Key points:
- Instruction involves grading, but also means mentoring students
- Transforming your thesis into a publishable article
- How higher-ed can benefit from the family navigator model
- For more news on academic relationships, visit eCN’s Teaching & Learning hub
Consider the following scenario when giving student feedback. Dr. Walker has read hundreds of student comments over the years, but this one made her think a bit more about her feedback.
“This is my first assignment for a college-level class, so there’s a chance I did too much and there’s a chance I did not enough. I’d be grateful for feedback not only on the content I produced but on the level of detail you were expecting. I would like to match expectations, and while I believe the assignment meets the rubric, I also don’t want to turn in 10 pages when you’re expecting two.”
The comment was not unusual, but it was revealing. It carried the voice of a student, new to academic work, caught in a tension familiar to both novice and seasoned learners: the uncertainty of academic expectations. For instructors, such moments are not just about grading work; they are opportunities for relationship, clarity, and growth. Instructors know that the way feedback is delivered can either bridge that uncertainty or deepen it. It is important to help students find their place in academia, particularly as it is fairly common for students to have issues with impostor syndrome.
The uncertainty behind the submission
For many students, particularly in their early coursework, every assignment feels like a test of belonging. They carry with them years of prior academic success, often as top students in their high school or professionals returning for a degree after years of success in their fields. Yet, the transition to higher-level thinking–more analytical, more theoretical, and autonomous–can feel disorienting.
This student was not asking whether their work was “right,” but whether it was appropriate. Did it fit? Was it enough? Was it too much? Such questions reveal a hidden curriculum in higher education: that beyond rubrics and word counts lies a tacit code of scholarly communication, one that instructors must make more visible.
Feedback that builds the bridge
When Dr. Walker sat down to provide feedback, she knew this wasn’t just about commas or citations. The student needed more than corrections; they needed guidance on expectations, affirmation of effort, and an invitation to refine. And that kind of feedback, she knew, required intention.
Instructors often default to feedback on the product: Was the argument coherent? Did the student meet the rubric? Was the APA style correct? While those elements matter, they often don’t address the broader need for normative feedback, the kind that helps students understand what is expected at this level and why.
In response to students like this one, instructors should consider structuring their feedback in three layers:
- Affirm the student belongs in your course
Begin by acknowledging the complexity of the task and the honesty of the student’s reflection. Something like:
“You’re navigating a new level of academic engagement, and your openness in asking these questions is not only welcome, but also exactly what we hope to see at this stage.”
By doing so, instructors validate that confusion is not a failure; it’s part of the learning process. - Clarify the norms
Next, feedback should directly address the implicit question: What does ‘enough’ look like?
For example:
“The depth of your work demonstrates a high level of engagement with the material. While your submission goes beyond the typical length, your thoroughness helped clarify your argument. Going forward, a more concise format (around 4–5 pages) may help focus your ideas more sharply.”
This kind of feedback teaches the norms without penalizing sincere effort. It draws a line, but does so gently. In some cases, an exemplar of the assignment might be effective for students, but as students progress, it sometimes seems more appropriate to deny students such an example and require them to expand their creativity as opposed to copying an exemplar. - Coach the student through process
Finally, feedback should offer guidance on how to improve, not just what to fix. It should answer the student’s implied question: How do I calibrate my work to the academic standard?
Something like:
“One strategy for future assignments is to start with your key claim or research question, then build your discussion around that focal point. This can help ensure your work remains detailed without becoming overly expansive.”
This approach makes feedback not just evaluative, but developmental. It turns a moment of uncertainty into a roadmap. Without this kind of feedback, uncertainty festers. A student who turns in 10 pages when two were expected and receives only a numerical score–say, a 90 percent–is left in limbo. Was it too much? Was it the wrong kind of detail? Did they impress the professor or annoy them? More than once, a student has commented that they were thrilled to receive narrative feedback and not just a score or a check on a rubric.
Feedback as relationship
Effective feedback is not about marking errors–it’s about building a relationship between the instructor and the learner. When a student says, “I’m not sure if I did too much or too little,” what they’re really saying is, “I want to belong here, and I want to do it right.” That moment of vulnerability should be met with generosity, not judgment.
In Dr. Walker’s case, reflecting on her own early academic experiences helped her remember what it felt like to write too much out of fear, to overwrite in the hope of sounding “academic,” to wonder if she was missing some hidden rulebook. She didn’t want her students to stay in that space. Her final comment to the student read:
“You’ve done thoughtful, serious work here, and it shows. Your detail reflects care and curiosity–both of which will serve you well. In academic writing, the goal is often not more or less, but precisely enough. We’ll continue working on how to find that balance together.”
Because that’s what instruction is: not just assigning grades, but mentoring scholars-in-progress.
Baule’s scholarly interests focus on online student engagement, educational technology-- particularly the impact of 1:1 implementations, social-emotional learning, and the history of education. Baule led several efforts to improve student emotional health and reduce discipline issues prior to moving into higher education. He also writes on aspects of early American history.
Baule has held memberships in the American Association of School Administrators, the American Library Association, the American Association of School Librarians, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Consortium for School Networking, the International Association of School Librarians, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Staff Development Council, and many of their state affiliates. He has served as a consultant in the areas of educational technology, facilities design, library program development, team building, and communications.
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