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Whilst simply introducing more technology enabled feedback may bring benefits in itself, in order to gain maximum benefit, it is worth reviewing your approach to see where other improvements could be made (Bearman, Boud and others in Payne, 2021). Experts such as David Carless, David Boud and others . (1) Assessment and feedback experts propose shifting from the one-way teacher to student feedback model towards a dialogic approach in which the student action and outputs of the feedback process are what matters most. (2) 


Many of the suggestions in the Technology Enhanced Feedback table reflect this dialogic, learner centred approach (Ajjawi & Boud in Winstone & Carless, 2020). Below the table you will find some Feedback principles, further resources to follow up on and suggested activities.

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  • Provide early opportunities for students to practice and act on feedback  The self-efficacy (and hence retention and ultimate achievement) of all students, whatever their level, will be improved by providing early opportunities to practice and learn from both achievements and mistakes. Students can struggle with knowing how best to direct their efforts, and early formative feedback can allay some of their fears, leading to better outcomes and giving them sufficient time to make use of it in their summative assessments.
  • Encourage students to be active participants in feedback process.   David Nicols and others point out that there is an assumption embedded in the NSS that feedback is something (usually written comments) delivered from the tutor to the student and if students received more of this they would perform better in their studies. This 'bypasses some fundamental aspects of the feedback cycle and it ignores the active role students must play in the process for it to be effective.' (Nicols, 20083) . Rather than focussing on feedback as something done by tutors, we need to focus on what the student does both as part of the feedback process and as a result of it.
  • Establish a culture of feedback dialogue A dialogic approach, introduced early on, will help build student confidence and motivation which is key to engagement and success. It will need careful introduction in order to build trust; the balance of power between staff and students can impact on its success and may require a substantial shift in thinking for many students and academics alike.   
  • Address student conceptions of feedback   As mentioned, students may not always recognize feedback opportunities as they may expect this to come in the form of written comments. Be explicit about the forms that feedback takes (e.g., group, informal or verbal) and where relevant highlight that feedback is being provided. Where more than one mode is used, be clear with students about the purpose of each, how to interpret them and how they connect with each other. Also, some students may be more alert to feedback opportunities than others and some may be more confident in actively seeking out feedback from you. Gently indicate different feedback moments to students and provide feedback opportunities for all students rather than just those who seek it out. And always ensure that students know how and where to access any recorded feedback (written, audio etc).
  • Uncouple marking and feedback Marking and feedback are two conceptually different purposes (Winston and Boud 2020). different purposes.(4) If marks are provided along with feedback, it is either too late to use it use it because it has been given at the end of unit of study OR students just students just go straight to the grade and ignore the feedback. If the grade is not so good, the student may want the type of feedback that justifies their grade but not be receptive to developmental (forward facing) feedback and if they achieved a high grade, they may see the feedback as irrelevant.
  • Establish a shared understanding of feedback practice amongst staff and students Individual academics may have different views or approaches to feedback which can create inconsistency of experience for students and confused messaging. As a team, it is good practice to agree (and then communicate with students so they share your interpretations) on the following:
    • the purpose of feedback at different stages of the programme.
    • interpretation of language, standards and criteria around assessment.  
    • what constitutes good feedback. It is not only about telling students what they have done well or not so well in past work but is future facing, helping the student with strategies to move forward.
    • the interpretations of standards, processes and regulations.
    • roles and responsibilities around the assessment and feedback process, deadlines and expectations. 

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  • Carry out a moderation exercise and share how each tutor has applied the rubric and what feedback they would provide. 
  • Ask each tutor to provide two pieces of feedforward telling students what they can do better in their next assessment piece.   
  • Link feedback to performance criteria Link feedback to requirements of summative assessment as part of an aligned approach and revisit those requirements in order to explicitly show how they are supporting the students' development. 
  • Provide a balance of tutor, peer and self-assessment opportunities As well as tutor to student feedback, including opportunities for students to assess their own work and that of others helps then develop an understanding of criteria, their own capabilities and to reflect on their learning. Rather than over reliance on tutor feedback, peer and self-evaluation support students to realistically benchmark their own work to the criteria. Self-assessment helps students develop the necessary critical skills to realistically judge their own performance. This is essential for future life and work as well as their studies. (Sharma et al, 20165) . Supporting peer and self-assessment can take some advanced planning and you need to try and choose strategies that best fit the stage of study, subject and levels of confidence of students involved.
  • Manage your workload   Building in formative activities can be tricky if you are focusing on getting through content in class time, but if you can dedicate some time to feedback opportunities this will be immensely helpful to your students and to your understanding of what their learning needs are. 
    • Put effort where it counts, e.g., try and ensure you are giving feedback to students when they can actually make use of it and in a way that makes sense of where they are in their learning. For example, feedback for summative end point assessment could be used to justify grades and refer back to earlier formative feedback.
    • Make use of local/departmental support networks - there is a lot of expertise out there within your departments or in wider networks.   In a lot of cases there is no point in reinventing the wheel.   
    • If individual comments have a lot in common, these can be given as general feedback to the cohort. You can then spend the time you save on repeating yourself to give more student-specific comments.

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References

3. Nicol, D. 2009, Centre for Educational Development Reflections on Assessment and Feedback (May 2009 conference publication), Queen's University Belfast

  1. Payne, A. 2021 (preprint) Technology-Enhanced Feedback in Higher Education: Source-Recipient Relationships in a New Dialogic Paradigm
  2. Winstone, N. and Carless, D. (2020) Designing Effective Feedback Processes in Higher Education: A Learning-Focused Approach, Abingdon: Routledge, 208pp. Available to download under creative commons licence.
  3. Nicol, D. 2009, Centre for Educational Development Reflections on Assessment and Feedback (May 2009 conference publication)

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  1. , Queen's University Belfast
  2. Winston, N. and Boud, D. (2022): The need to disentangle assessment and feedback in higher education in Studies in Higher Education Volume 47. Issue 3
  3. Sharma, R. et al (2016) Impact of self-assessment by students on their learning. International Journal of Applied Basic Medical Research. Jul-Sep;6(3):226-

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  1. 94.Winston, N. and Boud, D. (2022):

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  1. The need to disentangle assessment and feedback in higher education in Studies in Higher Education Volume 47. Issue 3

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