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

Effect of metal intermixing on the Schottky barriers of Mo(100)/GaAs(100) interfaces

The electronic and structural properties of Mo(100)/GaAs(100) interfaces and Mo diffusion into GaAs are explored using first principle calculations. Our results show that the interface undergoes substantial atomic rearrangement with respect to the bulk structures and the bilayer of the GaAs adjacent to the interface becomes conducting. We study the n-type Schottky barrier height's dependence on Mo interdiffusion in the GaAs, with values ranging from ∼0.9eV to ∼1.39eV. This range is caused by the diffusants acting as additional n-type doping at the surface and their interaction with the metal-induced gap states.S.P.H. was supported by the EPSRC Grant No. EP/I009973/1, P.V.S. was supported by the Royal Society. Access to the HECToR high-performance computing facility was made available via our membership of the UK's HPC Materials Chemistry Consortium, which was funded by EPSRC (EP/F067496)

First principles electronic and elastic properties of fresnoite Ba2TiSi2O8 (article)

This is the final version of the article. Available from IOP Publishing via the DOI in this record.The research materials supporting this publication can be accessed in ORE at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/30403Electronic, structural and elastic properties of fresnoite, Ba2TiSi2O8 (BTSO), are obtained via first principles calculations. The electronic properties having been comparatively analysed using both the generalised gradient approximation and the hybrid functional method. The indirect band gap of BTSO is found to change significantly through the choice of functional; it shows an increase from 3.79 eV to 5.72 eV. A small indirect gap of 0.33 eV is also present directly above the conduction band edge, which allows for small optical transitions similar to that of defect transitions. The titanium orbitals are dominant near the conduction band edge, with oxygen orbitals being the main contributor to the valence band edge. Dielectric and elastic properties of the material are also obtained, with the bulk modulus being 131.73 GPa and the elastic moduli along the [1 0 0] and [0 0 1] directions being 180.57 GPa and 102.56 GPa, respectively. Theoretical values for Raman frequencies are reported for BTSO. Finally, Bader charge analysis reveals the barium and titanium atoms in BTSO are comparable to their charges in BaTiO3. However, due to the presence of the Si–O bonds, oxygen exhibits a significant charge redistribution. Through the choice of functional, charge can become more localised on the oxygen atoms.Via our membership of the UK's HEC Materials Chemistry Consortium, which is funded by EPSRC (EP/L000202), this work used the ARCHER UK National Supercomputing Service (www.archer.ac.uk). We acknowledge financial support from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of the United Kingdom, via the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Metamaterials (Grant No. EP/L015331/1)

First-principles structure determination of interface materials: The NixInAs nickelides

This is the final version of the article. Available from American Physical Society via the DOI in this record.We present here a first-principles study of the ternary compounds formed by Ni, In, and As, a material of great importance for self-aligned metallic contacts in next-generation InAs-based MOS transistors. The approach we outline is general and can be applied to study the crystal structure and properties of a host of other new interface compounds. Using the ab initio random structure searching approach we find the previously unknown low-energy structures of NixInAs and assess their stability with respect to the known binary compounds of Ni, In, and As. Guided by experiments, we focus on Ni3InAs and find a rich energy landscape for this stoichiometry. We consider the five lowest-energy structures, with space groups Pmmn, Pbcm, P21/m, Cmcm, and R3¯. The five low-energy structures for Ni3InAs are all found to be metallic and nonmagnetic. By comparison to previously published TEM results we identify the crystal structure observed in experiments to be Cmcm Ni3InAs. We calculate the work function for Cmcm Ni3InAs and, according to the Schottky-Mott model, expect the material to form an Ohmic contact with InAs. We further explicitly consider the interface between Cmcm Ni3InAs and InAs and find it to be Ohmic with an n-type Schottky barrier height of -0.55eV.This work was supported in part by the EPSRC Grants No. EP/G007489/2, No. EP/J010863/1, and No. EP/I009973/1. All data supporting this study are provided as Supplemental Material accompanying this paper [25]. Computational resources from the University College London and London Centre for Nanotechnology Computing Services as well as HECToR and Archer as part of the UKCP consortium are gratefully acknowledged

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

Multi-scale Simulations of Metal-Semiconductor Nanoscale Contacts

PublishedAn electron transport simulations via a metal-semiconductor interface is carried out using multi-scale approach by coupling ab-initio calculations with 3D finite element ensemble Monte Carlo technique. The density functional theory calculations of the Mo/GaAs (001) interface show electronic properties of semiconductor dramatically change close to the interface having a strong impact on the transport. Tunnelling barrier lowers and widens due to a band gap narrowing near the interface reducing resistivity by more than one order of magnitude: from 2.1 × 10-8Ω.cm2 to 4.7 × 10-10Ω.cm2. The dependence of electron effective mass from the distance to the interface also plays a role bringing resistivity to 7.9 × 10-10Ω.cm2.This work was supported by the EPSRC grants EP/I010084/1, EP/I009973/1, and HECToR facility computer resource EPSRC grant EP/F067496. PVS was supported by the Royal Society

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

Understanding dental students’ use of feedback

Introduction Feedback can enhance learning and is thought to be highly valued by students; however, it is not clear from the literature how dental students actually use feedback. Aim This study aimed to explore how dental students use feedback in a variety of contexts. Methods Qualitative methods involving audio‐recorded focus groups were used to explore the use of feedback by undergraduate dental students studying at three UK dental schools. A purposive sampling strategy was used to ensure diverse representation across the undergraduate dental programmes in each of the schools. Results Six focus groups, involving a total of 72 students, were undertaken. Thematic analysis identified five main themes relating to the use of feedback: value, future applicability, accessibility, variability and understanding. The inter‐connectivity and interaction of the themes (along with their subthemes) were used to develop a model for optimising feedback with the aim of enhancing its potential use by students. Conclusion The use of feedback by students would appear to be strongly influenced by several factors. Understanding these factors and how they interlink may be helpful to education providers who are seeking to optimise their feedback processes

Using an understanding of feedback processes to improve student learning

The main purpose of this paper is to give some novel insights into the creation and use of feedback within a learning environment. The literature commonly puts all the emphasis for feedback on what staff do, but this paper will demonstrate using analogies with classical control feedback loops that it is in fact not staff who create feedback, but students. Consequently, rather than pressurising staff to create more, faster, better ‘feedback’ the onus should be on educating students, and staff, on how to create effective feedback from the myriad of information available to them