What went wrong? Students’ and lecturer reflection on why face-to-face feedback was ineffective

Harvey, Tina ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2250-3197 (2019) What went wrong? Students’ and lecturer reflection on why face-to-face feedback was ineffective. In: 7th International AHE Conference 2019 (Assessment in Higher Education), 26-27 June 2019, Manchester, UK. (Unpublished)

Preview

PDF (slides) - Presentation Available under License CC BY-NC Download (542kB) | Preview

Abstract

Publications from researchers such as Nutbrown, Higgins and Beesley (2016); Winstone et al (2017); and Carless and Boud (2018) are still trying to determine the best methods to provide assessment feedback and what influences student engagement with the process. There is also an increasing amount of literature that demonstrates a need to move away from feedback dialogue being a one-way process, and instead becoming one that involves the student as an equal partner (Ajjawi & Boud, 2017). Sambell et al (2017) passionately defend their belief that students need to be effectively engaged with feedback practices if they are to become successful and autonomous learners, and the authors claim this is possible through participation in active dialogue with tutors. This claim is further supported by Chalmers, Mowat and Chapman (2018) who identify the benefits of marking and providing feedback face-to-face with students. A cohort of 23 2nd year undergraduate students were invited to have individual, face-to-face summative assessment feedback with the module tutor. All 23 students participated and all 23 express their opinions on how much more useful they felt this process was compared to receiving electronic written feedback (which is current pedagogical practice). Students stated that it was beneficial to be able to ask questions and ensure that they understood the advice being given. However, for a high percentage of these students, the following assessment did not indicate that the face-to-face feedback advice had been applied. The failure rate was significantly greater than had been anticipated, and the researcher was left wondering if this was a result of low academic literacy skills. In order to determine a clearer understanding of the unexpected failure rate, a qualitative study was undertaken to elicit necessary evidence to explain how this approach appeared to not be as effective as the findings suggested by Chalmers, Mowat & Chapman (2018) and the claim from Sambell et al (2017). This presentation will discuss the discoveries of individual interviews undertaken with the students, and reflect on the diverse perspectives of dialogic feedback, along with analysing where and why the process of face-to-face feedback was ineffective. Finally, the presentation will highlight the next steps to this ongoing project and how improvements can be made.

References:
Ajjawi, R. & Boud, D. (2017) ‘Researching feedback dialogue: an interactional analysis approach.’ Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(2), pp 252-265.
Carless, D. & Boud, D. (2018) ‘The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback.’ Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(8), pp 1315-1326.
Chalmers, C., Mowat, E. & Chapman, M. (2018) ‘Marking and providing feedback face-to-face: Staff and student perspectives.’ Active Learning in Higher Education, 19(1), pp 35-45.
Nutbrown, S., Higgins, C. and Beesley, S. (2016) ‘Measuring the Impact of High Quality Instant Feedback’, Practitioner Research in Higher Education, 10(1),pp 130-139.
Sambell, K., Brown, S., & Graham, L. (2017). Professionalism in practice: Key directions in higher education learning, teaching and assessment. London: Palgrave McMillan
Winstone, N. E., Nash, R. A., Rowntree, J., & Parker, M. (2017). ‘It'd be useful, but I wouldn't use it’: barriers to university students’ feedback seeking and recipience. Studies in Higher Education, 42(11), pp 2026-2041.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Departments:	Academic Departments > Health, Psychology & Social Studies (HPSS) > Children, Youth, Families and Community Work
Depositing User:	Anna Lupton
Date Deposited:	02 Jul 2019 15:27
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2024 09:17
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/4968

Downloads