Projects per year
Abstract
Since the early 2010s the literature has shifted to view feedback as a process that students do where they make sense of information about work they have done, and use it to improve the quality of their subsequent work. In this view, effective feedback needs to demonstrate effects. However, it is unclear if educators and students share this understanding of feedback. This paper reports a qualitative investigation of what educators and students think the purpose of feedback is, and what they think makes feedback effective. We administered a survey on feedback that was completed by 406 staff and 4514 students from two Australian universities. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted on data from a sample of 323 staff with assessment responsibilities and 400 students. Staff and students largely thought the purpose of feedback was improvement. With respect to what makes feedback effective, staff mostly discussed feedback design matters like timing, modalities and connected tasks. In contrast, students mostly wrote that high-quality feedback comments make feedback effective – especially comments that are usable, detailed, considerate of affect and personalised to the student’s own work. This study may assist researchers, educators and academic developers in refocusing their efforts in improving feedback.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 25-36 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education |
Volume | 44 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2 Jan 2019 |
Keywords
- Assessment feedback
- effective feedback
- purpose of feedback
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Feedback for Learning: Closing the Assessment Loop
Henderson, M. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Boud, D. J. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Dawson, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Molloy, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Phillips, M. (Chief Investigator (CI))
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (Australia)
2/06/16 → 5/05/18
Project: Research
Activities
- 1 Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
-
Biomedicine Learning and Teaching Forum
Phillips, M. (Organiser)
22 Jul 2020Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
Press/Media
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Has video killed the red grading pen? Teachers are experimenting with video feedback as a replacement for traditional written mark-ups.
23/05/18
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment