Emotions as student feedback.

Background: Student feedback is often sought by educators in order to inform future developments in teaching or curriculum development. A lack of engagement with current feedback tools is thought, partly, to result from students perceiving no gain from the activity. The emotional adjective feedback tool (EAFT) is designed around the concept of emotional intelligence, where students feed back to tutors, after clinical teaching, by selecting and elaborating on emotional adjectives that describe their learning experiences. With a need to enhance and drive compassionate care, this emotional engagement might make the process of feedback more meaningful for students and may provide more useful feedback for staff.

Methods: Year-1 medical students (n = 115) completed the EAFT and a traditional feedback tool (TFT) after two clinical skills sessions. Using a questionnaire, they demonstrated their preference and explained their reasoning. After the collection of student feedback using both tools, staff members (n = 12) in two focus groups reviewed the feedback and discussed their preferred tool if they were the tutor of that lesson.

Results: Thematic analysis of both student and staff data demonstrated that EAFT provided staff with information relating to teaching qualities and the learning experience of students. TFT delivered information regarding the organisational aspects of lessons. Reflection using the EAFT granted more personal and thought-provoking feedback, emphasising its student-centred structure. Emotional engagement might make the process of feedback more meaningful for students DISCUSSION: Completing the EAFT encouraged students to reflect upon their learning, providing feedback for staff that was more student-centred; however, it remains clear that various tools work for different feedback objectives, environments and students.