Enhancing Feedback in Higher Education
Updated Mar 27, 2026
Students improve faster when feedback arrives early enough to shape what they do next. Formative assessment matters because it helps students and teachers spot gaps in understanding while there is still time to act. Gibbs and Simpson (1) outlined six characteristics of feedback that improve student performance:
- Feedback is frequent and detailed enough to guide the next step;
- Feedback focuses on students' performance, learning, and activities within their control, rather than on the students themselves;
- Feedback arrives while it still matters and can still be applied;
- Feedback relates clearly to the aim of the assessment and its evaluation criteria;
- Feedback fits students' conceptions of learning, knowledge, and disciplinary discourse;
- Feedback is acknowledged and acted upon.
In a blended learning environment, instructors and peers can give feedback through both face-to-face discussion and online interaction. Formal learning management systems (LMSs) and informal social networking sites (SNSs), such as Facebook and Twitter, offer different learning spaces with different objectives. Research (2,3) suggests that students often found Facebook better suited to collaborative learning. In a 2017 study, McCarthy (4) assessed the Café, a Facebook-hosted e-learning application, as a useful setting for peer feedback. The study compared face-to-face teacher feedback, face-to-face peer feedback, and online peer feedback to identify the benefits and limitations of each approach.
The three feedback strategies were trialled in formative assessment tasks across two first-year courses in the Bachelor of Media Arts programme at the University of South Australia. A total of 118 students, including 19 international students, took part. The tasks and feedback models were designed in line with Gibbs and Simpson's recommendations (1), which meant the comparison focused on the quality of feedback rather than the platform alone. Every two weeks, students discussed their work in tutorial groups under the guidance of a tutor. In alternating weeks, they submitted work in progress to the Café for peer critique. Clear assessment criteria were essential, because students needed a shared standard for writing useful commentary. Participation in these formative assessment activities was worth 15% of the final grade, and instructors evaluated three components: (1) the quality of the work submitted to the Café, (2) the quality and consistency of peer critiques and conversations in the Café, and (3) attendance and participation in tutorial discussions. Students' perceptions of the different feedback methods were then captured through an online survey at the end of the semester.
The Café proved to be an effective home for the online activities. Students praised the forum's interactivity and accessibility; being able to access it through Facebook was a practical advantage. McCarthy (4) found that students appreciated moving between different learning environments when exchanging feedback. Some preferred face-to-face academic discussion, while others were more comfortable interacting with peers and instructors online. That flexibility matters in large classes, because it gives more students a workable route into discussion, promotes engagement with course material, and creates opportunities to strengthen both oral and written communication skills.
Staff feedback was, unsurprisingly, the most valued formative assessment model. Students saw instructors as subject experts and expected their feedback to be more critical, so they placed greater weight on staff comments. Even so, students also valued giving feedback to peers as well as receiving it themselves. Critically examining a peer's contribution often prompted students to revisit their own work with fresh revision ideas, which helped them produce stronger final submissions.
Online peer feedback was more popular than in-person peer feedback, especially among international students. Face-to-face academic discussion can create barriers, including language anxiety and social inhibition. Online interaction gives students more time to think through their ideas and frame critiques carefully before responding. This is a useful lesson for blended learning in the early years of higher education: when institutions offer both online and in-class spaces for collaborative learning, they can better support students from different disciplinary and cultural backgrounds, ease the transition into university culture, encourage meaningful peer interaction, and improve the overall learning experience.
FAQ
Q: How does the process of giving and receiving feedback through platforms like the Café influence students' development of critical thinking and analytical skills, especially in the context of text analysis?
A: Giving and receiving feedback through platforms like the Café strengthens critical thinking because students must judge what makes a piece of work effective, explain that judgement clearly, and reflect on how similar points apply to their own work. That process sharpens text analysis: students learn to spot gaps, structure arguments, and notice nuances they might otherwise miss. The informal online setting can also make it easier for students to share honest views, which broadens discussion and gives more students confidence to use their student voice.
Q: In what ways can the feedback received from both peers and instructors be effectively incorporated into a student's learning process to ensure it leads to meaningful improvements in their work?
A: Feedback leads to meaningful improvement when students treat it as something to use, not just something to read. That means reviewing comments against the assessment criteria, deciding which points matter most, and turning them into clear actions for the next draft or assignment. Follow-up conversations with peers or tutors can clarify ambiguous feedback and help students prioritise changes. Revisiting past comments over time also builds a habit of continuous improvement and gives students more confidence to engage with their own learning.
Q: How does the students' ability to articulate their thoughts and feedback in writing, particularly in an online environment like the Café, contribute to their understanding of the subject matter and their own voice in academic discourse?
A: Writing feedback in an online space helps students slow down and think. To explain a judgement clearly, they have to organise ideas, justify claims, and connect comments to the work in front of them. That deepens subject understanding while strengthening academic writing and text analysis skills. It also gives students a visible space to test and refine their own voice, respond to other perspectives, and build confidence in contributing to academic discourse.
References:
[Source] McCarthy J. Enhancing feedback in higher education: Students’ attitudes towards online and in-class formative assessment feedback models. Active Learning in Higher Education. 2017 Jul;18(2):127-41.
DOI: 10.1177%2F1469787417707615
[1] Gibbs G, Simpson C. Does your assessment support your students’ learning. Journal of Teaching and learning in Higher Education. 2004;1(1):1-30.
Available Here
[2] Rambe P. Critical discourse analysis of collaborative engagement in Facebook postings. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology. 2012 Apr 2;28(2).
DOI: 10.14742/ajet.875
[3] Wang Q, Woo HL, Quek CL, Yang Y, Liu M. Using the Facebook group as a learning management system: An exploratory study. British journal of educational technology. 2012 May;43(3):428-38.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01195.x
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