Lost in Translation? How Beginning International Graduate Students Interpret Assignment Descriptions and Instructor Feedback on Their Writing
Grant program: Teaching and Learning Development Grant (TLDG)
Grant recipient: Bonnie Waterstone, Faculty of Education
Support provided: Development of proposal, transcription of focus group interviews, RA to conduct interviews
Description: International students must learn quickly about the discourses and practices of education in Canada and develop a repertoire of writing strategies to join the ongoing conversations of the community of educational researchers in their field. This study investigated how students interpreted assignments and how they accepted and used feedback on their writing. Data collected included written summaries of feedback, interviews, focus groups and analysis of assignments.
Questions addressed:
- How do student interpret assigned writing tasks?
- How do students interpret instructors’ written feedback on assignments?
- How do student incorporate feedback into subsequent drafts?
Knowledge sharing:
Waterstone, B. (2009, July). Lost in translation? How international graduate students interpret instructor guidelines and feedback on their writing. Presentation at 34th Improving University Teaching Conference, ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV, Vancouver, BC.
Keywords: feedback; writing