Response practices in teacher education

The written interaction between student teachers and their teachers in six writing processes

Abstract

This article presents a study investigating the processes involved in the writing of term papers by a selection of student teachers. The study focuses on the teachers’ feedback, but also encompasses the students’ revisions and reflections. More specifically, it examines which acts of responding the teachers use, as well as which acts of revision the students perform. The analyses have a textual focus, seeking to uncover salient linguistic tools and language acts in the written interaction between teacher and student.  The material comprises the students' two versions of the term paper, the teachers' feedback, and answers to a simple questionnaire. Some of the teachers’ comments are quite complex with several potential layers of meaning. The teachers’ feedback encompasses both appreciatory and critical utterances, which on the one hand give evidence of a respectful approach, and on the other reveal an effort to balance professional and relational considerations. The analysis also shows that the teachers provide more directive feedback on weaker texts, while they use more open-ended, dialogic approaches with the stronger texts. There are similarities between the teachers in terms of what they point out in the texts’ content, and we highlight their emphasis on student independence as particularly interesting. This is a self-study, as three of the researchers are the students’ teachers, and one of its aims was to improve develop their professional competence with regard to providing feedback. The study concludes that teachers in higher education need to develop their competence in, and meta-language about, feedback practices. It also shows the potential of, as well as the challenges involved in using different language acts and linguistic tools when giving feedback. It also shows that students need guidance in how to interpret and utilize the feedback provided.