Dr. Cristina Shams

STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK RELATING TO SELF-REGULATION IN AN ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNITY COLLEGE COURSE: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY

Research concerning instructor feedback suggests that it should move beyond just providing “hopefully useful comments” and towards a higher standard of student-centered feedback that encourages self-regulation. Instructor feedback enhances student academic achievement and can positively affect students' self-regulation, especially important in online asynchronous courses from which face to face feedback is absent. This qualitative study explored student perceptions of instructor feedback relevant to self-regulation in several sections of an asynchronous course. Students self-reported the instructor feedback they received on returned work activities and participated in interviews to explore their perceptions in more depth. Students described their perceptions of instructor feedback relevant to their self-regulation and feedback that was not helpful to their selfregulation. Participants also offered insight to student perspectives on automated feedback. From the findings, a conceptual framework of self-regulating feedback was developed and recommended for implementation to improve instructor feedback practices in asynchronous courses.

Cristina Shams began a corporate career after receiving her Master of Business Administration from the University of Central Florida. Her earliest roles were at a large software company as an application integration instructor, followed by a role as an implementation consultant. She later became a division Director, leading customer support, quality assurance, and application integration instruction. Cristina’s interest in instruction carried into higher education, starting with an adjunct position, and leading to a position as a full-time faculty member at a community college where she teaches online asynchronous courses. Her research interests are grounded in improving asynchronous learning, including instructional design and instructor feedback. These interests aim to expand students’ connectedness with instructors when learning online.