Strategies to Develop a Feedback Rich Environment

A Diversity of LearnersINCLUSIVE TEACHING AT RMIT

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Involve students as active participants in the feedback process

Create common understandings about feedback:

• Alignperceptionsofteacherandstudentunderstandingsandexpectationsaroundfeedbackthroughclassdiscussioni.e.thepurposeoffeedbackandhowitcansupportlearning.

• Explaintostudentsthepersonalpositionfromwhichyouprovidefeedback;thatitrelatestotheworkthatastudenthasproduced,ratherthanasareflectionofthatstudentasapersonorasalearner.

• Discusswithstudentsthetypesoffeedbacke.g.early,formativeorsummativeyouwilluseandwhyyouchoosetousetheminparticularinstances.

• Createasharedunderstandingofassessmentgoals(criteria/standards)byprovidingexemplarsofperformancesostudentscancomparetheirworkagainstthestandardormarkingrubrics/criteria.

Create opportunities for students to contribute in the feedback process:

• Askstudentsforinputintoinformalfeedbackquestionse.g.askstudentsingroupstoidentify‘aquestionworthasking’basedonpriorstudy,thattheywouldliketoexploreforashorttimeatthebeginningofthenextsession.

• Involvestudentsinthedevelopmentofcurriculastandardsandassessmentcriteriathroughprovisionofongoingfeedbackthroughoutthecourse.

“The content of feedback is most effective when it is comprehensive, specific, descriptive and focussed.”(Gibbs&Simpson,2004/05;Rucker&Thomson,2003)

Strategies to Develop a Feedback-Rich Environment

I know what I have to do

Strategies to Develop a Feedback Rich Environment

A Diversity of LearnersINCLUSIVE TEACHING AT RMIT

Page 2 of 4www.rmit.edu.au/teaching/inclusive

• Usepeerfeedbacktoengagestudentsindiscussion.

• Useself-assessmenttoallowstudentstoreflectontheirownlearning:Referto‘Facilitatethedevelopmentofself-assessment’below.

Encourage teacher/student dialogue around learning and feedback:

• Encourageclassdiscussionaroundchallengesoflearningactivitiesandassessmentthatstudentsmaybeexperiencing.

• Reportfeedbackinclassandstructurebreak-outdiscussionsoffeedbackoruseclassroomtechnologiestocollatestudentresponsesinclassandthenfeedbackvisuallyasahistogram.

• Reviewfeedbackintutorialswherestudentsareaskedtoreadthefeedbackcommentstheyhavebeengivenanddiscussthesewithpeers.

• Askstudentstofindoneortwoexamplesoffeedbackcommentsthattheyfoundusefulandexplainhowthesehelped.

Facilitate the development of self-assessment:

Examplesofreflectionand/orself-assessmentinclude:

• Requestingthekindsoffeedbacktheywouldlikewhentheyhandinwork;

• Identifyingthestrengthsandweaknessesintheirownworkinrelationtocriteriaorstandardsbeforehandinginforteacherfeedback;

• Reflectingontheirachievementsandselectingworkinordertocompileaportfolio;

• Settingachievementmilestonesforataskandreflectingbackonprogressandforwardtothenextstageofaction;

• Givingfeedbackoneachother’swork(peerfeedback).

Provide timely ‘fit to purpose’ feedbackEnsureyouarefamiliarwithRMIT’sUniversity-wideassessmentpolicy.www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=qwxbqbg739rl1

CheckwithinyourrespectiveCollegeforspecificdirectiononguidelinesforassessment.

Diagnostic assessment:

• Diagnosticassessmentidentifiesthelevelofcompetency/performance/knowledgebeforecommencinglearninginacourse/program/learningexperiencebutdoesnotcontributetothestudent’sfinalgrade.Diagnosticassessmentsincludediscussionsandinterviews,assessmenttools(literacy,languageandnumeracyskills),shorttest-feedbackcycles,quizzes,freewritingtasksorobservation.

Formative assessment:

Formativeassessmentprovidesfeedbacktothestudentduringthelearningexperience.Examplesofformativeassessmenttasksincludereflectionjournals,questionandanswersessions,in-classobservationsandpresentations.

Earlyassessmentisoneaspectofformativeassessment.Itletseducatorsknowearlyon,inthefirstfewweeksofthesemester,whetherstudentsareontrack.

• Provideanassessmentopportunityinthefirstthreeweekstoascertainwhetherstudentsareontrack.

