Teacher Use and Perceptions of Feedback on Student Creativity Tasks

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the use and perceived value of feedback on students’ creativity among preservice ( n = 164) and in-service ( n = 246) teachers. As an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the first phase of the study included a quantitative questionnaire that sought to examine music educators’ ( N = 410) attitudes, beliefs, values, and utility of feedback on creative tasks. The second phase of the study was qualitative and included two components: (a) a pre-interview task where teachers ( n = 49) provided written feedback on two student compositions and (b) one-on-one interviews with preservice ( n = 6) and in-service ( n = 9) teachers. The primary purpose of the second phase was to examine the types of feedback teachers provide on creative tasks, such as composition, and to allow teachers to describe their thinking about giving feedback on creative tasks. Finally, we integrated findings from both phases. The participants in this study reported valuing process- and goal-oriented feedback over task-oriented feedback. However, teachers demonstrated a tendency to provide more task-oriented (or product-oriented) feedback than process- or goal-oriented feedback when responding to the student compositions. Implications and recommendations for the field are discussed.