Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback Stuart Hepplestone and Helen Parkin Quality Enhancement & Student Success

Agenda TimeAgenda 13:15-13:20Workshop opening and agenda:Welcome and introduction to the workshop 13:20-13:25Activity 1:Reflecting on your practice 13:25-13:35Presentation:Technology, Feedback, Action! research project 13:35-13:50Activity 2:Technology, Feedback, Action! and the Seven Principles of Good Feedback Practice 13:50-14:00Presentation and Activity 3:Challenging practice and action planning 14:00Workshop closing:Participant questions and comments Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

About this workshop Reflect on your current feedback practice Consider: Technology, Feedback, Action! findings 1 Seven Principles of Good Feedback Practice 2 Develop an action plan for transforming feedback practice Nicol, D.J. and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006) Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice, Studies in Higher Education, 31: 2, Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Activity 1: Reflecting on your practice 5 minutes, in small groups: what feedback methods or techniques you currently use, support or promote? thinking about your current feedback practice: what works well? what doesn't work as well? Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Technology, Feedback, Action! Potential of technology-enabled feedback to improve learning Evaluate logistical and learning benefits of: online publication of feedback and grades via the Blackboard Grade Centre adaptive release of marks through Assignment Handler adaptive release of marks linking feedback to assessment criteria using an electronic Feedback Wizard linking feedback to assessment criteria Semi-structured interviews, 23 undergraduates: Computer Networks Diagnostic Radiography Events Management Psychology Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Online publication of grades and feedback/ Blackboard Grade Centre pushes feedback to students removing the burden to seek out feedback from tutors allows control over how, when and where feedback is received students respond to feedback when emotionally ready and in privacy thoughtfulness and legibility of typed feedback prompt return of feedback making it current and meaningful students are more likely to revisit feedback stored alongside their learning when completing future assignments students monitor progression and performance You dont have to share it with everyone whereas if you are in a seminar and everyones talking about what they got you kind of have to feel the pressure to join in whereas if you get it on Blackboard you can see it at your own leisure It obviously makes it a lot more beneficial to me as a student to receive [feedback] in a much more legible form…typed feedback is much better than written feedback, because you can read it. Lecturers have a tendency to scrawl Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Adaptive release of grades/Assignment Handler learning benefits acknowledged when purpose fully understood students like to receive their feedback and grades in close proximity students do produce action plans from their feedback but this is a subconscious approach; Assignment Handler provides a space to formalise this process emphasises the importance of reflection enhances student engagement with their feedback If I have to reflect on the feedback before receiving the grade then it sticks in my mind a bit longer, the feedback I receive, the points that I am going to use and its a little bit easier to remember when Im working on my next assignment Yeah its just stored in my memory. I dont tend to write action plans down. I tend to retain things in my memory and then if I need to look something up I can usually remember where it is that I found it before Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Linking feedback to assessment criteria feedback grids are most effective when supplementary to in-context feedback identify strengths and weaknesses in a cohesive and legible way use of assessment criteria to identify learning targets offers a level of transparency of how overall grade is calculated You could really clearly see what you had to do for the next one and where you could actually improve If you just get … a percentage for a mark out of 20 or whatever then it doesnt really give you anything. Whereas if you understand the process that the lecturer has gone through with regards to how hes got to that figure … it gives you a bit more of a basis as to how or why theyve got to that point Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Seven principles of good feedback (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick, 2006) 1. helps clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards) 2. facilitates the development of self-assessment (reflection) in learning 3. delivers high quality information to students about their learning 4. encourages teacher and peer dialogue around learning 5. encourages positive motivational benefits and self-esteem 6. provides opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance 7. provides information to teachers that can be used to help shape the teaching Nicol, D.J. and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006) Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice, Studies in Higher Education, 31: 2, Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Activity 2: seven principles of good feedback 15 minutes, in small groups: identify which feedback activities best match each of the seven principles of good feedback practice Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Best practice guides and short report Available for download from or search Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Putting into practice: Online publication of feedback and grades Find out what tools/techniques are available for use at your institution Who needs access: you, students, teaching team, admin staff Are you publishing provisional grades or waiting until after assessment boards? Tell students the status of grades Ensure students can access feedback for duration of their study, or … … tell students how long it will be available to them Provide information to students about when feedback will be available, and the format it will be delivered in Promote effective techniques for storage and retrieval of feedback Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Putting into practice: Adaptive release of grades Find out what tools/techniques are available for use at your institution Promote educational benefits of feedback for learning, and … … provide clear guidance to students Define the boundaries of your assessments at the outset, outlining student responsibilities outlining student responsibilities Assessment strategies should provide opportunities for feed forward to any future assessment Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Putting into practice: Linking feedback to assessment criteria Find out what tools/techniques are available for use at your institution Make assessment criteria available from the outset … … enables students to complete and self-assess their work Accompany generic statements with individual comments Standard comments should not just reaffirm the grade Write feedback in the context of the students' original work Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Activity 3: Your action plan 5 minutes, in small groups: how will you change your feedback practice to make it more innovative? what support and resources will you need to make this happen? Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Thank you – any questions? Aston Business School Conference Centre 18 November 2011 SEDA Annual Conference 2011: Using Technology to Enhance Learning Using technology to enhance student engagement with feedback

Adaptive release of grades Back

Sample feedback sheet Back

Assessment timeline Back