Assessment and Feedback Mark Russell and Helen Barefoot The Blended Learning Unit & The Learning and Teaching Institute

League tables shaping priority?

NSS q’s for assessment and feedback The criteria used in marking have been clear in advance Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair Feedback on my work has been prompt I have received detailed comments on my work Feedback on my work has helped clarify things I did not know   1= Definitely Disagree; 2= Mostly Disagree; 3= Neither Agree nor Disagree; 4= Mostly Agree; 5= Definitely Agree   How would you rate the degree programme you are mainly tied to? How do you think students rate that programme? Discrepancy? By yourself

Is assessment really that important? Assessment defines the curriculum (Snyder, Rowntree…) and yet … Students can, with difficulty, escape from the effects of poor teaching, they cannot (by definition if they want to graduate) escape the effects of poor assessment (Boud)

And so to learning Assessment drives learning Alignment – ADL C&G HPL JiTT Conversational Framework Anchored Instruction / challenge based instruction Learning is not a spectator sport

Effective assessment

Effective assessment

Case studies Case study 1 Case study 2 Activity: consider one of your own assessments that presents challenges and complete the case study proforma

Assessment Experience Questionnaire Student learning is best supported when the following conditions are met: Assessed tasks capture sufficient student time and effort These tasks distribute student effort evenly across topics & weeks These tasks engage students in productive learning activity Assessment communicates clear and high expectations to students Sufficient feedback is provided, often enough & in enough detail The feedback is provided quickly enough to be useful to students Feedback focuses on learning rather than on marks or students Feedback is linked to the purpose of the assignment and to criteria Feedback is understandable to students, given their sophistication Feedback is received by students and attended to Feedback is acted upon by students to improve their work or their learning assessment conditions which best support learning. Course experience questionnaire – Paul Ramsden – 1991 - Australia Discusses reduction in formative assessments – “Open University students may receive 50 times as much feedback on assignments over the course of an entire degree compared to students at conventional universities. OU Students can cope without much, or even, any facte-2-face teaching, but they cannot cope without regular feedback on assignments (Gibbs & Simpson, 2004)

Good Feedback Practice Good assessment and feedback practice should: 1 Help to clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, standards) 2 Encourage 'time and effort' on challenging learning tasks 3 Deliver high-quality feedback information that helps learners to self-correct 4 Provide opportunities to act on feedback (to close any gap between current and desired performance) 5 Ensure that summative assessment has a positive impact on learning 6 Encourage interaction and dialogue around learning (peer and teacher-student) 7 Facilitate the development of self-assessment and reflection in learning 8 Give choice in the topic, method, criteria, weighting or timing of assessments 9 Involve students in decision-making about assessment policy and practice 10 Support the development of learning groups and learning communities 11 Encourage positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem 12 Provide information to teachers that can be used to help shape their teaching Meta-analysis of 87 studies (Hattie 1987) – what makes a difference to student achievement? –most powerful single influence is feedback Study of student and staff perceptions of feedback differ (Maclellen 2001) – staff think they provide useful information which stimulates discussion – students think that it is sometimes useful/helpful yet rarely (2%) think it stimulates discussion What students do with feedback can be depressing – feedback is often not read at all or understood. In absence of mark – students read feedback much more carefully. Nicol (2009)

NUS’ Principles of effective assessment Assessment… 1. Should be for learning, not simply of learning 2. Should be reliable, valid, fair and consistent 3. Should incorporate effective and constructive feedback 4. Should be innovative and have the capacity to inspire and motivate such as with the use of technology 5. Should measure understanding and application, rather than technique and memory 6. Should be conducted throughout the course, not simply positioned as a finale event 7. Should develop key skills such as peer and reflective assessment 8. Should be central to staff development and teaching strategies, and frequently reviewed 9. Should be of a manageable amount for both students and tutors 10. Should encourage dialogue between students and their tutors, and students and their peers LTI Assessment guidance

Feedback Action without feedback is totally unproductive to learning Hi If assessment is the engine which drives learning – feedback is the oil which lubricates it. Action without feedback is doing archery in the dark Feedback is like a fish – goes off within 6 days

Sound familiar? ‘tutors become used to repeating important advice to some students, with no evidence that they have read, understood, or learned from the points raised by them’ (Duncan et al) Feedback should also create consequences

Student opinions (recent NSS comments) feedback from coursework or projects was not the most helpful and did not meet dead lines very well The marking is hugely inconsistent and largely subjective Feedback very rarely allowed us to know how to improve before handing in the next piece Poor feedback doesn't help me learn to correct mistakes for next assignment. Sometimes it’s embarrassing to approach the person who failed you Turnaround on feedback for many assessments is relatively slow sometimes meaning you have handed in another piece before learning from the previous one Sufficient feedback on assignments was not always given and this could be improved on to ensure students improve their marks as opposed to always staying borderline and within the same percentage range feedback from coursework or projects was not the most helpful and did not meet dead lines very well."   Feedback very rarely allowed us to know how to improve before handing in the next piece." Turnaround on feedback for many assessments is relatively slow sometimes meaning you have handed in another piece before learning from the previous one. Sufficient feedback on assignments was not always given and this could be improved on to ensure students improve their marks as opposed to always staying borderline and within the same percentage range. The marking is hugely inconsistent and largely subjective. Feedback could be given in more depth and detail Poor feedback doesn't help me learn to correct mistakes for next assignment. Sometimes embarrassing approaching the person who failed you. Feedback could be given in more depth and detail

What is prompt ?

Challenges associated with feedback Assessment too late -> feedback too late Feedback too late after event Helping and judging. And so view is important, really important. Praise the individual – hmm – might motivate but does it directly improve learning ? – Stobart, Dweck Is feedback about them or their commitment to learning Shy away from risk?

Plotting effectiveness vs. efficiency Efficiency (or 1/t) Have a grid to fill out themselves. Maybe locate against principles and identify gaps Discuss in pairs where they are and get advice and ideas as to how to shift Share with whole room Waste of time Effectiveness

Now vs. Now+ 12 months Drawing on your case study Think about where your assessment is located and identify this on the grid provided Discuss in pairs why you think it is located here referring to the principles Identify some practicable steps to move it along/up Share with whole room Assessment Guidance

And the students … How do the students know (really know) assessment and feedback is important to us? Can I challenge you and ask Where is your feedback campaign? Where do the students see you said - we did? Can you build on existing activity / ideas to plan a campaign?

And finally … Identify a couple things that will you do as an individual to make things better What three things will you do as a module team to make things better? What three things do you want the School to do to make things better? 200 yards…

Remember Assessment can create learning opportunities Assessment can enhance teaching Good assessment is aligned and feedback rich Guidance is out there I received prompt feedback which enabled me to improve in time for the next assessment/exam Timely, well-structured feedback is the only real way to appreciate progression, allow for individual reflection and result in self-improvement.