Feedback on mathematics homework of pupils with learning difficulties

This master’s thesis is about teachers’ feedback on mathematics homework given to students with learning difficulties. The thesis is divided into two parts. In the theoretical part I provide an overview of relevant literature, while in the empirical part I present a pilot research and its findings. In the theoretical part I consider feedback – what it is and what it should be like for students to benefit from it. I describe various feedback orientations and a model for writing feedback. I also consider briefly the characteristics of students with learning difficulties and methods for their knowledge improvement. The basic idea of the thesis is the degree of feedback accuracy. I describe six degrees of adjusting feedback intended for students with learning difficulties. In the empirical part of the thesis, I present a pilot research on teachers’ feedback on mathematics homework for students with learning difficulties. The aim is to establish the degree of feedback accuracy on mathematics homework that students with learning difficulties wish to receive; how feedback accuracy influences the students’ learning efficiency and how students with learning difficulties perceive systematic, regular feedback on mathematical homework. Students were given five consecutive homework assignments, each with a short questionnaire in which the students marked the desired degree of feedback accuracy. Each student received feedback of the chosen degree of accuracy for each homework assignment. The students were asked to do their homework correction taking into account the feedback they had received. After the last homework and its correction, the students completed the final questionnaire. The results show that feedback helps students with learning difficulties to identify their own misunderstandings and improves their mathematics knowledge