It can be very difficult sometimes to understand what is being said in a comment. This is why the "depth 3" type of feedback is good - what was wrong, how you can fix it, and why. That said, the most motivating comments I remember are positive, rather than corrective : there is a feeling of collaboration rather than a student/tutor relationship if a comment says "Good point".

I think in computer science, particularly in programming, it is essential not to put the student off with feedback that 'tells them off' for having a go. When I try to learn new programming languages or frameworks, I sometimes feel like I am getting in trouble!

In my own experience, I have found that experienced programmers are often hard on other programmers for lots of things - not using coding conventions correctly, a design pattern used in the wrong way, inefficient code. But, programming is hard, and by giving feedback that looks at what they are not doing, instead of what they are doing, is putting them off trying new things.

The example about white space was quite good because it gently introduced conventions while still praising them for what they had done.

When I give feedback to students on programming, I try to think of programming like doing DIY around the house. Anyone can have a go if they want, and some people are more skilled than others - but that doesn't mean that beginners can't have a go and have fun too. Sometimes from students, I get the feeling that the those who are beginning to the program feel like they are never going to become a programmer, while at the same time, they are actually doing some programming! I have to point out they ARE programming, and they should be proud of what they have achieved.

I find constructive feedback works best for me, I need to know if I have done well, what I did well with, what I haven't grasped and how I can improve. They have been easy to read on TMA's I have been confident in, the ones that I have not felt confident in have been difficult to look at at first but I have felt much better for reading them. This is because of the explanations included of what I am not grasping and the direction that is given on how to improve.

Most of the recent feedback I get tends to be suggestive: "have you thought about ..." "what would happen if .." so it feels more like you're having a discussion as equals. This sort of feedback is also important when an assignment is excellent, as you want to encourage the student to consider other aspects of the topic, or take their arguments further.

At the moment, I am revising a journal article that was returned with a revise and resubmit for review notice.

In fact, all three of the reviews for this article agreed on main points -- both negative and positive.  However one of the reviews let me know that the writing was excellent, and that the arguments in the article were interesting and relevant.  The criticisms were constructive, and  small stylistic problems were not mentioned.  This reviewer recommended minor revisions.  The (infamous) third review pointed out many of the same things, but couched in them very negative language, wrote in detail about every stylistic issue (including inconsistent use of bolding) and suggested a new review was required.

Without the first reviewer, I would be a very sad writer, because the language used by the third reviewer was not always consructive.  However, I have had the benefit of being able to look back on the first reviewer's comments again and again, as I try to see my way forward.  Nonetheless, the third reviewer has knocked my confidence, and I find I am dragging my heels in completing the revision.

So... this is a long way to say that language matters a lot in feedback.  How we say things has a big effect on the people we give it to, maybe even more than what we say.

Getting feedback helps me to improve, but I am sometimes nervous when receiving it. I think tutors should definitely get to the point quickly when giving feedback, so the student knows where they stand.

I had to come up with a written procedure to improve service delivery across IT support desks.  This took a lot of research and effort to submit the work. The written feedback was negative and without comments on where I could improve. This knocked my confidence and I felt I wasted a lot of time trying to guess where I could improve the document. In the end, the manager in charge dropped the idea with no explanation.

I believe a tutor providing clear feedback on what was good and why and what could be improved on and why, with suggestions,  would motivate me to take on board the lessons and to improve for the next module and assignment.

This would also keep me motivated to continue with the modules, gain respect for the tutor and be willing to seek further advice from them. 

The feedback that readily comes to mind right now was a very useful one for me. What stood out for me in the feedback was the fact that, it was personalized to me and very encouraging. I felt good after reading it. I appreciated the fact that the lecturer took time to provide a feedback that was constructive, detailed and self-explanatory. These was no cause for me to feel agitated but rather to take on board the comments and become better going forward.

Putting my student hat on here!

