Promise and practice: how should first-year students’ expectations regarding assessment be met?

Mantz Yorke

Higher Education Academy ConferenceManchester, 3 July 2012

Agenda

• The evolving context of UK HE• Presentation of some relevant issues• Workshop• Comments, questions and – hopefully – a few answers

Some relevant issues

• Pre-enrolment engagement• Some students take time to ‘get it’ • Expectation that school feedback practices continue in HE• Turnaround time• The personal/emotional dimension to feedback• Staff availability

Most of the sources cited can be found in a conference paper by scrolling down from

www.fyhe.com.au/past_papers/papers11/FYHE-2011/content/html/keynote.html

The provision of prior information(Data from 634-694 first-year students in Art & Design)

The match, by high/low level of prior information, between expectations and experience:• Teaching • Assessment methods

The importance of pre-enrolment engagement:an example

Yorke & Vaughan, 2012

Teaching

Assessment methods

Increasing match of experience with expectation

Level of prior information

High

Low

Expectations regarding feedback, Australia

Issue (abbreviated) 2006 2007 2010N=979 N=1774 N=3091

% Agree % Agree % AgreeReady access to staff outside f2f is important

87 87 87

I expect teachers to read drafts 52

Feedback on drafts is important to learning

92 95

Crisp et al (2009); Scutter et al (2011)

Expectations re feedback ... and experience

Item theme (varies with group studied)

At orientation

% Agree

End year 1

% Agree

Teachers

% Agree‘Ready’ access tolecturers, tutors 88 89

61 50

64 94

Feedback on submitted work 97 97 66 37 100 59Feedback on DRAFTS of work

94 91 20 7 0 22

Colour code: Humanities ScienceNote: phrasing adjusted to fit circumstances

Brinkworth et al (2009)

1 week 2-3 weeks 4-6 weeks

2006 % 34 57 4

2007 % 38 55 3

2010 % 19 60

Acceptable time-interval for return of work

Crisp et al (2009); Scutter et al (2011)

Inadequate understanding of the task (Glover & Brown 2006)Student-staff differences in perception (Maclellan 2001)Feedback not understood (Chanock 2000; Weaver 2006)Tutors’ intentions re feedback not understood (Higgins et al 2002)‘Being told’ is not engaging (Crisp 2007) Disjuncts in the feedback loop (Hounsell et al 2006)Transferability not perceived (Carless 2006; Duncan 2007) ...... especially where assessment demands are diverse (Gibbs, TESTA)Timeliness (Brinkworth et al 2009)The grade’s the thing (Snyder 1971)Espoused theory & practice out of sync (Orrell 2006; Orsmond+ 2011)

Issues relating to the effectiveness of feedback

Week 4 Week 10Lack of confidence

23% 40%

Expected ActualDistinction + 7% ~ 7%High pass 80% 57%Fail 1% 17%

Cameron (2008)

Self-confidence

For [first-year] students feedback goes beyond providing information on how to improve assessment marks. The ‘effective feedback’ for these students is that which provides emotional support and facilitates integration into university.

(Poulos and Mahony, 2008)

Acknowledging emotion

To what extent can ‘the personal’ be accommodated in contemporary HE?

Students observed that feedback was given in such a way that they did not feel it was rejecting or discouraging . . .

[and] that feedback procedures assisted them in forming accurate perceptions of their abilities and establishing internal standards with which to evaluate their own work

Mentkowski and Associates (2000, p.82), emphasis added

Feedback and feedforward

Broad subject areaFull-time,

NPart-time,

NTotal,

N%PT

Nursing & paramedical studies 6505 2800 9305 30

Biosciences 9460 2395 11855 20

Business & managem’t studies 8680 4735 13415 35

Humanities & lang-based studs 6900 4760 11665 41

Design & creative arts 4760 9300 14060 66

Sectoral employment of FT and PT staff (selected subject areas)

HESA (2012)

The staff availability issue

So how should first-year students’ expectations regarding assessment be met?

Some of the issues that need to be considered:

• Some students take time to ‘get it’ regarding what is expected of them (especially academic standards)• Younger students (particularly) may expect school practices regarding feedback to be continued in HE• Turnaround time• The personal/emotional dimension to feedback• Staff availability

Comments and questions on Post-its, please