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Running Head: EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK 1

Emotional Responses of Grade 8 Math Students Receiving Immediate Feedback

Through Online Quizzes

ERES 800

Research Methods in Education

Katelyn R. Griffin

Student Number- 11222659


Running Head: EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK 2

Introduction

As a middle-school math teacher, I have often wondered about the emotional

responses of children when they are completing an expected task. Often, I can bluntly

ask them and they will tell me without hesitation. Other times, I do not know what they

are thinking. One of my teaching practices consists of giving online quizzes in math

class. With some programs, you are able to choose whether or not you want the

students to see if they have correctly answered the question. I would like to know the

emotional responses of grade 8 math students when completing self-graded

assessments with instant feedback. An example would be the use of the web-based

program Socrative or the use of Google’s feature “quizzes” built into Google forms. On

either of these programs you can choose to ask multiple choice, true and false or short

answer responses with the setting option of immediate response after submission.

Students can also find online web-based practice math questions, which will do the

same.

I often wonder if this is beneficial or detrimental to students and more importantly

their emotional response when receiving a self-graded assessment. If students

immediately know if their answer is correct or incorrect, does it impact their choices for

future questions? Will it create higher anxiety or will it perhaps motivate them to seek

further assistance in this content area? These are just some of the questions I hope to

find the answers to by surveying, interviewing and observing grade 8 math students

regarding instantaneous feedback.


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Research Question

My proposed research question is as follows:

How are grade 8 math students’ emotions affected when receiving immediate feedback

through an online quiz?

Significance of the Study

This question is significant in research today for teaching practices and student

academic performance. Teachers who use self-graded assessments can learn the

potential impacts on student emotions and may better implement the assessments or

perhaps decide not to use them. Providing a positive classroom experience, where

students feel confident and successful is of utmost importance. When we assess

students we must consider “[i]f students fear failure, we need to maximize the conditions

for success[,] [i]f they feel inadequate because of lack of knowledge or lack of positive

experiences, our intervention should emphasize positive experiences and fill in the

knowledge gaps” (Martinez & Martinez, 2003, p.29). By knowing whether students have

positive or negative emotions when receiving an online quiz, we can adapt our teaching

practice for positive classroom experience. Students may also benefit from knowing

how other peers felt during these assessments and learn how to manage emotions that

may arise. Students may have a voice in deciding the frequency of which these

assessments will be used in the future.

Google Forms Quizzes rolled out a new feature in July 2016 allowing the settings

of automatically grading the quiz immediately or later, which means the company itself,

would have an interest in knowing how their settings and features impact students.
Running Head: EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK 4

Other researchers will find it advantageous to know the findings of this research

question.

Literature Review

As I began to look for literature on past studies I delved into specific articles

written about student response systems (SRS, ie. clickers), technology and web-based

programs in the classroom, feedback in math, as well as test anxiety in students. The

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000) has stated, “electronic

technologies-calculators and computers are essential tools for teaching, learning, and

doing mathematics” (p. 24), but how teachers use these technologies may elicit different

emotions and behaviors in students.

Research has been done on test anxiety and its effects on academic

performance. One study had some students write an online exam, others write a paper

exam and a third group of students write an online exam at a time of their choosing,

within a particular time frame. The authors found that:

Students who were low in classroom anxiety had an increase in test anxiety

when taking an online exam. However, students high in classroom test anxiety

did not have a decrease when taking online quizzes, but rather remained high in

test anxiety across all quiz conditions (Stowell, Allan & Teoro, 2012, p.102)

Due to factors such as students not having online access at home and lack of

independent work ethic, teachers are sometimes unable to have students complete

online quizzes at a time of their choosing. However, with technology provided by the
Running Head: EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK 5

school, they would have the ability to offer them during set class times. Another study

claimed, “providing item feedback significantly increased the state of anxiety of high

math achievers” (Wise & Wise, 1987, p.19). Due to the time this study was reported,

the authors also claim the lack of research done on computer anxiety. When

researching test anxiety and immediate feedback “students reported that they lost

confidence when they answered incorrectly” (DiBattista & Gosse, 2006, p.323).

DiBattista & Gosse (2006) also claimed that even though immediate feedback was new

to most students and predicted to increase student anxiety, it actually reduced anxiety

when students answered correctly (p.323). The authors also stated that another

possibility for reducing anxiety was because students perceived it as being more of a

game than an exam (p.323). As students continuously use web-based programs and

various technologies in the classroom I wonder if taking online tests would still be

viewed this way.

In a thesis presented to the Faculty of the Department of Mathematics, Lynn A.

