Improving Feedback Dialogue in Large First-year Classrooms

7/29/2019 Improving Feedback Dialogue in Large First-year Classrooms

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BackgroundSchool HE transition

Less opportunity to engage

in dialogue with lecturer


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Feedback and Dialogue

Feedback provides one of the few opportunities forone-to-one learning conversations in mass HE

But students are dissatisfied...

And we know first year students in particular needcareful feedback

Students preconceived understanding offeedback from high school (Burke, 2009)

Students identified some feedback comments as

too vague, lacked guidance, or were unrelated tothe assessment criteria (Weaver, 2006)

So how can we enable better dialogue throughfeedback?


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AimsWhat proportion of students took up

the option and requested specificfocused feedback?What sort of topics did the students

request?Did the nature of the topic change

between years?What reasons did students give in

accepting or declining theopportunity?What is the effect on the quantity of

feedback given by lecturers when

participating in Focused Feedback?


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Focused FeedbackSample13 modules participated from School of Life Sciences

8 participating Module Leaders

710 students total enrolled on modules


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Focused FeedbackInitiative

Would you like f%e$back on ajYspecific `rpects of this pi%ce ofwork? If so please in$icate what

you want feedbacj on atthe end of youR script.


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MethodCoursework handed in - April-May

2010The count of words given on

coursework to each student, alongwith the grade they received andwhether they requested focused

feedback or not were statisticallyanalysed 15 interviews with self-selecting

students; transcribed verbatim and


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Results

Only 6% of students requested focusedfeedback

The most requests came from oneparticular module - 27%

Lecturers gave on average 59 morewords of feedback to students whorequested focused feedback than to those

who did not this is highly significant Highly significant effect of grade, with anegative coefficient that is, the higherthe grade the lower the word count of

feedback provided


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Topics Requested


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Results of Interviews15 students interviewed


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Feedback success

Limited Aspirations

I just think Im doing this though and then thats kind of itso I dont really want any more...I dont really care(#8;50)

Lake Wobegon Effectits probably ok for other people but I just um no not really

...personally for me I dont think Id really use it but its agood thing for people who you know who havesomething to actually ask for (#8;42)

Ive always believed that the really personal more specificfeedback is for the people that really went wrong(#9;146)

ModularisationI dont really care Ive written it and thats it I cant do

much else you know once you get it back then thatsyour mark you know I just think theres no point dwelling

over it and being like oo I could of done that I could havedone that its like no thats it and thats it (#8;58)


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Lack of Exposure

Ive never really seen anything like that before because

I always thought you always just got general feedback(#8;34)

I know quite a lot of people who didnt do it but I thinkits because they didnt read the WebCT stuff so theywerent aware of it (#6;6)

Power Dynamics and Dialogue

I suppose with some I just find that on this course someum lecturers you know sort of cant really be botheredsometimes or seems like they dont have time for you

(#12;56)Ive emailed them [lecturers] and asked for help and

they havent got back to me at all kind of thing(#12;58)

It [feedback] depends on the lecturer I think because

some of them are really general and some of them are


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Timing

With the specific feedback [in thefirst year] actually that might have

been a little more useful the way I

see it if I havent figured out whatI need to know about putting in

assignments by the end of the

second year then its probably too

late whereas in the first year yeah


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Future Use and FurtherResearch

Improve first-year retention

it didnt appear to be an option it appeared to bepart of the assignment

In addition to general feedback on myessay, I would like to receive

feedback on the following points:1).....................................

2).....................................


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Key FindingsStudents welcomed the opportunity to

receive Focused Feedback on theircourseworkHowever, most of them did not take this

opportunity upThe reasons are complex and this reveals

the need to design and implement simplesteps to increase take up

At the same time, it is apparent that weneed to work on raising aspirations,encouraging reflection from Day One, andinvesting in feedback, with particularattention to First Year cohorts


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References Bloxham, S. & Campbell, L., (2010) Generating dialogue in assessment feedback.Assessment & Evaluation in

Higher Education, 35, 3, 291-300.

Burke, D. (2009) Strategies for using feedback students bring to higher education,Assessment & Evaluation inHigher Education, 34, 1, 41-50.

Fyfe, G., Fyfe, S., Hill, J., Plastow, K., Sanders, K., and Ziman, M. (2006) With age and experience comes anappreciation of the value of feedback for learning, Enhanced Student Learning: 2006 Evaluations and AssessmentConference Refereed Papers, Western Australia.

Gibbs, G., (2006) Why assessment is changing, in C. Bryan & K. Clegg (Eds) Innovative Assessment in HigherEducation, London: Routledge.

Gibbs, G., and Simpson, C. (2004-2005) Conditions under which assessment supports students learning, Learningand Teaching in Higher Education, 1

Hounsell, D., McCune, V., Hounsell, J., and Litjens, J. (2008) The quality of guidance and feedback to students.Higher Education Research & Development, 27, 1, 55-67.

Hounsell, D. (2008) The Trouble with Feedback: New Challenges, Emerging Strategies, Accessed fromwww.tla.ed.ac.uk/interchange/spring2008/hounsell2.pdf 18/02/10

Hounsell, D., Hounsell, J., Litjens, J., and McCune, V. (2005) Enhancing guidance and feedback to students: findingson the impact of evidence-informed initiatives, Paper presented at European Association for Research on Learningand Instruction, 11th Biennial Conference, Cyprus 23 -27 August 2005.

Sadler, D.R. (1989) Formative assessment: revisiting the territory,Assessment in Education, 5, 1, 77-84.

Weaver, M.R. 2006 Do students value feedback? Student perceptions of written response,Assessment andEvaluation in Education, 31, 3, 379-394.
http://www.tla.ed.ac.uk/interchange/spring2008/hounsell2.pdf%2018/02/10http://www.tla.ed.ac.uk/interchange/spring2008/hounsell2.pdf%2018/02/10


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Questions?

For further information, please contact Jennifer Scoles [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

Improving Feedback Dialogue in Large First-year Classrooms

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