Multi‐drafting feedback process in a web‐based environment

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of multi‐drafting among college students according to demographic characteristics and measure its impact on students' achievements.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted in two stages. First, a preliminary research based on data from the Highlearn web‐based content learning environment, analyzing the correlations between the number of drafts submitted and the final grade per assignment. Second, a questionnaire based and designed to evaluate the influence of the demographic background of students on multi‐drafting traits. The variables influencing the utilization of multi‐drafting for a given assignment were examined using a 23‐item Likert scale questionnaire.

Findings

The results indicate that students tend to regard multi‐drafting as a positive usage of time; they appreciate it as an opportunity to improve their grades; and they value its advantage for fairness of grading. The research establishes the fact that marital status and gender influence students' attitudes toward multi‐drafting.

Practical implications

Web‐based content learning environments are becoming part of the academic learning environment. Thus, the prospect of shifting from summative to formative evaluation in order to enhance meaningful learning can be achieved through a number of teaching techniques, of which one of them is multi‐drafting. Understanding the variables influencing the way students utilize multi‐drafting will help incorporating it with a maximum benefit.

Originality/value

The paper's findings connect multi‐drafting teaching technique to a variety of variables which may hinder its implementation. These findings are of value to practitioners and researchers.

Citation

Peled, Y. and Sarid, M. (2010), "Multi‐drafting feedback process in a web‐based environment", Interactive Technology and Smart Education, Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 113-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/17415651011071046