Situated Formative Feedback - How a Moodle Can Enhance Student Learning Through Online Feedback

Abstract

This study addresses the conceptual challenge of providing students with good qualityfeedback to enhance student learning in an online community of practice (COP). The aim ofthe study is to identify feedback mechanisms in a virtual learning environment (VLE) and tocreate a full formative feedback episode (FFE) through an online dialogue. The paper arguesthat dialogue is crucial for student learning and that feedback is not only something theteacher gives to the student. Viewing good quality feedback as social, situated, formative,emphasis is put on the establishment of dialogue. We refer to this type of feedback as, SituatedFormative Feedback (SFF). As a basis for exploring, identifying and discussing relevantaspects of SFF the paper analyses qualitative data from a Moodle dialogue. Data are embeddedin the qualitative analytic program Nvivo and are analysed with a system theoretical textualanalysis method Asynchronous written dialogue from an online master’s course at AalborgUniversity forms the empirical basis of the study.