Questions Posed within Written Feedback in Clinical Education: A Research Note

Clinical educators use a variety of methods to facilitate student development of critical thinking. One method is the use of effective questioning within written feedback. High level questions help to facilitate critical thinking by requiring the student to evaluate or make judgment on a clinical situation. As students progress through a continuum of competency from novice to graduate, the nature of feedback changes from directives to questions in response to the students' developing critical thinking abilities. This research notes details aspects in written feedback within a speech pathology educational setting. Novice students received lower level questions and more directives compared to advanced students. Suggestions for monitoring the ways in which questions are presented within written feedback are discussed.