E-valu8 - A tool to support proactive feedback: Motivating students to learn and complete their course

The E-valu8 project at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), aimed to utilise technology to support students in effective methods of evaluating the quality of their learning experience, enabling open interaction, collaborative and personal action planning. The objectives explored ways of engaging and motivating students by providing timely feedback, through the development of an online evaluation tool. Initial investigation focused on the mechanism, value and worth of both the process and value of effective feedback. The emphasis within this paper is the consequential effect, if any, on the motivational effect of student feedback by closing the feedback loop and endeavouring to consider if such activity promotes student engagement within a course of study. Creating an environment in which feedback is acknowledged and acted upon and fed back to students has been shown to enhance learning outcomes in many different ways, including improvement in the quantity and quality of the learning experience (Grabinger et al, 1995). This could be defined as an environment which is both dynamic and responsive, with the students being encouraged and rewarded for participating within the feedback and assessment process. Our work illustrates that by embedding more intrinsic rewards via appropriate feedback mechanisms this allows students to feel involved in taking responsibility for their own learning, (Davies and Smith, 2006; Canaan, 2003). This promotes a deeper understanding of concepts and their application. The technology use needs to be constructively aligned with the curriculum objectives and learning outcomes so the students can become actively engaged in their learning and the learning and teaching process, rather than passive recipients of knowledge and information. To conclude, this paper attempts to show how the effective use of an institutionally based feedback and evaluation tool can encourage and support student motivation to learn and engage within a course of study.