• Provideopportunitiesforinformalearlyassessmente.g.one-minutepaperswherestudentscarryoutasmallassessmenttaskandhandthisinanonymouslyattheendofaclassi.e.Whatwasthemainpointofthissession?Whatquestionremainsoutstandingforyouattheendofthissession?

Strategies to Develop a Feedback Rich Environment

A Diversity of LearnersINCLUSIVE TEACHING AT RMIT

Page 3 of 4www.rmit.edu.au/teaching/inclusive

• Provideopportunitiesforstudentstosubmitdraftassignmentsforfeedbackbeforethefinalsubmission.

On-going formative assessment:

• Giveimmediatefeedbackduringinstructionielecture,tutorial,laboratorye.g.aquestiontoanswer,aproblemtosolve,acasestudytoanalyse,askilltopracticeoranonlinequiz(self-assessment).

Summative assessment:

Summativeassessmentisfocussedontheoutcomesofthelearningexperienceandconcernedwithevaluationofthefinaloutcomesofalearningexperience.Examplesofsummativeassessmentsincludeexaminations,projects(projectphasessubmittedatvariouscompletionpointscouldbeformativelyassessed),portfolios(couldalsobedevelopedduringdevelopment)andperformances.

Feedbackinsummativeassessmentisdelayed:itisusuallyprovidedaftercompletionofamajortaskandisofteninawrittenform.Referto‘Providehighquality,constructivefeedback’below.

Provide high quality, constructive feedback

Ensure feedback is constructive:

• Makesurethatfeedbackisprovidedinrelationtopre-definedcriteria.

• Avoidgivingtoomuchfeedbacki.e.provide3specificfeedbackcommentsperassessmentonhowstudentscanimprove.

• Writecommentsinanon-authoritativetoneandofferadviceaboutthewritingorpresentationprocessaswellasthecontent.

Ensure feedback can be understood by all students:

• Developasetofstandardisedfeedbackcommentsyoucanuse.

• Useplain,unambiguousEnglishi.e.avoidunnecessarycolloquialismsandacronyms.

• Ensurefeedbackisfreeofculturallyorgenderbiasedexamples.

• Ifhandwritten,ensurethatcommentsareeasytoread.

Ensure feedback is accessible to all students:

• Offerflexibilityintheprovisionoffeedback:Offerfeedbackinavarietyofformse.g.writtenfeedbackonassignments,rubrics,onlinediscussionpostings,in-classquestionsandanswers,facetofaceconsultation.

• Postgeneralfeedbackonlinetoassiststudentswithhearing,sightimpairmentorsensorydisabilitiesorstudentswhomaynotfeelcomfortableaskingquestionsinclass.ContacttheDisabilityLiaisonUnittodiscussappropriatestrategies.

• UsePersonalResponseSystems(PRS)includingdedicatedhandheldunits(clickers)and/orinternetconnectedmobiledevices(Smartphoneetc.)inlargeclassestofindoutwhatstudentsknowandgetfeedback.www.rmit.edu.au/teaching/technology/prs

• UseBlackBoard)tocommunicatewithstudentsi.e.setupaFAQpage,wiki/discussionpage.

Ensure feedback encourages positive motivation and self-esteem:

• Praiseeffortandstrategicbehavioursratherthanabilityorintelligence.

• Provideamplelow-staketaskstoprovidefeedbackonprogressandachievementratherthanhighstakessummativetaskswhereinformationisaboutsuccessorfailureorcomparison.

Strategies to Develop a Feedback Rich Environment

A Diversity of LearnersINCLUSIVE TEACHING AT RMIT

Page 4 of 4www.rmit.edu.au/teaching/inclusive

• Allocatetimeforstudentstore-writeselectedpiecesofwork.

• Providegradesonwrittenworkafterstudentshaverespondedtofeedbackcomments(thiswillallowstudentstofocusonthefeedbackratherthanthegrade).

• MonitorstudentanxietyaroundtheprovisionoffeedbackandifnecessaryreferstudentstoStudentServicesortheStudyandLearningCentre.

References:

Juwah,Cetal2004,Enhancing student learning through effective formative feedback,TheHigherEducationAcademy,Viewed31May2013,<http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/resources/database/id353_senlef_guide.pdf>.

Vardi,I.2010Effective Feedback for Student Learning in Higher Education,HigherEducationResearchandDevelopmentSocietyofAustralasia(HERDSA).