Assessment for Learning: supporting post graduate students’ Margo McKeever

Feedback First Background First assignment during transition to a new discipline. Problem: Unease: student anxiety, lack of confidence in their ability. In-depth qualitative interviews undertaken with students to explore their experience of this initial assignment. Approach: Participatory action research with students and academic staff as co-researchers. Exploration Specification of and understanding the practice problem Planning Development and implementation of ’feedback first’ Action Implementation and Evaluation of ‘feedback first’ Reflection Identifying issues arising from implementation Planning second cycle

From Expert to Novice On reflection I found it difficult…I should have come to talk about it…we think we know what we are doing...I didn’t pay enough attention to writing as a nurse, maybe if I’d had to come […] it made me realise that despite previous academic success we are brand new to this… (student a)

Considerations Students Resource University assessment regulations and processes Academic Staff

Feedback First ‘Feedback first’ was designed to encourage students to actively engage with formal formative feedback, assignment criteria and guidelines during learning. Aim: to enhance learning and self-assessment ability.

Process Students receive formal formative feedback (feed- forward) on their work five weeks prior to the summative submission date Script annotated + feed-forward No Mark given Students have the opportunity to critically appraise their work and make any changes they consider appropriate before summative submission

Findings An overview

Previous Experience of Feedback My initial thoughts were that (feedback-first) would be really useful as in the past I felt final draft comments were fairly useless. (RFF091) Got a few comments but I didn’t ever really read them (10b1) after 6 months on the course: I went into the loft on Sunday and brought down the assignments from my previous degree to read the feedback...that was the first time I’d actually read them. (ob095)

Reducing Anxiety [Feedback first is] extremely helpful. I think specifically because we’re coming in at post-graduate level...it will let us know whether the pitch is right. [...]it’s a win-win situation really isn’t it? (10b) [knowing I was getting feedback first] made it a lot more reassuring I was happy about that. (0047) It definitely takes the pressure off and stress off. (101b)

Receiving Feedback I was disappointed because although we weren’t given a mark you could work out the range... I’m guessing that I was in the range of 50s’...that’s not what I was hoping for...it was a bit of a comfort knowing the majority of my friends had done around the same as me. (003) I thought the feedback was very relevant and picked up some points I hadn’t thought of,some of the areas were very obvious that I had actually missed so I was happy with that. (002)

Revisiting the Assignment It was quite hard because I had handed it in and forgotten about it then you sort of had to go back to it so it was quite difficult to get back into the swing of it. (003) It wasn’t too bad having a complete break. (ed091) I knew I had a lot to do. I left it for two weeks once I grasped what I had to do I got on with it. (obs27)....if it looked like I’d pass I intended to just hand it back in [unchanged] but everyone else was working on theirs so I thought I’d better work on mine. (obs8)

Engaging with Feedback To step up to master’s level I have to stop being so descriptive. Without the feedback first I wouldn’t have acknowledged that. I know you get feedback with the final assignment but I don’t think I would have looked back... I’d have got my mark and forgotten about it. [...] having feedback-first has made me recognise what I need to change. (003) I went to see [marker] to see if I was interpreting the feedback she had written in the right way. (022)

Engaging with Feedback I’m feeling rather sad because it is quite clear that I hadn’t hit many of the criteria... After digesting the feedback I am able to see where I need to improve my written work. I can see that getting this feedback can only help, not hinder, my learning as the tutor has pointed out how I am able to improve my work. I can only see this as being positive. (RFF001)

Engaging with Feedback [I ] need to be more critical, had little previous experience with criticality, hoping that after feedback and further discussion with my marker I will be able to develop these skills for the summative submission and future assignments. [I] need to keep referring back to the marking criteria and the assignment question, to make sure I am staying focussed on the task. (025)

Summative work It’s a totally different essay...more structured argument, more depth. I did a lot more reading after the feedback and felt I had a much better understanding of the topic and what is expected at the level. Comparing the two I cant believe I thought the first one was good when I handed it in! (ob10/2) Underlying fear among student’ of making the work worse

On Reflection I believe the feedback I received has been very useful in terms of personal development and transition to writing at Masters level. I’ve learnt that it is necessary to look deeper than the superficial level of inquiry that I have undertaken to some degree throughout the assignment. I have found the feedback very useful, much more than I was expecting.

Average Cohort Marks

First & Final Marks

Conclusion Did feedback first make a difference? Complex range of variables at play Students very positive about the benefit Student readiness to respond Probably had some impact Further research

These slides are also available from The University of Cumbria website: CDEPP/Events/AHEConference2011.aspx CDEPP/Events/AHEConference2011.aspx Margo McKeever