First Person and Second Person Markers as Representatives of a Case in a Verb Form

Feedback has always been considered important in second language writing. Quite recently due to various reasons, electronic feedback has become one of the frequently applied types (Zareekbatani, 2015; Ene & Upton, 2018). The aim of the research study was therefore to identify lecturers’ and students’ views on the use of online comments provided on the second language writing tasks. The data was collected through conducting online semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students and lecturers of one Uzbek university. The findings revealed that a variety of comments given on different aspects of the written assessment tasks in the Google documents and combined with additional oral feedback were effective. The article aims at discussing the detailed findings of the research study and providing possible suggestions for language teachers on the use of electronic feedback in L2 writing.

The Effectiveness of Teacher Electronic Feedback in Asynchronous Teaching: A Case Study of Foundation Students at Sultan Qaboos University

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, educational systems worldwide, including Oman, were affected as this led to temporary closures of schools, colleges, and universities. In response to such closures, many countries decided to continue offering education through distance learning. Similarly, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), the only government university in Oman, opted for asynchronous teaching through Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). Through ERT, there is a temporary shift in instructional delivery. Its primary aim is to provide temporary access to instruction and support materials quickly and reliably during the crisis. Asynchronous teaching provides students with flexibility to access the materials posted by teachers whenever they can, leaving teachers with many challenges. One of these challenges is the ability to offer proper feedback to students. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the perceptions of both teachers and students on the electronic feedback provided in ERT. A total of 8 teachers 80 students enrolled in the foundation program at SQU participated in the study. The responses of both teachers and students were collected through online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study indicate that some feedback methods seemed to be more effective. The study also identified the challenges faced by both students and teachers in terms of electronic feedback. Furthermore, the study gives suggestions to improve electronic feedback methods.

The Effects of Electronic Feedback on Medical University Students’ Writing Performance

This study was designed to see whether electronic feedback positively affects medical students’ academic writing performance. Two groups of medical university students were randomly selected and participated in this study. In order to see whether the provision of electronic feedback for the compulsory academic writing course for medical students is effective, the researchers divided 50 medical students to the traditional (n=25) and intervention groups (n=25). Pre-test and post-test were conducted at the beginning and at the end of the semester. Electronic feedback was given to the medical students in the intervention group, while the medical students in the traditional group received the traditional pen and paper feedback. By comparing the scores of two written assignments at the beginning and the end of the semester, regarding the application of electronic feedback, the results showed that not only medical students’ overall writing performance improved after providing them electronic feedback, but every single writing component was also enhanced after the intervention. There was a significant difference in the post-test academic writing scores between the traditional and intervention groups (P < 0.001). This difference was not significant in our control group who was given pen-and-paper feedback. In terms of specific writing components, the most affected components in this approach were content followed by organization, language use, vocabulary, and sentence mechanics, respectively. Although this study focused on medical students’ academic writing ability and reported the effect of electronic feedback on medical students’ writing performance, electronic feedback can be equally beneficial for enhancing student-practitioners’ practical clinical skills.

The Effectiveness of Teacher Electronic Feedback in Asynchronous Teaching: A Case Study of Foundation Students at Sultan Qaboos University

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, educational systems worldwide, including Oman, were affected as this led to temporary closures of schools, colleges, and universities. In response to such closures, many countries decided to continue offering education through distance learning. Similarly, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), the only government university in Oman, opted for asynchronous teaching through Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT). Through ERT, there is a temporary shift in instructional delivery. Its primary aim is to provide temporary access to instruction and support materials quickly and reliably during the crisis. Asynchronous teaching provides students with flexibility to access the materials posted by teachers whenever they can, leaving teachers with many challenges. One of these challenges is the ability to offer proper feedback to students. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the perceptions of both teachers and students on the electronic feedback provided in ERT. A total of 8 teachers 80 students enrolled in the foundation program at SQU participated in the study. The responses of both teachers and students were collected through online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study indicate that some feedback methods seemed to be more effective. The study also identified the challenges faced by both students and teachers in terms of electronic feedback. Furthermore, the study gives suggestions to improve electronic feedback methods.

Identifying the Linguistic Features and Content of Teacher Electronic Feedback and Students’ Text Revisions in Writing

Despite the substantial work on teachers’ feedback on students’ writing, scant attention has been paid to electronic (e-) feedback. In order to fill up this gap, the current study on teacher e-feedback provided to ten pairs of Saudi learners via E-Blackboard identified seven categories of the linguistic features of e-feedback: directives, questions, combined comments, confirmation, error corrections, praise and single statements on linguistic accuracy, content, organization and appropriateness. The students made most text revisions in responding to directive feedback, questions and combined comments, while least text revisions in responding to error corrections, suggestions and statements, and no text revisions in responding to confirmation and praise. The quantitative counts of these categories of feedback and students’ responses demonstrate the prevalent categories of feedback and text revisions. Most of the teacher’s electronic feedback focused on issues related to students’ use of the language in writing, followed by content and idea development, appropriateness and organization. Similar results were obtained from the quantitative analysis of students’ text revisions. This could be due to students’ low language proficiency and inadequate language competence in English, which hindered them from using accurate language in their assignments. Cross-referencing of students’ text revisions to the various patterns of teacher e-feedback revealed that most of students’ text revisions resulted from directive feedback, questions and combined comments. The study offers pedagogical implications for teacher feedback practices and students’ responses to feedback.

The effect of electronic audits and feedback in primary care and factors that contribute to their effectiveness: a systematic review

Purpose The aim of this systematic review was (i) to assess whether electronic audit and feedback (A&F) is effective in primary care and (ii) to evaluate important features concerning content and delivery of the feedback in primary care, including the use of benchmarks, the frequency of feedback, the cognitive load of feedback and the evidence-based aspects of the feedback. Data sources The MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and CENTRAL databases were searched for articles published since 2010 by replicating the search strategy used in the last Cochrane review on A&F. Study selection Two independent reviewers assessed the records for their eligibility, performed the data extraction and evaluated the risk of bias. Our search resulted in 8744 records, including the 140 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from the last Cochrane Review. The full texts of 431 articles were assessed to determine their eligibility. Finally, 29 articles were included. Data extraction Two independent reviewers extracted standard data, data on the effectiveness and outcomes of the interventions, data on the kind of electronic feedback (static versus interactive) and data on the aforementioned feedback features. Results of data synthesis Twenty-two studies (76%) showed that electronic A&F was effective. All interventions targeting medication safety, preventive medicine, cholesterol management and depression showed an effect. Approximately 70% of the included studies used benchmarks and high-quality evidence in the content of the feedback. In almost half of the studies, the cognitive load of feedback was not reported. Due to high heterogeneity in the results, no meta-analysis was performed. Conclusion This systematic review included 29 articles examining electronic A&F interventions in primary care, and 76% of the interventions were effective. Our findings suggest electronic A&F is effective in primary care for different conditions such as medication safety and preventive medicine. Some of the benefits of electronic A&F include its scalability and the potential to be cost effective. The use of benchmarks as comparators and feedback based on high-quality evidence are widely used and important features of electronic feedback in primary care. However, other important features such as the cognitive load of feedback and the frequency of feedback provision are poorly described in the design of many electronic A&F intervention, indicating that a better description or implementation of these features is needed. Developing a framework or methodology for automated A&F interventions in primary care could be useful for future research.