What’s been useful - 

• Feedback that shows me how to improve - even if what I’ve done is already getting high (or even full) marks.  This could be about a better or alternative way to do something, for example, or picking out errors or gaps even in a “well achieved” answer 
• Feedback on what I’ve done well if it’s specific and I wouldn’t otherwise have realised, and also specifically when it relates to a skill I am less confident on. For example, telling me I’ve got a calculation right, well done - for me that is pointless because it’s obvious it’s right, and that’s an area of strength for me. Telling me my essay was well structured and why - that is good because I’m less confident with essays and it is helping inform me what to do in my next one 
• Feedback that feels like a conversation between me and someone who knows me - they have an idea of my aims, my personal standards, and the comments are aimed at me, not the cohort in general or the monitor

What’s not been useful 

• Generic “this is good work” feedback without any indication of how to improve, when the marks show it wasn’t perfect. 
• Feedback including things not relevant to me just because they applied to many of the cohort. If I got question 3 right but was less confident with question 5, getting a full worked solution to 3 and nothing on 5 is a tad annoying,
• Feedback on essays telling me what I should have added without telling me what I could have left out, given I was right up to the word count
• Feedback that doesn’t take account of who I am as a person - my prior knowledge, my aims etc (I appreciate not all students share those with tutors but if they do, it’s right to take account of them)
• Non-specific feedback - just telling me “more needed here” isn’t much help because if a I’d known what more to add, I’d have added it!

Any constructive feedback is useful; I can see my strengths and weaknesses, so I can improve. I like to short comments with examples and reasons; why something is appropriate or why not.

I have generally had good constructive feedback throughout my OU student career, and always found it useful, even if I didn't always agree with what was said. There is usually a generic feedback section which covers areas that most of the students in the tutor group have or haven't done as well as personal feedback on my particular work.

Positive feedback is good, it's always nice to be told you're doing well, but, as long as it is constructive, the "depth 3" feedback will help to identify where you could improve. Just being told something is missing or not correct is not very useful, even more so because of the asynchronous way of delivering the feedback/

Back in 1998, 20 years ago, when I did most of the required courses for a post-graduate diploma in IT Computing, I remember the TMA comments to be rather uninspiring and really not helpful. My attitude was more, I knew better in particular for the tasks for which I had many years of experience, so I gave no importance to their comments; the grade was more important. In no circumstance did I feel a conversation taking place.

Now 20 years later, when I started my three years of BSc Mathematics, remembering my past experience, I reflected on the hard tasks of the tutor having to correct many TMAs and asked myself: “How can I improve the TMAs process in order to have a more enriching experience?”. As the solitude previously experienced bothered me quite a bit, I told myself that the TMA was my best opportunity to have an ongoing conversation and rapport with the tutor. So I added a high level of narrative in my Math TMAs, sometimes I included (clearly identified as non-TMA material) reflections on correlated problems or personal mathematical speculations or simply a personal comment addressed directly to the tutor. My scope was to make the TMA not only a good experience for me, but also an interesting moment for the tutor. The secondary purpose was to generate material that I felt could be used as teaching material (opportunely edited) in the future. At least one tutor confirmed that they used my exposition to explain some topic to other students (that was my best appreciated feedback – that my effort of 50/60 page TMAs was of benefit to someone else). So clearly,  my second time around, my experience with the feedback and rapport with the tutor was totally positive. I did my part, but surely all of the tutors professionally and personally did their part also.

If there are some positives in my feedback it certainly makes me more receptive.  I agree that depth 3 are the more useful comments.  Just being told 'need more detail' doesn't help me at all, much prefer the 'need .... about .... because ...'  type feedback that I can learn from and do better next time.

Feedback is always a challenge, depending on the relationship of the parties concerned.

The written text, if poorly constructed, and/or lacking in content & direction, may not 'land' well, nor be welcomed by the recipient.

Would be good to follow-up comments with calls or video chats, where there might be the potential for written text to be received differently from that which the writer intended.

I work as part of a dotted line team who develop technical papers and standards. I always try to set a tone of honesty within the group, and state that when we finish, I want the product to be the best it can be when it is released. I therefore make it clear that honest feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome.

That said, the standard of feedback on any particular document that comes back varies from closed statements - sometimes but not often helpful, to improvement recommendations - far more helpful. 

The depth 1 responses normally instigate a follow up to ask what can be done to improve, so I appreciate that getting the depth 3 response aids understanding and saves time.

