Improving feedback, & student engagement with feedback

Potential of feedback

Feedback is the most powerful single influence that makes a difference to student achievementHattie (1987) - in a comprehensive review of 87 meta-analyses of studies

Feedback has extraordinarily large and consistently positive effects on learning compared with other aspects of teaching or other interventions designed to improve learningBlack and Wiliam (1998) - in a comprehensive review of formative assessment

Students are hungry for feedback to develop their learning(Higgins et al, 2002)

Retention and feedback

The number of opportunities available for feedback is an important variable in non-completion of students in the early years of study

(Yorke, 1999)

Where students are uncertain about their ability to succeed, formative feedback is of particular importance

(Yorke & Longden, 2004)

Feedback problems

Unhelpful feedback (Maclellan, 2001) Too vague (Higgins, 2000) Subject to interpretation (Ridsdale, 2003) Not understood (e.g. Lea and Street, 1998) Don’t read it (Hounsell, 1987) Damage self-efficacy (Wotjas, 1998) Has no effect (Fritz et al, 2000) Seen to be too subjective (Holmes & Smith,

2003)

7 principles of good feedback practice (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, 2006)

Good feedback practice:

1. helps clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards)

2. facilitates the development of reflection and self-assessment in learning

3. delivers high-quality information to students about their learning4. encourages teacher and peer dialogue around learning5. encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem6. provides opportunities to close the gap between current and desired

performance7. provides information to teachers that can be used to help shape the

teaching

11 conditions under which assessment supports learning 1 (Gibbs and Simpson, 2002)

1. Sufficient assessed tasks are provided for students to capture sufficient study time (motivation)

2. These tasks are engaged with by students, orienting them to allocate appropriate amounts of time and effort to the most important aspects of the course (motivation)

3. Tackling the assessed task engages students in productive learning activity of an appropriate kind (learning activity)

4. Assessment communicates clear and high expectations (motivation)

11 conditions under which assessment supports learning 2 (Gibbs and Simpson, 2002)

5 Sufficient feedback is provided, both often enough and in enough detail

6 The feedback focuses on students’ performance, on their learning and on actions under the students’ control, rather than on the students themselves and on their characteristics

7 The feedback is timely in that it is received by students while it still matters to them and in time for them to pay attention to further learning or receive further assistance

8 Feedback is appropriate to the purpose of the assignment and to its criteria for success.

9 Feedback is appropriate, in relation to students’ understanding of what they are supposed to be doing.

10 Feedback is received and attended to.11 Feedback is acted upon by the student

Activity

In 3’s, discuss:

Identify the strengths and weaknesses in your current practice against the 7 identified conditions regarding feedback

(doing well, doing OK, need to do better)

Social-constructivist view of assessment

the social-constructivist view of learning argues that knowledge is shaped and evolves through increasing participation within different communities of practice

the social-constructivist process model of assessment argues that students should be actively engaged with every stage of the assessment process in order that they truly understand the requirements of the process, and the criteria and standards being applied, and should subsequently produce better work (Rust C., O’Donovan, B., & Price, M., 2005)

Engaging students with assessment

Active engagement with feedback

Explicit Criteria

Completion and submission of work

Students Active engagement with criteria

Assessment literacyFor students to reach their potential in terms of their assessed performance they need to become assessment literate

Assessment literacy encompasses: an appreciation of assessment’s relationship to learning; a conceptual understanding of assessment (i.e. understanding of the

basic principles of valid assessment and feedback practice, including the terminology used); understanding of the nature, meaning and level of assessment criteria and standards; skills in self- and peer assessment; familiarity with technical approaches to assessment (i.e. familiarity with pertinent assessment and feedback skills, techniques, and methods,

including their purpose and efficacy); and possession of the intellectual ability to select and apply appropriate

approaches and techniques to assessed tasks (not only does one have the requisite skills, but one is also able to judge which skill to use when, for which task).

Price et al (2012)

Active engagement with feedback

Explicit Criteria

Completion and submission of work

Students Active engagement with criteria

Active engagement with feedback

Explicit Criteria

Completion and submission of work

Students Active engagement with criteria

Engaging students with criteria

Get students actively using the criteria through a developmental combination of:

Marking exercises Self-assessment Peer-feedback Peer-assessment Possibly creating and negotiating criteria

Active engagement with feedback

Explicit Criteria

Completion and submission of work

Students Active engagement with criteria

Improving feedback - prepare students (in Yr 1 esp.)

Aligning expectations (of staff & students, & between teams of markers)

often a mismatch of expectations e.g correcting errors, advice for the future, diagnosis of general problems, comments specific only to that piece of work. These mismatches occur frequently with no particular pattern about who holds which view/perspective but problems arise when the the two don't coincide. Purpose of feedback may vary from assignment to assignment so would need to be clarified each time. (Freeman & Lewis, 1998)

Identifying all feedback available (especially oral)

Model the application of feedback

- e.g. using previously-marked assignments to show how feedback was used (or consider how used) to improve later assignments

Encourage the application of feedback

- e.g. in a subsequent piece of work the student is required to show how they have used prior feedback to try to improve their work (and possibly some marks allocated for this).

Require and develop self-assessment

it is the interaction between both believing in self-responsibility and using assessment formatively that leads to greater educational achievements (Brown & Hirschfeld, 2008)

Activity

In 3’s, discuss:

How do you currently prepare students to understand and engage with feedback?

Which of these ideas could you introduce, or develop further, and how?

Improving feedback - ensure it is fit for purpose Ensure students have MOM - Motive, Opportunity, Means (Shute, 2008) Draft-plus-rework - feedback effort (for markers and students) is located at

the draft stage, and possibly only a summative grade is given for the final submission

Improve the linkage of assessment strategies across programmes and between modules/units

Increase student engagement and understanding through dialogue - in-class discussion of exemplars, peer-review discussions supported by tutors, learning-sets, etc.

Identify what is feasible in a given assessment context - written feedback can often do little more than ‘diagnose’ development issues and then direct students to other resources for help and support

Consider the role of marks - they obscure feedback (try ‘adaptive release’ Irwin et al., 2013)

Ensure it is timely - ‘quick and dirty’ generic feedback, feedback on a draft, MCQs & quizzes, etc. (using technology may help)

Using technology - see http://tinyurl.com/tfaproject Oral feedback can be more effective (McCune, 2004). See the Sounds

Good website at: http://sites.google.com/site/soundsgooduk/ Review resource allocations (N.B. OU 60%)

Activity

Individually:

Choose one or more specific ideas to improve feedback that you think you could use. In as much detail as possible, identify how you would put the idea/s into practice.

In pairs:

Take it in turns to explain your plans to your partner. The job for the listener is to be a friendly and constructive critic

At its very simplest, need two conceptual shifts

1.Self and peer assessment need to be seen as essential graduate attributes (i.e. learning outcomes themselves, rather than processes)

2.Feedback needs to be seen as a dialogue (rather than a monologue)

… with an explicit intention to bring students into the community of assessment practice