as an instructor that means that where possible I should employ automated grading with feedback so that students are getting their scores as quickly as possible. For any assignments that are not automated I would need to ensure that I as the instructor grade all assignments in a timely manner (I think aiming for 24-48 hours is a good ideal). Another important pillar for myself as both a student and as an instructor would be to allow for one on one interactions that allow me as the instructor to really dive into helping with comprehension, explaining why something was not correct, or to simply just build a working relationship. Given that students are more digital than ever I think that supporting scheduled office hours in a virtual or in person format would allow for the most flexibility for both the student and the instructor to get that crucial time.
2. How much feedback is too much feedback? Is there such a thing as too much feedback?
Personally I don't think you can ever actually give too much feedback. In my observations over time I have found that most people will generally prefer to have as much feedback as you will give them and in the rare exception that they don't want that much they will generally let you know and you can adjust accordingly. In general I have found that most people would say that they don't get enough feedback so I would always prefer to over correct and be asked to let off than to not give students enough feedback for their success.
3. Does giving a student a numerical score in the gradebook count as feedback? Does there have to be written commentary to make that feedback "meaningful"?
I would say that it does certainly count as feedback, but it isn't the only feedback that should be given with the exception that the student is getting 100% on everything. And even in the case of the perfect scores for a student it is still immensely beneficial to affirm that they are doing well and encourage them to keep it up. There doesn't always have to be written feedback to be meaningful, but written feedback is very useful for adding context to a score. Perhaps I give out a 60% score which looks really bad, but if I add some context that clarifies how they were really close to the desired response then I think that student will be far more likely to review and retain the information rather than just discard the score and never look at it again without the feedback being given along side the score.