The Mechanics of Implementing a Consistent Instructional Feedback Model in the Development of a Computer-Based Engineering Course

A computer-based education course to teach an undergraduate engineering course in statics has been developed at Texas A&M University. In the initial design phase, the authors used a very simply constructed feedback model. However, once development was underway, this model proved inadequate for dealing with a variety of feedback problems. These problems included the need to have certain exceptions to the general rules of the model, inconsistencies in application of the feedback model by the various authors and programers, and difficulties in discussing the various feedback issues due the emergence of a variety of loosely defined terminologies. As a result, a very detailed and precise implementation model was developed. The strategy for this model is displayed in flowcharts which show the relationship between the student's answer and the system's instructional feedback for each of three distinct question types. From these flowcharts, course developers designed feedback forms which made the writing and coding of feedback more efficient.