The impact of teacher, peer, and automated writing evaluation feedback on developing deep writing skills: a comparative study
摘要
A mixed-methods study was conducted to examine the influence of diversified feedback strategies, including teacher-provided feedback, peer feedback, and automated writing evaluation (AWE) feedback, on the development of deep writing skills (conceptualized as clarity, argumentation quality, grammatical conventions, punctuation, citation accuracy, and organization and coherence) among 187 randomly selected Chinese EFL learners in an online learning context. Methodological triangulation was employed, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data sources to provide a detailed analysis of feedback dynamics. A one-way ANCOVA was performed to analyze the data and interpret the findings. Results indicated that the integration of interactive feedback types contributed significantly to the enhancement of deep writing skills. Specifically, the mean scores for the intervention group (M = 86.13, SD = 9.03) were higher than those for the control group (M = 72.56, SD = 12.23), F(1, 185) = 98.52, p < .001, ηp2 = 0.35. Note that subsequent analyses revealed a higher partial η2 (0.98) when accounting for the interaction between group assignment and pretest scores, indicating that the combined effect of feedback type and prior proficiency explained nearly all variance in posttest outcomes. The initial ηp2 = 0.35 reflects the main effect of group assignment alone. The combined application of teacher and peer feedback, along with Grammarly Premium feedback, demonstrated a statistically significant effect on multiple writing dimensions, including clarity (p < .01), argumentation quality (p < .01), grammatical conventions (p < .01), punctuation (p < .01), citation accuracy (p < .01), and organization and coherence (p < .01). The findings underscore the theoretical potential of interactive feedback strategies to enhance EFL learners’ deep writing skills. From a pedagogical perspective, the study highlights the importance of incorporating diverse feedback strategies to design effective writing instruction targeting specific areas for improvement and fostering learner engagement and motivation. The research emphasizes that utilizing multiple feedback sources facilitates a comprehensive and nuanced approach to feedback, ultimately improving learners’ writing competencies in an EFL context.