Feedback is ubiquitous. And potent. It is heralded by numerous writers as the vital force behind the continued existence and growth of both natural and social systems. And it has frequently been credited with being transformative in enhancing learning in the realm of academics.
This presentation begins with an investigation into roots of the feedback concept, primarily its birth and development in the field of engineering and cybernetics at the turn of the 19th century. It then traces the origin and development of systems theory/systems thinking, a 20th century concept, making a crucial link between feedback and systems theory, before delving into the literature to discuss how feedback has been treated in education generally and in translation pedagogy, in particular.
My point of departure is the assertion that the student and the classroom as well as the institution in which both are embedded are all goal-seeking systems. I posit, on this basis, that while subject matter learning is one of the chief goals of academic institutions, there is often an exclusive or overstated focus on teacher-driven feedback in the classroom as a tool to promote such learning among students as individual goal-seeking agents. This, I argue, may undermine or sideline a systemic approach whereby the learning institution and those within its boundaries can optimally, through purposeful collaboration, regulate a better learning performance of all system elements, especially to the benefit of subject matter learning. I next suggest that whereas much of today’s feedback practice appears to be based on the engineering concept of the feedback loop, learning institutions rely overmuch - or so it appears - upon negative feedback (i.e., the engineering concept), scarcely, if ever, researching the potential contribution of positive feedback, as a way to enhance learning. Thirdly, I assert that the effective functioning of feedback within institutional learning systems - all the more so, institutions that hope to help students to acquire mastery through learning - cannot be achieved through serendipity but, rather, requires the intervention of systems design that believes in and clearly defines the role of feedback.
Devon Yetman is a PhD candidate.
