Understanding how students process and use feedback to support their learning

This paper presents the results of a small-scale qualitative study conducted at a UK university in which a sample of undergraduate students were asked to reflect on the (often subconscious) processes they use to engage with, act upon, store and recall feedback. Through the use of micro-blogging, weekly diaries and semi-structured interviews, the study found that students understand what feedback is and how it should be used. Students recognise the impact of technology in enhancing the feedback process, especially in supporting dialogue around feedback. However, the study highlighted that students often struggle to make connections between the feedback that they receive and future assignments, and it is recommended that further investigation is required into how tutors construct the feedback given and how students deconstruct that feedback, along with the role that technology might play in enabling students to make sense of all feedback that they receive

Setting out the role of feedback in the assessment process through both the student and tutor perspective

Despite assessment and feedback being important elements of the student experience, it is not clear how students connect these two elements together to improve their learning. What are students doing with the assignment feedback that they receive from tutors, and how do they make use of this feedback in their future assessments? A research study was undertaken to deconstruct feedback from the perspective of the tutor giving the feedback and the student receiving the feedback in order to explore the connections that students are able to make between the feedback received and future assessments. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with tutor and student participants, during which they were invited to articulate their practices and interactions with feedback at each stage of the assessment process. This paper reports on both student and tutor actions at each stage of the assessment process and discusses the implications of these behaviours for enhancing student engagement with feedback

Using technology to encourage student engagement with feedback: a literature review

This article presents a review of the literature over the past 10 years into the use of technological interventions that tutors might use to encourage students to engage with and action the feedback that they receive on their assessment tasks. The authors hypothesise that technology has the potential to enhance student engagement with feedback. During the literature review, a particular emphasis was placed on investigating how students might better use feedback when it is published online. This includes where an adaptive release technique is applied requiring students to submit an action plan based on their feedback to activate the release of their grade, and electronic generation of feedback using statement banks. Key journals were identified and a snowball technique was used to select relevant literature. The use of technology to support and enhance student learning and assessment is well documented in the literature, and effective feedback practices are similarly well published. However, in terms of the use of technology to support and enhance feedback processes and practices (i.e. production, publication, delivery and students making use of feedback through technology), we found the literature to be limited

A role for technology in enhancing students’ engagement with feedback

This paper explores the potential of technology-enabled feedback to improve student learning. 'Technology, Feedback, Action!:The impact of learning technology upon students' engagement with their feedback' aimed to evaluate how a range of technical interventions might encourage students to engage with feedback and formulate actions to improve future learning. The study used qualitative methods and worked in partnership with 23 undergraduate students to explore their experiences of receiving different forms of feedback with varying degrees of technical intervention including, but not limited to, electronic feedback with grades withheld, online grade publication, criteria-based feedback and more traditional feedback methods. Through a series of semi-structured interviews student participants were encouraged to articulate their experiences of feedback. The online publication of grades and feedback and the adaptive release of grades were found to significantly enhance students' engagement with their feedback. Data were analysed using a thematic approach and the main themes were used to inform the development of a series of good practice guides. The findings are discussed in the context of current literature. Keywords: Feedback; technology; engagement; reflection; innovatio

Engaging students with feedback through adaptive release

Feedback to students has been highlighted in the literature as an area where improvements are needed. Students need high quality, prompt feedback, but they also need guidance and tools to help them engage with and learn from that feedback. This case study explores staff and student perceptions of a tool at Sheffield Hallam University which releases electronic feedback to students before allowing them to access their grades. This approach was designed to encourage feedback engagement and connection with future assessments. The methods employed were student interviews and staff questionnaires about their experiences. The data were analysed to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, create recommendations for institutions looking to improve feedback engagement and identify areas for further development

Assessment journey : a programme to provide a seamless and improved assessment experience for staff and students

The Assessment Journey Programme at Sheffield Hallam University (UK) is continuing its progress towards delivering the changes needed to provide a seamless, improved and effective assessment experience for students and staff. Within this session we will present on the changes needed in order to shape our institutional vision for assessment and the technology required within it. We will share our experiences of exploiting Blackboard solutions (including the Grades Journey) to implement the technological future state for online management of assessment, and report on the lessons learned and the challenges faced around merged enrolments, extension management, and reassessment. Keywords: Assessment, online submission, online feedbac

Examining increased flexibility in assessment formats

There have been calls in the literature for changes to assessment practices in higher education, to increase flexibility and give learners more control over the assessment process (Boud and Falchikov 2006; Nicol and MacFarlane-Dick 2006; Taras 2002). This article explores the possibilities of allowing student choice in the format used to present their work, as a starting point for changing assessment, based on recent studies and current examples of flexible assessment practice in Higher Education. The benefits of this flexible assessment format approach are highlighted, along with a discussion of classic assessment considerations such as validity, reliability and marking concerns. The role of technology in facilitating assessment method choice is considered, in terms of new opportunities for providing student choice in the way they evidence their learning and present their work. Considerations for implementing flexible assessment choices into the curriculum are presented, along with a call that further research into such practice is needed to develop a comprehensive set of practical recommendations and best practice for implementation of flexible assessment choice into the curriculum. The article should be of interest to curriculum developers and academics considering implementing changes to the assessment process to increase student ownership and control

Understanding how students process and use feedback to support their learning

This paper presents the results of a small-scale qualitative study conducted at a UK university in which a sample of undergraduate students were asked to reflect on the (often subconscious) processes they use to engage with, act upon, store and recall feedback. Through the use of micro-blogging, weekly diaries and semi-structured interviews, the study found that students understand what feedback is and how it should be used. Students recognise the impact of technology in enhancing the feedback process, especially in supporting dialogue around feedback. However, the study highlighted that students often struggle to make connections between the feedback that they receive and future assignments, and it is recommended that further investigation is required into how tutors construct the feedback given and how students deconstruct that feedback, along with the role that technology might play in enabling students to make sense of all feedback that they receive. Key words Feedback; student engagement; Technology; Research

Meeting rising student expectations of online submission and online feedback

Students at Sheffield Hallam University are increasingly demanding the ability to submit assignments online and to receive feedback and their marks online. A key theme of the University’s Learning, Teaching and Assessment strategy (2006-2010) is “to enhance the students’ learning experience, making assessment activities, support and feedback a powerful integrated feature of learning”. Students will be encouraged to reflect on feedback to “enhance their on-going learner development through timely and effective feedback”. This short paper will explore how the University is currently working to meet its students’ expectations for online assignment submission and online feedback, through the development of a new Blackboard Building Block that supports the flexible submission of student assignments and the timely delivery of feedback online