Kaciupski discusses various apps in a one-to-one setting. When discussing the Socrative

app, she claims that:

[S]tudents wanted Socrative to respond with a check mark which tells them they

answered correctly. As a result, they started talking to each other. They were

eager to check their responses with their classmates before submitting their

answers. They actually asked for help and tried to figure out the mistake if their

answer did not match their desk partner’s answer. Students worked until they get

the answer. This allows the teacher to concentrate on students who need further

explanations (Kaciupski, 2013, p.14-15).


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The observation in this thesis opens up a wide array of questions. Would

students still be eager to check their answers if they were not allowed to discuss their

answers with their desk partner? Was it the automatic grading feature which motivated

them to strive to achieve the correct answer? Emotionally, how did the students feel

when completing this kind of assessment?

In another study involving the use of smartphones & Socrative in a physics

classroom:

[T]he students, who were involved in the reported research, think that

Socrative is a useful tool, as it supports the learning and increases the

motivation... it helped them to be aware of their knowledge and their way of

thinking…[it] stimulates the cooperative work and the students enjoy the

discussion and learn to argue their answers and opinions. (Mendez & Slisko,

2013, p.23).

Although this particular study surveyed the students and asked for their opinions, we

still are only aware of the feelings towards seven survey questions and four open-ended

questions. One particular question, about the experience of using Socrative, concluded

that 45% of the students studied enjoyed working in groups (p.23). In addition, the

students in this study were in an older age group of students than what I would like to

study. Muis, Ranellucci, Trevors & Duffy (2015) claimed that kindergarten students

“especially enjoyed receiving positive feedback when their answers were correct…did

not like the negative feedback they received when their answers were incorrect” (pg.6-

7). Again, this is a different age group of students than what I would like to study.
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When using clickers in a Calculus class it was found that:

It appears that the students learn from their mistakes since they get instant

feedback on what the correct answers are. So simply taking the clickers

quizzes seemed to actually improve their understanding of concepts

(Strasser, 2010, p.51).

Although the major focus of this study was to see if clickers improved academic

achievement, the authors came to the conclusion that instant feedback might help

students learn from their mistakes. I hope to go further with this finding and discover if

students who made the mistakes were discouraged or motivated to learn more.

Another web application, iTest, was critically analyzed and students “really like[d]

getting their grades and revision automatically” (Joglar, Martín, Colmenar, Martínez &

Hidalgo, 2010, p.163). One advantage to self-graded quizzes, that one study found,

was “while students can easily skip exercises from the textbook, they do not have the

same opportunity with SRS [student response system] quizzes” (Nielsen, Hansen &

Stav, 2013, p.9). Although there is a fair amount of evidence that instant, automated

feedback can have positive influences, could it perhaps cause more anxiety with some

students? Do some students feel more pressure completing an assignment that has

instant feedback, or perhaps are they more comfortable taking risks with paper to pencil

questions? Again, more questions arise about the emotional toll instant feedback has on

students.

When studying various feedback conditions and their effects on student’s

academic performance Bower (2005) claimed “teachers will need to shift their emphasis
Running Head: EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK 8

from providing students with a fixed form of feedback to guiding students towards the

form of feedback that is best for their personal growth” (p. 126). Sometimes teachers

do not have the luxury of using programs that allow students to choose their method of

feedback. To continue with this study, Bower (2005) had the opportunity to allocate

students to receive competitive feedback, where they received feedback as a

“performance ranking compared to their peers” (p.131). Another feedback group was

individualistic, where their “test score ranking, average score, and best score were

presented in relation to their own past performance” (Bower, 2005, p.131). Lastly, the

neutral group was “not exposed to any comparative feedback although students still

received their test score and the time taken to complete the quiz” (Bower, 2005, p.131).

In his findings, Bower claims that there was a negative impact, upon self-examination of

students’ math abilities, on students who got the results of their online quiz through a

method that was not preferred (p.138). Another claim was “using an online medium to

provide students with a repeated practice facility led to a significant improvement in quiz

scores” (Bower, 2005, p.143). I would like to extend this research in a different setting

where students do not have the opportunity of choosing their preferred method of

feedback, rather I would like so see the emotional impact instantaneous feedback has

on students and patterns in academic achievement may arise.

Most of the studies I have reviewed for this proposal claimed that students were

engaged and felt positively towards the programs, through surveys and academic

achievement. Because the Google Forms self-grading quiz feature is relatively new,

teachers have yet to deepen their understanding of what setting is better to use in

certain teaching practices. By completing this research I intend to understand more


Running Head: EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK 9

about the emotional responses of Grade 8 math students when they are provided with

instantaneous feedback during a self-graded assessment.

