Evidence-Based Feedback Practices: A Case Study of English Composition 1 Courses at a Tennessee Community College

While there is no “magic formula” for effective feedback (Sadler, 2010, p. 536), the goal of a professor’s feedback is likely to promote students’ growth and development in a learned skill (Mandouit & Hattie, 2023). Feedback can be defined as positive/constructive professor comments on students’ submissions regarding progress, evaluation of skill demonstration, etc., and students’ application of this commentary is helpful to proceed in the learning task (Dawson et al., 2019). Recently, at a community college in Tennessee (TNCC), the English department chair requested an investigation of professors’ feedback practices. This study seeks to explore that request by inquiring about how full-time professors who teach Composition 1 at TNCC describe their feedback practices, how the professors think students perceive the feedback provided, how feedback is given, and what barriers the professors may identify to providing feedback. These inquiries, along with a review of the literature on feedback and use of theoretical and conceptual frameworks, provide structure for an exploratory qualitative case study. This study utilized document analysis of a sample essay, individual semi-structured interviews, and a focus group to collect data on feedback practices from four professors in TNCC’s English department. The study concludes with synthesis of the data to reveal findings and recommendations.