Providing, receiving, or self-evaluating? Comparing feedback configurations in a higher-education assignment

This study examined how four feedback configurations influenced assignment revision and feedback-related motivation in a higher-education context: receiving peer feedback only (NF-EF), providing peer feedback only (EF-NF), reciprocal peer feedback (EF-EF), and self-evaluation (SE-SE). Participants were 102 undergraduate pre-service teachers enrolled in four intact sections of a Curriculum & Instruction course. Over four consecutive class meetings, students completed a pre-survey, received instruction on writing learning objectives using the ABCD framework, practised applying evaluative criteria, participated in one of the four feedback configurations, revised their assignments, and completed a post-survey. Original and revised assignment scores were analysed using repeated-measures ANOVA and ANCOVA, while motivation data were analysed using repeated-measures and one-way ANOVAs. Results showed significant improvement from the original to the revised assignment, with the clearest support for self-evaluation and a comparatively strong pattern for reciprocal peer feedback. After controlling for baseline performance, treatment differences in revised assignment scores remained significant. By contrast, broad differences in overall feedback-related motivation were not observed, although more specific differences emerged in students’ beliefs and satisfaction. The findings highlight the importance of feedback role configuration in assessment design and suggest that structured self-evaluation and reciprocal peer participation may be more productive than one-way peer feedback.