Review: Find out where GenAI fits in the feedback equation

28 April 2025

In this post we hear from visiting PhD student Peter Bannister who shares his thoughts on our most recent seminar ‘What is the role of GenAI in effective feedback? A recognition based framework’. Peter is studying at University de la Rioja, Spain and will be with CRADLE for three months. During this time he will work with us to continue his research thesis by publication: ‘Generative AI: An Inconvenient Truth for EMI Higher Education Assessment’.

What is the role of GenAI in effective feedback?

It was a pleasure to attend the recent CRADLE seminar on GenAI. It was delivered by CRADLE’s Dr Thomas Corbin and Associate Professor Joanna Tai, together with Dr Gene Flenady from Monash University. Drawing on insights from their recent publication, they tackled the tough question of GenAI’s potential in effective feedback.

Dr Thomas Corbin, Dr Gene Flenady, Associate Professor Joanna Tai

How does GenAI feedback stack up against human insight?

The speakers grounded their work in both established feedback research and philosophical accounts of mutual recognition. They highlighted that effective feedback is not merely about conveying information but about the relational act of acknowledging each other’s roles and identities. As such, effective feedback relies on trust, respect, and the vulnerability shared by teachers and students alike.

The speakers insightfully conceptualised a division between human-to-human recognitive feedback and extra-recognitive feedback when AI is introduced. Recognitive feedback sees both teacher and student foster a sense of growth and belonging through genuine relational exchange. In contrast, extra-recognitive feedback is more transactional. These exchanges provide surface-level insight but forgo the co-constructed dialogue that underpins academic and personal development.

Tom Corbin presenting *What is the role of GenAI in effective feedback?*

Where does GenAI fit in the feedback equation?

In a clear sign of the international interest in the topic, the authors received several questions along these lines in the Q&A session. The speakers offered their proposal of a sandbox. In this, GenAI provides a safe, low-stakes space for students to test ideas, free from the pressures of human evaluation. This environment helps learners develop skills and confidence prior to receiving richer, human-to-human feedback. This approach promises practical strategies for educators seeking to integrate GenAI in ways that enhance, rather than replace, human feedback.

It was refreshing to hear first-hand nuanced ideas on how GenAI can be used fruitfully within education and beyond whilst preserving the distinctively human core that truly defines effective feedback.

About Peter Bannister

Peter Bannister is a pre-doctoral Fellow at the International University of La Rioja in Spain. He has a decade-long career in English Language Teaching and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in the UK, Spain and China. He has published and presented nationally and internationally on diverse matters such as the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), gamification in Higher Education, L2 (critical) listening pedagogy and assessment, and the role of EAP in transnational education partnerships.

At present his research currently focuses on generative AI in English Medium Instruction (EMI) didactic settings and its implications for teaching, learning and assessment. He has a number of forthcoming international publications in press to this end.

Missed the seminar? Catch up on our YouTube channel or our Seminar blog page.

References

Corbin, T., Tai, J., & Flenady, G. (2025). Understanding the place and value of GenAI feedback: a recognition-based framework.  Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2025.2459641