Feedback Models for Learning, Teaching and Performance

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014. All rights reserved. This chapter focuses on the role of feedback in learning with particular emphasis on its effect on learner performance, motivation and self-regulation. The authors provide a critical account of definitions and models of feedback, tease out the conceptual roots of practice guidelines and highlight how individual, relational and environmental factors can impact on the utility of feedback as a performance changing device. Many of the conceptual models published in the literature draw on theoretical principles rather than empirical data to support the impact of feedback on learning/performance change. The empirical data from a diverse range of disciplines converge to a commonfinding-that written and verbal feedback in practice deviates considerably from principles of effective practice. The reasons for this theory-practice disjunction are explored, and the authors suggest that the lack of adoption of advocated principles may represent a need to look at feedback in a different way. A constructivist view on feedback encourages learners and educators to view feedback as a system of learning, rather than discreet episodes of educators "telling" learners about their performance. Highlighting the need for a shift in conceptual framework is not enough however. What is limited in the feedback literature is how to achieve feedback encounters that are typi fied by learner engagement. We argue that contesting the traditional, behaviourist "feedback ritual" requires leadership from educators, and a deliberate commitment to curricular redesign with purposeful and structured opportunities for learners to engage in feedback episodes, to put into place changes triggered by feedback and finally to re-evaluate performance in relation to set goals. Such a "system-orientated" take on feedback design requires upskilling of both educators and learners and needs to factor in the in fl uence of context, culture and relationships in learning

Assessment might dictate the curriculum, but what dictates assessment?

Almost all tertiary educators make assessment choices, for example, when they create an assessment task, design a rubric, or write multiple-choice items. Educators potentially have access to a variety of evidence and materials regarding good assessment practice but may not choose to consult them or be successful in translating these into practice. In this article, we propose a new challenge for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: the need to study the disjunction between proposals for assessment “best practice” and assessment in practice by examining the assessment decision-making of teachers. We suggest that assessment decision-making involves almost all university teachers, occurs at multiple levels, and is influenced by expertise, trust, culture, and policy. Assessment may dictate the curriculum from the student’s perspective, and we argue that assessment decision-making dictates assessment

Patterns of soil-transmitted helminth infection and impact of four-monthly albendazole treatments in preschool children from semi-urban communities in Nigeria: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial

Background Children aged between one and five years are particularly vulnerable to disease caused by soil-transmitted helminths (STH). Periodic deworming has been shown to improve growth, micronutrient status (iron and vitamin A), and motor and language development in preschool children and justifies the inclusion of this age group in deworming programmes. Our objectives were to describe the prevalence and intensity of STH infection and to investigate the effectiveness of repeated four-monthly albendazole treatments on STH infection in children aged one to four years. Methods The study was carried out in four semi-urban villages situated near Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The study was a double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial. Children aged one to four years were randomly assigned to receive either albendazole or placebo every four months for 12 months with a follow-up at 14 months. Results The results presented here revealed that 50% of the preschool children in these semi-urban communities were infected by one or more helminths, the most prevalent STH being Ascaris lumbricoides (47.6%). Our study demonstrated that repeated four-monthly anthelminthic treatments with albendazole were successful in reducing prevalence and intensity of A. lumbricoides infections. At the end of the follow-up period, 12% and 43% of the children were infected with A. lumbricoides and mean epg was 117 (S.E. 50) and 1740 (S.E. 291) in the treatment and placebo groups respectively compared to 45% and 45% of the children being infected with Ascaris and mean epg being 1095 (S.E. 237) and 1126 (S.E. 182) in the treatment and placebo group respectively at baseline. Conclusion Results from this study show that the moderate prevalence and low intensity of STH infection in these preschool children necessitates systematic treatment of the children in child health programmes

The fitness for the Ageing Brain Study II (FABS II): protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating the effect of physical activity on cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Background: Observational studies have documented a potential protective effect of physical exercise in older adults who are at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. The Fitness for the Ageing Brain II (FABS II) study is a multicentre randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) aiming to determine whether physical activity reduces the rate of cognitive decline among individuals with Alzheimer's disease. This paper describes the background, objectives of the study, and an overview of the protocol including design, organization and data collection methods

Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

Healthcare professionals' perceptions of learning communication in the healthcare workplace: an Australian interview study

OBJECTIVES: The literature focuses on teaching communication skills in the 'classroom', with less focus on how such skills are informally learnt in the healthcare workplace. We grouped healthcare work based on the cure:care continuum to explore communication approaches based on work activities. This study asks: 1) How do healthcare professionals believe they learn communication in the workplace? 2) What are the differences (if any) across the 'type of work' as represented by the cure:care continuum? DESIGN: This qualitative study used semi-structured individual interviews. SETTING: Community care and acute hospitals in Australia (Victoria and New South Wales). PARTICIPANTS: Twenty qualified healthcare professionals (medicine n=4, nursing n=3, allied health n=13) from various clinical specialties (eg, acute, rehabilitation, surgery, palliative care) participated. METHODS: Data were analysed using framework analysis, which involved the development of a thematic coding framework. Findings were mapped to participants' descriptions of work using the cure:care continuum. RESULTS: Three themes were identified that varied across the cure:care continuum: professional discourse-tying communication approaches to work activities; personal identities-the influence of personal identities on healthcare communication and role modelling-the influence of others in the socially bound context of healthcare work. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the influence of professional, personal and social factors on the learning of healthcare communication in the workplace. Our study illuminates differences in communication practice related to work activities, as conceptualised by the cure:care continuum. The results call for further examination of the 'nature' of work activities and the concomitant influence on developing healthcare communication