Rachel Hansen and Dr. Wendy Baker, Linguistics and English Language
The creation of adaptive learning environments is crucial for students’ success. Teachers often use written feedback to encourage improvement in their students’ work. The manner and content of feedback greatly affects how it is perceived (Brinko, 1993). Also, studies have shown for almost two decades that gender affects how student learn (Kolb, 1976). For example, female students perceive their learning environment more positively (den Brok, Fisher, Rickards & Bull, 2006) and are more likely to hold mastery over performance goals and to refrain from disruptive classroom behavior than are males. (Kenney-Benson, Pomerantz, Ryan & Patrick, 2006). Roberts (1991) argued that females view academic performance as an opportunity to gain information about their abilities. Female students are prone to more positive learning approaches e.g., attentiveness, task persistence (Ready, LoGerfo, Burkam & Lee, 2005) and are more motivated by positive feedback in writing assignments than males (Cleary, 1996). As a result of these gender differences, males and females may interpret teacher’s comments differently.
One way of examining the influence of gender on the interpretation of written teacher feedback is to determine how male and female students respond to direct and indirect speech. Several studies suggest that females are more prone to produce indirect speech and males direct (Mulac, Bradac, & Gibbons, 2001; McKelvie, 2000). Surprisingly few studies, however, have examined how different genders comprehend indirect speech. Those studies that have examined the comprehension of indirect speech suggest that it is more difficult to interpret than other kinds of speech (Champagne, 2001) and that more mental processes may be needed to do so (Holtgraves, 1999). However, few of these studies have examined the effect of gender on the comprehension of indirect speech by adult native speakers.
This study examined how gender influences the perception of indirect speech indexed here as teacher written feedback on student compositions. We examined the following questions:
1. Are indirect statements more likely to be perceived as being written by female teachers?
2. When the teacher is labeled “female,” are comments about the teacher more positive or negative?
3. Are male or female students more likely to respond correctly to direct or indirect
statements?
4. Are male students more likely to label indirect speech as female?
To answer these questions, we collected data from 71 university students, 26 male and 45 female. Participants were recruited from English Language 223 classes. They were given three essays that differed in whether the feedback was direct or indirect. The participants read the essays and critiques, made the requested corrections indicated by the teacher and answered questions including what grade the student earned, what the strengths and weaknesses of the essays were, the gender of the teacher and their reasoning for choosing that gender.
Results suggest that all participants, regardless of gender, chose a higher grade and were better able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the paper when the feedback was direct. They were also more likely to guess that indirect teacher comments were written by a female teacher and to use negative comments for their reasons when labeling the teacher as female. Surprisingly, female students were, in some instances, better than male students at interpreting direct, not indirect comments. Males were not more likely to label indirect speech as female but more prone to give negative reasoning over all. In general, direct versus indirect speech was more of a factor in a students’ ability to understand teacher feedback than was students’ gender.
I presented mine and Wendy Baker’s research at the joint AAAL and ACLA/CAAL conference June 17-20, 2006 in Montreal, Canada. It was a daunting task to present the research surrounded by experts; yet, it was rewarding to get experienced feedback and suggestions. The conference exposed me to a vast range of research projects and areas of study, which led to a topic for my master’s thesis and opportunities to begin networking with professionals. Dr. Baker and I anticipate presenting again at the NWAV conference November 9-12, 2006 sponsored by Ohio State. We are currently preparing our paper for journal publication. It has been an invaluable experience for me to be able to work with Wendy Baker and see the process of research from brainstorming to presenting. With this experience, I feel confident to begin graduate work in Linguistics. It has fueled my curiosity and confirmed my desire to continue my education and research endeavors. I plan to continue studying students’ responses to teacher feedback; this will help me facilitate students’ progress as a future Linguistics professor.
References
- Brinko, Kathleen. (1993). The Practice of Giving Feedback to Improve Teaching: What Is Effective? Journal of Higher Education. 64, 574-593.
- Champagne, M. (2001). Comprehension of nonliteral discourse: The case of violation of the maxims of quantity and indirect request Rsicologia: Reelexao e Critica 14, 379-385.
- Cleary, Linda Miller. (1996). “I Think I Know What My Teachers Want Now”: Gender and Writing Motivation. The English Journal. 85, 50-57.
- Den Brok, Fisher, Rickards & Bull. (2006). Californian Science Students’ Perceptions of Their Classroom Learning Environments. Educational Research and Evaluation. 12, 3-25.
- Holtgraves, T. (1999). Comprehending indirect replies: When and how are their conveyed meanings activated? Journal of Memory and Language, 41, 519-540.
- Kenney-Benson, Pomerantz, Ryan & Patrick. (2006). Sex Differences in Math Performance: The Role of Children’s Approach to Schoolwork. Developmental Psychology. 42, 11-26.
- Kolb, D.A. (1976). Learning Style Inventory. 1976.
- McKelvie. (2000). The Effect of Hyper femininity on Communication Patterns in Dating Couples. Dissertation Abstracts International. 60, 6375-B.
- Mulac, Bradac, & Gibbons. (2001). Empirical Support for the Gender-as-a-Culture Hypothesis: An Intercultural Analysis of Male/Female Language Differences. Human Communication Research. 27, 121-152.
- Ready, LoGerfo, Burkam & Lee, (2005). Explaining Girls’ Advantage in Kindergarten Literacy Learning: Do Classroom Behaviors Make a Difference? Elementary School Journal. 106, 21.
- Roberts, T. (1991). Gender and the influence of evaluations on self-assessments in achievement settings. Psychological Bulletin, 109, 297-308.