Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia
Feedback is recognized as an important component of learning but may have differential effects on students’ performance and other learning outcomes. In this study, we investigated Year 2 undergraduate nursing students’ (N=18) formulation of peer feedback after receiving structured training as part of a re-designed module on Medical/Surgical nursing. The feedback training involved two phases: phase 1 – three hours of face-to-face training, Phase 2 - three practical sessions on alternate weeks, each with one round of paired reciprocal peer feedback. Students were instructed to use a rubric and feedback form to observe, evaluate and write feedback on one another’s wound care practical procedures. The feedback statements of all the practice sessions were collected, coded and analyzed using the coding scheme derived from Hattie & Timperley’s model (2007) of Task, Process and Self-regulation levels. The results indicated that students in general gave more process level feedback than task feedback at the end of the third practical session. Students who provided process level feedback were found to give a deeper process feedback (i.e. using key concepts) in the third session compared to the first session (a 15% increase in deep feedback statements). This study demonstrated that a structured training approach can better support students in formulating feedback that focused students’ attend on the learning task as well as suggestions for improvement. The study has implication for the effective integration of peer feedback approaches in enhancing students’ understanding of nursing competencies.
Keywords: peer feedback, nursing, self-regulation