After attending the Advance HE Teaching and Learning Conference 2024, Dr Giulia Getti reflects on how small changes in her assessment practices have given students a voice in the process and more of an incentive to really engage with feedback.
Feedback is important
I don’t believe I ever had to argue this fact, not with students, or colleagues or even senior managers. It’s something we all agree on, and yet, it does not always bring us together. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Students complain about it; they either don’t get it on time, or don’t get enough of it, while academics complain that students do not listen to it and certainly do not apply it. I remember spending many hours/days reading 1500 words essays, watchfully identifying what had gone wrong, what could have been improved and carefully relaying it all to the students, while despairing at seeing the same mistakes over and over again. When half of the marked essays were not even picked up, my hard work felt wasted, unappreciated. My colleagues shared my frustration. We work so hard in telling the students how they could improve, and yet, they do not seem to engage with our feedback and it is difficult to understand why.
Academics vs students?
I keep referring to us (the academics) and they (the students) and perhaps this mindset is part of the problem. The reality is that we (academics and students) are on the same side. We all want the same thing; for students to learn and do well. Perhaps the question that needs answering is what can we do to work together to achieve this common goal?
It was clear to me that if I wanted things to improve, I needed to look at the problem from a different perspective. Perhaps I could start by realising that not only do we want the same thing, but we all face the same problems. We are busy, and prioritising has become a necessity.
With the cost-of-living crisis, some students work two jobs to be able to afford to attend university. Some have responsibilities outside of work and study. They, too, must prioritise, and perhaps engaging with feedback received on an assessment that cannot be changed, is not a priority. However, we can make it more of a priority, by simply giving students the opportunity to apply the feedback in a more timely manner.
By giving students the chance to submit a (short) formative draft, to receive detailed feedback and clear suggestions for improvement, ahead of final submission, there was a direct benefit to engaging with that feedback. Not surprisingly my students were far more likely to pick their feedback up.
Barriers
I also realised the existence of a barrier in communication between us. What I think is clear feedback, can appear confusing to students. It is not enough to create rubrics, rephrase sentences, being detailed and specific in our suggestions; we need to work together towards improving assessment literacy.
When we feel criticised, we find it hard to listen, and even if we force ourselves to listen, we still struggle to hear. I see it when I receive comments on a research paper or grant submission and even on much simpler documents, like a module change form. If it is difficult to accept criticism, and yet, we expect it to be easy for students. It isn’t, but it doesn’t mean we can’t make it easier. We can use the feedback to encourage our students, to recognise their effort, and to build their confidence. A simple, ‘well done for submitting this draft’, can start the process of bringing down that barrier and help learners not just ‘listen’ to the feedback but to ‘hear’ it, to ‘reflect’ on it, and above all to ‘act’ on it.
Student voice
It is important too to remember that communication is a two-way process. Students need the opportunity to participate in the discussion; we risk missing out by not hearing their voices. If we want to check whether feedback has been clear, if we want students to know that we care about their learning and what they think is important to us, then we need to give them the chance to respond to that feedback.
Improvements
Following amendments to my marking criteria, learners are now asked to include in their final submission an explanation of how they have applied feedback received at the draft stage (or comments on why they have not), which is marked and counts for 10% of the final grade.
These relatively small adjustments to the timing of feedback and the structure of the marking scheme have been accompanied by improved student engagement with feedback.
The student pass rate on the module increased from 70% to 99% during the period since the changes were introduced. During the same period, student satisfaction with feedback as measured by the University’s module evaluation survey went from 3.8/5 to a maximum of 4.8/5.
Just as rewarding from my perspective as a tutor/marker is the knowledge that students are able receive and use my feedback in a timely fashion when it can have a positive impact on their learning. Which, in the end, is what it’s all about!
Giulia Getti is an Associate Professor in Microbiology and Director of BioMed Online learning. Giulia has 15 years’ experience in HE where she led four MSc Programmes and a range of both undergraduate and postgraduate modules. Giulia is the Advanced Training Representative for the Biochemical Society’s Education Training and Public Engagement Committee.
