STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF AUDIO FEEDBACK: AN EXAMINATION OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

It is widely regarded that providing students with feedback is central to their learning (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick 2006). Traditionally feedback has been given to students either in person or in writing, however, more recently, due to advancements in technology, audio is being employed by a small minority of lecturers in Higher Education (Hooper 2010; Ice et al. 2007; Merry and Orsmond 2007; Middleton 2007). To date, research on audio feedback has focused on students’ perceptions of it as a feedback mechanism, and its ability to increase students’ sense of involvement. However this paper adds to this stream of research by exploring the manner in which students engage with audio feedback. Using data gathered from Business students in the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland, this paper explores how students evaluate audio feedback as a method through which to improve their academic performance. This study also examines age related differences in the number of times students listened to the feedback and it considers the reasons for this.