Feedback Experience of Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Voices from Pre-service English Language Teachers

ABSTRACT

Informed by the notion of help seeking (Newman, 2008), this study aims to examine a group of MATESOL students’ online feedback experience in relation to their professional learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of interviews with the participants and their written reflections produced during the online courses revealed that while online feedback afforded learning opportunities such as the provision and reception of feedback in diverse groups within a safe space, it also created challenges such as limited real-time and extensive feedback. While the participants exhibited nonadaptive help seeking at times, they also adopted adaptive help seeking strategies for feedback, including having internal conversations with learning materials to generate feedback, creating a space for feedback and interaction with significant others, and staying resilient and finding alternatives for feedback. The paper concludes with practical implications on supporting pre-service teachers’ online feedback experience and fostering their adaptive help seeking strategies in feedback situations as critical and self-regulated learners to contribute to their professional learning.