Methodology

The methodology used in this qualitative research design will be a case study

which is defined as “a design of inquiry found in many fields, especially evaluation, in

which the researcher develops an in-depth analysis of a case, often a program, event,

activity, process or one or more individuals” (Creswell, 2014, p.14). The phenomenon

of interest in this research will be the experience of completing an online assessment,

which either instantly grades students’ answers or gives them a final grade after

completion. Many teachers use this as common practice; however, we cannot assume

it is beneficial for students. Rather, we need to gain a deeper understanding of the

students’ perspectives when completing math assignments that are automatically

assessed. I am choosing a case study for this proposal as it fits well into a natural,

school setting with a fixed duration of time. I want to be able to collect data through

various methods in a classroom context and promote a better understanding of

implementing and having students complete online quizzes. McMillan & Schumacher

(2010) define a case study as a methodology that “examines a bounded system, or a

case, over time in depth, employing multiple sources of data found in the setting” (p.

24). As students live the experience of receiving instant feedback, I want to be able to

observe, survey, and interview the students over a semester of study in math, taught by

the same teacher, to keep the distribution of the assessments consistent.


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Participant Recruitment & Ethical Considerations

I plan to invite students from three grade 8 classes to participate in this study. I

will first contact principals in the Red Deer Catholic School Division, for convenience

sampling, who employ teachers who teach multiple grade 8 classes, inviting their

classes to participate. Through a detailed presentation of the study I will only need one

volunteer who teaches multiple classes. Once the teacher is chosen, if multiple

teachers agree I will randomly select one, and I will send out an information letter with

guardian permission attached, since students will be observed and some interviewed.

Participants of the study will be students who have permission from their current

guardians. As I will be a visitor in the classroom, I will take the necessary steps to be a

visitor on campus, such as providing a current criminal record check. Any ethical

considerations will be recorded in a field journal. There will be no names of students or

teachers released in the findings. To build trust with the students, I will observe and

attend classes before the allotted research time to familiarize myself with the students

and not increase stress by having a “stranger” in their classroom.

Methods

At the beginning of the research I will distribute an online survey. This survey will

be used to determine the participant's’ initial thoughts about instant feedback, their

confidence with math/technology as well as demographic information. This pre-

questionnaire will use a Likert scale and adaptations will be provided if necessary (ie. a

student who usually gets a reader for a test will be provided one to help them complete

the survey). This survey will help determine which students to interview, provide me
Running Head: EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK 11

with the beginning stages of my interview questions, and allow me to collect quantitative

data about online assessments and instant feedback. Using purposeful sampling and

the data collected from the initial survey, I can categorize the students who are

confident in math, low achieving, generally anxious, test-anxious, high-stressed, low-

stressed, and average. Using these categories, and perhaps others that arise, I can

then choose whom I will interview throughout the process.

Throughout one semester, the teacher will complete four major units of

instruction where, during each unit, two google forms will be distributed. One will

include the setting of releasing the grade immediately after submission and the other

will incorporate the feature of releasing the grade later, after manual review.

Observations to notice facial expressions, body movements, other cues as well as

informal conversations will enhance data that students may potentially leave out in a

formal interview. Following the assessment/observation day will be interviews using the

interview guide approach where “topics are selected in advance, but the researcher

decides the sequence and the wording of the questions during the interview” (McMillan

& Schumacher, 2010, p. 355). I will then conclude each unit with a survey questioning

which setting students preferred and why. Having two surveys will increase validity and

reliability of the results. I will voice-record the student interviews and keep a field

journal where I will log dates, observations and casual conversations with the students.

Data Analysis

Throughout the survey, observations and interviews I will organize my data into

the following categories: setting, participants’ perspectives, strategy, resiliency, self-


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confidence, perseverance, stress- level and others that may arise during the study.

Throughout the data collection process I will be looking for emerging patterns and

central themes across methods. Because I will have numerous data, including survey

results, field logs of observations & voice recordings of interviews, I can use

triangulation across these sources. As I will be exploring how students’ emotions are

affected when completing an online quiz, I will be open to other pattern-seeking

techniques as they arise in the study. After collecting and synthesizing the data, I will

report my findings through a journal article.

Conclusion

I want to study the emotional responses of grade 8 math students when

completing Google Quizzes with various settings. One setting will be to release grades

immediately and the other setting allows teachers to release grades later on, after

manual review. Continuously, I am looking at ways to improve my teaching practice and

knowing how these settings affect students will help continue to create a positive

atmosphere in class. This research will not only be important for companies, other

researchers, and teachers but also for students themselves. Students may have a

better understanding of their emotions while taking a self-graded test and may learn to

control them, continuing to concentrate on the task at hand. Using convenience and

purposeful sampling, surveys, observations and interviews will allow me to collect data

that is reliable and valid. As a teacher, wanting to improve my teaching practices, I hope

to discover which setting is more beneficial to creating a positive emotional experience

for my students.
Running Head: EMOTIONAL RESPONSES AND IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK 13

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