Dealing with Feedback on an Assignment
Author: Eoin Jordan, University of St Andrews (with assistance from ChatGPT)
Review/editing: Aaron Rotsinger, University of St Andrews
SITUATION: Steve is an international student from the United States studying at a Czech university. In his first semester, he spent a lot of time on an academic essay, and he knew he had written a very good essay. However, when it was returned, he got a much lower grade than he expected and the professor had given him very little feedback. This caused him to become quite depressed and stop coming to class so often. As he withdrew further and further from his studies, he started to question whether or not he made the right decision to study abroad.
QUESTION: Why did the professor leave such little feedback? Why did Steve get a lower grade than he expected? Assume that the work really was good, and try to explore reasons that Steve’s expectations were not met.
The feedback would be given later in person
The professor expects the student to make an appointment or ask specifically for feedback
The professor is being hard on the first year students in order to set an example
The grade scale in Czechia is different to that in the USA, with grades generally being lower
Feedback is used as continuous input in the USA whereas it plays a more summative role in Czechia
The classes are much larger than Steve is used to and the professor doesn’t have time to give detailed feedback
Steve’s work is good, but his classmates’ work is even better.
What could Steve do to feel better instead of withdrawing from class?
What could the professor have done in order to manage her students’ expectations?
What do you think they could each learn from this incident?