JISC Assessment and Feedback Programme
Webinar
Feed-forward
19 June 2013
12.00 - 13.00
Rola Ajjawi Dundee InterACT [email protected]
Gunter Saunders Westminster MACE [email protected]
Peter Chatterton Daedalus e-
World
Critical Friend [email protected]
Presenters
Agenda
• Introduction and webinar objectives
• Feed-forward approaches and why they are important for engaging students.
• Institutional experiences of designing and adopting feed-forward approaches.
• Benefits, impact and challenges from using feed-forward approaches.
• Discussion of barriers and enablers for implementing feed-forward approaches
in different institutions.
Feed-forward approaches
and why they are important
for engaging students
What is feedforward?
According to Hattie and Timperley 2007, feedback encapsulated:
1. Where am I going
2. How am I going
3. Where to next (how do I get there?)
The third question constitutes feedforward
InterACT Learning principle 1. Afford opportunities for feedback to be used in future assignments
• Feedback should not be viewed as single occurrence (Boud and Molloy, 2013)
• Programmatic approach is needed
Formative assessment
Medium stakes assessment
High stakes assessment
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PG Certificate in Medical Education
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Revised PG Certificate in Medical Education
©Mark Russell 2010 University of Hertfordshire
ESCAPE project
1. Curriculum mapping
2. Assessment repository
• Developed a repository where all students’ work can be held for tutors to easily access previous feedback
“It’s great being able to see previous feedback
so easily”
3a. Student scaffolding CP
We ask students to tell us how previous feedback has informed this assignment on each cover page (CP)
• “It made me realise that instead of focusing on a single or a few key teaching principles, I focused on many of them without going into much detail”
• “Feedback that my writing style was agreeable was reassuring. I appreciated knowing my use of literature was valid so have tried to continue applying the literature to my work”
• “I tried to be careful to define and reference jargon”
• “It was really helpful in writing present assignment”
3b. Student scaffolding wiki
• We ask students to reflect on their feedback and to tell us what they have learned and what they will do differently in the future
• We can then match these up with the cover page responses to evidence learning from feedback in future assignments
4. Faculty development
• In assessment design that takes into account sequencing
• To ensure that tutors are aware of need for feedback to be forward-looking
• Audit based on Hattie & Timperley (2007)
• Prompt students to develop future orientated plans
• Use questions in feedback to prompt further learning
Key challenge: Feedback must be timely
Not fixed time, rather in time for students to
• Receive feedback
• Understand feedback
• Clarify feedback
• Submit next assignment with modifications
There is no point in giving feedback to a
learner unless the learner acts on it:
does[thinks] something concrete and
differently because of it (Steve Draper)
http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/rap/fprompt.html
References
• Ajjawi, R., Schofield, S., McAleer, S., & Walker, D. (2013). Assessment and feedback dialogue in online distance learning. Medical Education, 47(5), 527-528.
• Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112.
• Russell, M. & Bygate, D. 2010. Assessment for Learning: An introduction to the ESCAPE project. Blended Learning in Practice, 38-48.
University of Westminster
MAC - Making Assessment Count
Also implemented at:
• Cardiff Metropolitan University
• University of Greenwich
• City University
http://macplus.pbworks.com
MAC and E-Reflect
Feedback+
www.feedback-plus.it
SOS Model
MAC process - through a programme
Question Response Option Corresponding feedback When you received
your coursework
back, what did you
do with it?
Read feedback thoroughly
and observed grade
Good work - Tutors provide feedback on specific and general areas related to
the coursework that will help you to improve your skills and knowledge and to
enhance your academic development. Engaging with the feedback is
important, therefore, what will you do with the feedback that you have
received? Why not try to write down a few bullet points or actions detailing
how you could use feedback in a practical way to your next assignment? This
is called feeding forward. You could even try to think about how your
feedback could be applied across other modules and assessment tasks.
Observed the grade and
scan read feedback
Engaging with the feedback supplied by the tutor is an important part of the
assessment process. Tutors provide feedback on specific and general areas
related to the coursework that will help develop you academically. Therefore,
spending some additional time reading through the feedback supplied is
paramount to your development.
It could be helpful to write down a few bullet points or actions detailing how
you could use feedback in a practical way to your next assignment. This is
called feeding forward. You could even try to think about how your feedback
could be applied across other modules and assessment tasks.
I looked at my grade, but
did not read the tutor’s
comments
Engaging with the feedback supplied by the tutor is a vitally important part of
the assessment process. Tutors provide feedback on specific and general
areas related to the coursework that will help you to improve your skills,
knowledge and understanding, thereby enhancing your academic progress.
Spending time reading and thinking about the feedback supplied is helpful
because it is a chance to identify both your strengths and weaknesses. You
can then begin to consider how this feedback could be used in a practical way
by jotting down some bullet points or actions that can be applied to future
assessment tasks. This will improve your chances of getting a better grade
next time.
http://macplus.pbworks.com/w/page/48875251/City
http://macplus.pbworks.com/w/page/48875245/Cardiff%20Metropolitan
Feed-forward approaches - why they are important
for engaging students
• Making the most of feedback
• Developing the individual
• Addressing national agenda linked to NSS
• Turning back the clock o Linking students with their work and their tutors
o Building academic community dialogue
• They can make use of technology
• Addressing modularisation issues
Questions?
Institutional experiences
of designing and adopting
feed-forward approaches
Activity
Type into the text-chat any experiences you
have had in designing and adopting feed-
forward approaches.
Dundee:
• Need to link in with existing curriculum
review or institutional activities
• Need to get buy-in from staff
• Need to communicate to students clearly
that there is sequencing and why
• Needs to be valuable for students and staff
• Gain efficiencies in the system to
compensate
• Has to be streamlined and simple to use
Westminster:
• Hard to get buy-in even with senior support o Central vs devolved
• Needs to be simple
• Helps if it's proven
• Needs to come at the right time
• Has to fit in with local/institutional initiatives
Benefits, impact and challenges
from using
feed-forward approaches
Activity
Type into the text-chat what you see are the
key benefits, impact and challenges from using
feed-forward approaches
Dundee:
• Staff satisfaction as you see a difference in
future work as a result of feedback
• Holistic approach to learning by students
• Fosters a developmental approach to
feedback
• Closes the evaluation loop for tutor
Westminster:
• Raises the profile of assessment
• Can increase student:tutor dialogue
• Close the circle on assessment/development
• Changing the predominant teaching paradigm
• Addressing technology use barriers
• Engages students in the assessment debate
• Sustainability
Barriers and enablers
for implementing
feed-forward approaches
in different institutions
Activity
Type into the text-chat any barriers (& enablers)
that you would encounter in your institution.
Dundee:
• Feedback not timely
• Student not understanding feedforward
• Tutors not understanding feedforward
• Assignments are not sequenced
• Technology
Westminster:
• Different cultures
• Use of non-mainstream tools/systems
• Compliance issues
• Work through individuals with 'wide' role
• Wide dissemination approaches
• Human connectors
Question
From what you have heard today, will you be looking at
feed-forward approaches in your institution?
A - Yes
B - No
C - We already are
D - Maybe
E - Other
(use the text chat for comments)