Academic literacy development : does video commentary feedback lead to greater engagement and response than conventional written feedback?

Widespread dissatisfaction of higher education students with feedback highlights the effectiveness of feedback practices as a crucial area for the development of academic literacy (e.g. Price et al. 2011). Recent studies examining the feedback provision to students in higher education identify lack of engagement with feedback and the quality of feedback received as issues of concern. This exploratory Australian case study investigates the effect of feedback on the development of undergraduate students' academic literacy focusing on whether the use of screen-capture video enhances students' uptake of feedback in comparison to conventional written feedback. Analysis of the students' revisions after receiving feedback revealed that 89% of the video comments led students to make a 'positive change' in terms of language use and text organization, compared to 72% of the written comments. The use of video also appears to resolve many of the problems in relation to quality of feedback and engagement of students. Results suggest several important implications for feedback provision on academic writing and would invite wider applicability across the disciplines.