Rethinking feedback: what's it for, and how can it make a difference? University of Nottingham, 22 September 2011 Rethinking feedback: what's it for, and how can it make a difference? DAI HOUNSELL UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH www.tla.ed.ac.uk/feedback.htm

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The Trouble with Feedback

Feedback Fundamentals

FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK What forms does feedback take? pro forma written comments exemplars exams guidance feedforward traditional collaboration on-display learning peer audio past questions screencast whole-class clickers in-class assignments cumulative editing anticipatory feedback elective self co-revision e-feedback redrafting reviewing progress criteria dialogue supervision interaction briefing student involvement faster feedback model answers training video online

FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK Why Does Feedback Speak in So Many Voices? what's effective or feasible feedback can vary in relation to the level of study / stage of students' progression in the subject at university level the task or activity they are engaged in the wider course setting / teaching-learning environment (and its feedback 'affordances' and constraints) the purpose(s) of the feedback 'signature' feedback practices (c.f. Shulman) an expanding palette of possibilities

feedback doesn't just come from comments by lecturers/tutors FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK So what is 'feedback', exactly ... ... and why does it matter? Feedback comprises information, processes, activities or experiences which aim to encapsulate, enable or boost students' learning i.e. feedback doesn't just come from comments by lecturers/tutors [good] feedback is performance-enhancing

FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK So what is 'feedback', exactly FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK So what is 'feedback', exactly ... ... and why does it matter? Feedback comprises information, processes, activities or experiences which aim to encapsulate, enable or boost students' learning Feedback can focus on: attainment what a student knows, understands or can do at a given point in time progress where a student currently stands in relation to a specified goal, target or level achievement what a student has achieved as demonstrated in a completed assignment or task

FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK What is 'feedback' and why does it matter? Why feedback matters learning without feedback is 'blind archery' feedback is indispensable to effective teaching and assessment, optimising the conditions under which each student can achieve their best

FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK Who gives feedback, where and when ? Sources of feedback Lecturers, tutors, demonstrators, supervisors, mentors Fellow-students / peers, a student’s own reflections The audience for a seminar or poster presentation, professional practitioners Feedback where and when? formally informally in timetabled classes / online outwith timetabled classes / offline intrinsic extrinsic prior to a task or activity during a task or activity after a task or activity

FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK FEEDBACK'S MANY PURPOSES

Feedback That Makes More of a Difference

Feedback that makes more of a difference Better opportunities to use feedback Enhancing students' grasp of feedback and standards Boosting the availability and richness of feedback

Why is feedback often uncollected ? FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCE Better opportunities to use feedback Why is feedback often uncollected ? Why might some feedback always come too late ?

FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCE Better opportunities to use feedback Why is there such a big difference between how we give feedback to our undergraduate and our doctoral students ?

FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCE Better opportunities to use feedback Why is there such a big difference between how we give feedback to our undergraduate and our doctoral students ?

From feedback to feedforward FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCE Better opportunities to use feedback From feedback to feedforward – 'feedback-first' and draft/revise/resubmit assignments cumulative assignments – wikis (Beaumont et al 2008)

Generic and whole-class feedback On-display learning FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCE Boosting the availability & richness of feedback Generic and whole-class feedback On-display learning Collaborative tasks & activities

OBSERVATION AS A PROXY FOR FEEDBACK

FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCE Enhancing students' grasp of feedback & standards "The many diverse expressions of dissatisfaction with written feedback can be interpreted as symptoms of impoverished and fractured dialogue. Mass higher education is squeezing out dialogue with the result that written feedback, which is essentially a monologue, is now having to carry much of the burden of teacher- student interaction." (Nicol, 2010)

ESSAY WRITING AND FEEDBACK (1987) "Tutors fail to acknowledge 'the subtle interplay between what is said and what is taken for granted' (Rommetveit, 1979, p. 96) and so do not seek to close the gap between their own and their students' understanding of expectations." (Hounsell, 1987, p. 114)

Peer and self-generated feedback FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCE Enhancing students' grasp of feedback & standards Elective feedback Exemplars Peer and self-generated feedback

FEEDBACK, CONNOISSEURSHIP & DIALOGUE "[Students] need to learn to discover what quality looks and feels like, and the aspects – whether large or small – that detract from it. They need to develop a vocabulary for expressing and communicating what they find. Furthermore, they should gradually attune their growing realisations and discourse to the norms of the discipline, field or profession" (Sadler, 2010) The process of engagement needs staff and students to share and develop a greater understanding of the complexity of feedback processes, and of what can be expected from all parties in this process." (Price, Handley & Millar, in press)

Feedback that makes more of a difference Better opportunities to use feedback Enhancing students' grasp of feedback and standards Boosting the availability and richness of feedback