Using Wordle to encourage student engagement with feedback

One obstacle to the effectiveness of feedback is the ability and willingness of students to engage with it. A joint project between the Learning Development Team (LLR) and the Business School aimed to challenge issues of student engagement with feedback through use of the web tool Wordle.

Wordle is a tool for generating word clouds; the user copies or types text into the tool and the tool creates a decorative word arrangement of the typed words. The font size of each word depends on the frequency in which it appears in the text with higher-frequency words featuring in larger font. A wordle using the text of this intrinsic feedback resource is available here as an example.

Based on the successful ESCalate hot topic written by Rebecca Bell of LLR, the approach was trialled with a small group of first year students. The sessions saw students submitting their own and their group’s assignment feedback into Wordle. The output they received consisted of a word cloud with the most common words prominently displayed, helping students to identify their key writing issues. The session was also used to discuss a wide range of feedback issues including the differences between feedback in FE and HE.

Tutors found that the session "…helped us as tutors to engage not just with how students respond to feedback about one piece of work but to share issues with students about the whole feedback process and its meaning. It has provoked a dialogue which otherwise may not have happened."

At the start of the sessions, 27 out of 35 students said that they did not look at their previous feedback before starting an assignment. At the end of the sessions, 28 out of 35 students said that they would use their feedback in future, such as "…to see if there’s any correlation between the feedbacks as it could be repeated mistakes".

For more information on using Wordle in sessions (and the resources available to support this) please contact Sarah Lawther.