Praise is nice and all that, but it is best when it carries some elaboration, such as what it was specifically that someone liked, or not. I think feedback that points me toward areas for improvement or alternative approaches is the most useful.

It's hard to be grateful to somebody who trips you up on the stairs. Must admit it's never something I look forward to. I have learnt, however, that it needs to be dealt with.

If the feedback has been done well it will say what should have happened, and what you should do about it. 

It should never imply that you are personally a failure -  good points should be mentioned.

It should say there is more you have to learn -  give examples of what.

When I have received feedback in the past, I preferred feedback identifying areas for improvement to be clear, unambiguous and factual but when I received feedback on an area that was well done I'm happy for more open language. This helped me to improve and encouraged me.

I like the format for feedback that I learnt as a secondary school teacher, www and ebi (what went well, and even better if........). This sets up positive feedback.

I am quite critical of my own work so negative feedback tends to really worry me. However, this also results in me wanting to provide good, constructive feedback to others so they see it as encouragement. I tend to be quite explicit in my feedback and, as a manager always try to apply the sandwich methodology. Always end on a positive!

When I receive written feedback I tend to focus on the negative points and I tend to interpret the content in a more negative way than what it might be.

I found the use of smileys useful to give a better idea of the tone.

I think poor quality feedback can be very demotivating, not only can it disproportionately focus on the negative it can, if it doesnt also mention the promising parts and mention how to improve, it can make it seem that not only has the leaner not got anything right they also have no prospect of improving since they may feel their work was not even worthy of comment on how to turn it into something better.

I found feedback for my PhD proposal quite difficult to understand.  i was unsure whether what I had received was a way of pointing me in a different direction or was telling me that my whole idea was rubbish!  I really needed to have a discussion with my supervisor, but had to wait a week.  After the discuss I was then reasured, that actually what I had written was good, I just needed to consider the points as well.

The feedback sandwich is always useful. By clearly outlining steps for improvement, it ensures the feedback is constructive. Letting me know what I've done well allows me to enjoy a little victory and retain pride in my work. Knowing what I can leave as is, and what I must focus on improving, makes further work less daunting and improves motivation. Stock answers are always obvious and disappointing!

So far, my tutors have been extraordinary. I think marking maths assays are easier in respect of the ways to answer a question. Tutors point out the mistakes and expose the right way to answer. Then they try to explain why you make that mistake. They have experience and have seen other students falling in the same pitfall. So always interested on knowing what my tutors think of my work.

I find positive feedback extremely motivating and use this to spur me on. I do struggle with negative feedback, as I tend to take it personally, but I understand that sometimes, not everything I write is correct! If negative feedback is constructive and gives me something to work on for my next assignment, this is very useful and it shows the tutor that the student is willing to reflect on and improve their learning. 

Feedback that gives reasoned detail and allows you to improve should always be seen as positive.

I've only had one lecturer who gave inadequate feedback luckily, but it spoiled that entire module for me.

I find feedback very useful when I'm not only told what was got wrong but also how to make it right. The use of positive language is important as well.

I think the worst feedback I have got repeatedly was just to "improve my communication" but without any support or guidance on how exactly to do that. 

Yet more positive feedback, or feedback that builds over time eg much clearer flow due to use of headings. Shows you are actually interested in that person's development over time.  

The main difficulty with feedback is removing the volume of text to reveal key information which is content driven and actually useful in developing knowledge rather than standard feedback such as review referencing (which is important but content feedback is essential)

I may have been very lucky with my time studying with the OU since 2012, I have always found the TMA comments useful and encouraging. I do find the most helpful ones are in the TMA's where I under preform and I am within 10 marks of failing. These are TMA's that I know I have struggled with some of the questions. Here I see that the tutor has taken more time to think about how I had gone wrong and gives me pointers to do better next time. I do often ask quite a few questions on a TMA before the submission date so I think the tutor already has an idea where I'll be struggling. As a student I often make a point of engaging with my tutor. I like to make sure they understand the areas that I have problems. 

Getting good feedback is always nice, but I am not actually all that comfortable with praise. I often think it is a bit excessive.

