Reconceptualising Assessment Feedback

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• Reconceptualising Assessment Feedback

HEA Research Grant Assessment of Student
Learning the relationships between staff and
student perceptions of the quality of feedback on
assignments in large first-year undergraduate
courses
Chris Beaumont, chris.beaumont_at_edgehill.ac.uk
Michelle ODoherty, odoherm_at_hope.ac.uk Lee
Shannon, shannol_at_hope.ac.uk
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Presentation Overview

• The importance of assessment feedback
• Feedback the issues
• Principles of good feedback practice
• Feedback and guidance practice
• Schools and Universities
• Reconceptualising guidance and feedback
• Putting it into practice

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The Importance of assessment feedback

• Student Perspective
• Assessment defines undergraduates perceptions of
  the curriculum (Ramsden, 2003) and has a major
  influence on their learning (Biggs, 2003 Boud,
  2007)
• Feedback is central to student learning feedback
  is the most powerful single influence on student
  achievement (Hattie, 1987 Black and Wiliam,
  1998 2003).
• action without feedback is completely
  unproductive for the learner (Laurillard, 2002
  p.55).
• Staff perspective
• feedback is, a fundamental characteristic of
  responsible and responsive learning systems
  (Sadler, 1989 1998, p.79)
• the provision of quality feedback is perceived as
  a key requirement of effective teaching (Ramsden,
  2003)

4
Issues Feedback in HE

• Student Perspective assessment feedback is the
• least satisfactory aspect of student experience
• consistent low satisfaction scores for assessment
  and feedback for the 2005, 2006 and 2007 National
  Student Satisfaction surveys.
• most concern surrounds the timeliness, quality
  and effectiveness of feedback
• Staff Perspective a major casualty is the
  amount
• and quality of feedback (Rust, 2001 p.4) Race,
  1996.
• ..higher education institutions have cut back
  on assessment as well as class contact (Gibbs,
  2006 p.15)
• QAA subject reviews identify assessment practices
  as one of weakest features (Rust, 2005).
• a downward spiral. (Hounsell, 2007 p.103)

EXPANSION WIDENING PARTICIPATION
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So, What is Quality Feedback?

• Assessment involves identifying appropriate
  standards
• and criteria and making judgements about quality
  (Boud, 2000 p.151)

Conditions Under Which Assessment Supports
Students Learning
Gibbs and
Simpson (2004-5)
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Good Feedback Practice ?
Seven Principles of Good Feedback Practice,
Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2004)

• Helps clarify what good performance is (goals,
  criteria, expected standards).
• Facilitates the development of self-assessment
  (reflection) in learning.
• Delivers high quality information to students
  about their learning.
• Encourages teacher and peer dialogue around
  learning.
• Encourages positive motivational beliefs and
  self-esteem.
• Provides opportunities to close the gap between
  current and desired performance.
• Provides information to teachers that can be used
  to help shape the teaching.

Different Tutor/Student Perceptions of Quality
Feedback
3 Years
3 months

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Feedback theory into practice?

• Feedback is under-explored (Higgins et al, 2002)
• The main aims of the project were to
• investigate the impact of prior experiences of
  assessment on students expectations of feedback
  practices in higher education
• explore tutors and students perceptions of what
  is considered quality feedback and how this may
  vary within and across disciplines
• analyse any changes in students perceptions of
  quality feedback throughout their first year
  higher education experience
• identify barriers to providing quality feedback.

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Research Activities/ Models

• Large scale qualitative study (Struyven et
  al,2005 )
• Focus groups and semi-structured interviews
• 3 WP universities North-West Midlands and
  London
• 3 disciplines Psychology Performing Arts
  Education
• 6 WP schools/FE colleges WP profile in the
  North-West
• 172 students, 38 staff
• Control Questionnaires
• delivered at assessment milestones
• 241 responses
• Thematic analysis of transcripts
• (Braun Clarke, 2006)

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HE students Prior Experience
Perceptions of Quality Feedback (norms)
Sample size 180
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Feedback in FE The Dialogic feedback Cycle
DfC (FE)
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FE feedback - the solution?

• Perceptions of feedback in FE
• delivers improvements in grades
• not promote independent
• learning
• ..We are under so much pressure to get exam
  results..we tend to spoon feed them as much as we
  can FE Tutor
• .. we were spoon fed practically at what we were
  doing. HE student
• Barriers to change
• Shared perception that feedback is fit for
  purpose
• FE tutors staff demands of
• league tables
• FE students need to pass exams

Dialogic feedback Cycle (FE)
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The Guidance and Feedback Loop in HE
Feed Forward into next Assignment /Assessment
(Hounsell et al 2008)
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Students Perceptions of Feedback Quality in HE
Formative vs Summative
Independence vs Guidance
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Summary of Findings

• Perceptions of quality feedback are influenced
  by
• Prior experience of feedback in FE as a guidance
  process
• formative dialogue
• never perceived as a single event
• delivers improvement in performance (grades)
• shared awareness of limitations spoon feeding
  vs independent learning.
• Impact of prior experience on first year in HE
• Feedback does not meet students expectations of
  quality
• Culture shock of Independent Learning
• Mis-match in tutors and students perceptions of
  quality feedback
• Shared awareness of constraints lack of time
  staffstudent ratios
• Barriers to change Tension expectations of
  autonomy vs guidance
• No change in perceptions
• Students perceptions of feedback quality do not
  improve across the year this impacts upon
  motivation and confidence.
• Findings are consistent within and across
  disciplines and institutions.

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Recommendations
Reconceptualise feedback as a feedforward
guidance process for self-directed learning

• Scaffold students into academic community of
  practice through front loading (Rust, 2001) -
  feedback as preparatory guidance.
• Explicitly teach Self-Directed Learning skills to
  help transition taking account of prior
  assessment experiences
• Protocols to encourage student engagement with
  formative feedback to maximise feedforward
• Staff Development training in feedback practice
  and course design.

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The Dialogic feedforward Cycle (HE)
Df C (HE)
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Spiral Curriculum
Spiral Curriculum sustainable assessment for
learning using the Dialogic Feedforward Cycle
Scaffolding Independent Learning
.Fair enough, we shouldnt be spoon fed in uni ,
but at least we should have a spoon. First
year HE student
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Case Study Computing
(Whitfield and ODoherty et al, 2008)
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Summary

• Students expect feedback as a formative, guidance
  process the Dialogic feedback Cycle.
• in practice does not develop independent
  learning.
• HE culture expects self-directed learning.
• no systematic, integrated feedback process in HE
• quality is threatened by impact of economies of
  expansion
• A dialogic (Alexander, 2004) constructivist
  approach is required in HE.
• Feedback and guidance should be re-conceptualised
  as a process using the Dialogic feedforward
  Cycle.
• spiral curriculum of differentiated assessment
  activities
• scaffold student autonomy for sustainable
  assessment

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