More Than a Feeling: Using Portraiture to Explore Undergraduate Students’ Emotional Responses to Feedback

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine students’ emotional responses to feedback as it is being processed. We used the think-aloud method, allowing students to express what they are thinking and feeling as they read through their feedback provided by the instructor on an authentic classroom assignment. Feedback type, feedback valence, and emotional responses were coded. Six students verbalized emotional responses to their feedback. The emotional responses for these students were examined using the portraiture method -a critical, narrative story-telling analysis. The results suggest that the type of feedback (process-focused) was more often met with future-focused thinking compared to task-focused feedback. This was despite the study finding positive task-focused feedback was more likely to elicit positive reactions. The think-aloud method, combined with portraiture analysis allowed for a holistic view of the feedback process. A thorough write-up of the student portraitures are described, and the implications of this are discussed.