On the other hand, unless I already feel that what I have done is not the best I could have done, I do tend to take critisism poorly. Even in cases where it is justified, it can take me a little time to turn things around and realise I can (and usually should) do better.

It is much easier to do this if the critisism is clear in terms of what I did wrong and constructive in terms of how I might best remedy matters.

I have absolutely been affected by the tone of written feedback. So much so that I navigate away from tasks that may require feedback from these people again. I am particularly demotivated when a depth 1 negative comment is ended with exclamation marks, making me feel as if they are shouting in anger. I endeavour never to use an exclamation mark unless it is a positive comment.

When I have received feedback in the past after submitting an assignment, it is always good to received positive confirmation that you have done something well, or if something if not completed well it is always easier to take if it is worded well and motivating you to do it correctly in the future.

I agree that we should strive to give Depth 3 feedback and keep the tone of the comments positive and encouraging. 

This is an important area for students and immediately brought dread to the pit of my stomach :-) on remembering some of my own feedback without much of an explanation as to why. The depth 3 comments are great as it doesn't feel as much as a criticism from the tutor.

Having completed my OU degree in September I know folirst hand how encouraging a positive comment can be on a TMA. Likewise, I know how discouraging it is to receive negative comments, even if it's a fair comment.

In low intelligence regiments of the army the psychology is to break trainees down by using negative verbal and sometimes physical abuse creating an under dog culture.  This is to discourage individualism and promote a subservient attitude.   These people will be carrying lethal weapons around with them and you want them to blindly do what they are told.  

What we want from OU students is the exact opposite. Hence encourage, develop skills etc

I am actually happy to get any feedback at all. I feel that I am able to filter each comment and realise that they are not personal attacks.

Getting feedback, even if critical, does mean that someone has bothered to read and engage with what I have written.

Current software development practices involve pair programming, pull requests/code reviews, retrospectives and performance reviews so getting and giving feedback is, or should be, a regular part of working life.

I have found that feedback with positive tone motivates me to do better in the assignment next time. It gives me confidence knowing that I am on the right path and can only improve.

Feedbacks that seem negative and that aren't constructive can be demoralising at times.

I also find that including model solutions in the feedback can be very helpful.

Word count is an important tool to ensure student assignments are 'to the point'. On one module, whilst receiving good marks I was told these would have been better if I had included one or two more points in my argument. Unfortunately there was no suggestion as to how this might be achieved - had I duplicated a point, was my writing too verbose etc?

Providing an example of how I could have reduced my word count to enable another point to be made would have been helpful

I recall struggling to receive feedback during my undergraduate degree, and it was an unsettling experience. The university's failure to provide feedback to students left us in the dark about our shortcomings and how we could improve. This lack of guidance was demotivating, leading to a significant drop in the number of students remaining in the course.

From this experience, I firmly believe that constructive feedback is essential for any student's growth. It should not only identify the issues but also offer clear and actionable solutions. Such feedback goes beyond mere correction; it provides explanations, which, in turn, motivates students to strive for improvement in their future endeavors.

I have found I tend to focus on the negative when receiving feedback.  Because of this, I find it important to know how to improve an answer - what points were missing and why were these important.  What skills could I gain to give a better answer?

I like the 3 types of feedback which are clear and show how to give better feedback rather than just saying that something is wrong.

The last feedback I received was about my research productivity, that is regarding the number of papers I published and the type of journals I selected. I felt that the feedback language was very blunt, and this left me uncomfortable and reduced my motivation. Another feedback that I received was about the managerial and presentation skills. This feedback was from a very experienced professional. Here the feedback was encouraging pointing out to the deficiencies and limitations in my skills as well as highlighting my strong points. This feedback motivated me and I started improving my weaknesses. I think the feedback should be positive and encouraging, point out first to the strong points and then gradually highlighting the weaknesses. In this way the person receiving feedback will not loose interest and motivation.

I may have got ahead of myself as I replied in activity 5/2 that positive feed back is important - because it should encourage students to seek further clarification if required.

It is different from industry, where you are using your skill and judgement. If you get things wrong here it can cost time, money and reputation. At Uni, the students are in the 'dojang' (this is where we're supposed to make mistakes and explore possibilities and to learn why something might not be  a good idea)