Template Feedback

							  Working in partnership
Feedback tutorial template
      Deirdre Burke: Lecturer
Elora Marston: Study Skills Advisor
   University of Wolverhampton
Student use of feedback
 Do not read feedback, when read is often misunderstood
 Even when read and understood is rarely acted upon
 (Falichikov,1995, 159)
 lack of guidance for students on what to do with feedback
  (Weaver 2006)
 No guidance on how to address issues in tutor feedback
  (Burke 2007)
 lack of clarity on what appropriate work would look like
  (Sommers 1982).
             Gap in perceptions of feedback
                                         Students                       Staff

       Feedback is                     Sometimes                    Frequently
     helpful in detail                   (73)                          (43)
         Feedback                          Never                    Frequently
          prompts                           (50)                       (63)
      discussion with
           tutor
           Feedback                    Sometimes                    Frequently
           improves                      (72)                          (49)
           learning
Maclellan, E ‘Assessment for Learning: the differing perceptions of tutors and students’ in
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol.26, No.4, 2001. pp. 307- 318.
 How do I find
out what ‘more
analysis’ means?
Study Skills Advisor
 Role
 To deal with a range a issues students wanted help with


 Help unpick tutor feedback


 Suggest further resources or support staff


 Be a critical friend
                          Feedback Tutorial Example
Summary of Learning Needs to be developed:
Your tutor noted that you demonstrated a good understanding of the general topic but that you needed
to develop your planning so that you use the information to answer the set question.
-   specific feedback from Tutor                  We looked at the tutor feedback and comments on the text of
-   identified from looking at work               your essay to see where you could have used material more
-   response to student query                     explicitly, and also at the importance of cutting out material
                                                  that was not relevant.

Hyperlinks: These links will take you to sources that will support your learning:
Please follow guidance below to let us know how these links helped you follow up tutor feedback.
Try this tutorial on Structuring an argument
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/arts/english/2.2.xml


Feedback from student:
Please <select> these questions and <copy> them:
Does the provision of hyperlink make you more likely to follow up advice? Yes/ No
Did the particular links meet your learning needs? Yes/ No
Please add any comments on this feedback activity:
Then click on the link below and<paste> the questions into the email, fill in your responses and send it
back to the project team.
Deirdre.burke@wlv.ac.uk
                 Guidance about                    Online tutorial                          Examples
Introductions: Check out this guidance on          Try this tutorial on Writing             Explore how Meg introduces
               Writing Introductions and           introductions                            her essay and her tutor’s
               Conclusions                         http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llo         comments on why this was a
               http://asp.wlv.ac.uk/level5.asp     nline/writing/arts/philosophy/2.3.       good introduction:
               ?level5=5556                        xml                                      http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/
                                                                                            writing/arts/history/3.2.3.xml

Analysis:        Check out this guidance on        Try this tutorial on Analysing           Explore this student’s attempt
                 Writing critically:               historical claims:                       to analyse the evidence:
                 http://www.uefap.com/writing      http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llo         http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/
                 /writfram.htm                     nline/writing/arts/history/2.2.xml       writing/arts/history/3.1.3.xml


Conclusions:     Check out this guidance on        Try this tutorial on writing             Explore this conclusion and the
                 Writing Introductions and         conclusions:                             advice to make it stronger:
                 Conclusions                       http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/ http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/
                 http://asp.wlv.ac.uk/level5.asp   writing/arts/sociology/2.2.2.xml       writing/arts/history/3.1.3.xml
                 ?level5=5556

Academic         Check out this guidance on        Try this tutorial on academic          Renee's Sociology essay
writing          the Features of academic          writing:                               illustrates the use of precise
Use of precise   writing:                          http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/ and accurate language
and accurate     http://www.uefap.com/writing      writing/arts/sociology/2.3.xml           http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/
language         /writfram.htm                     Try this tutorial on Avoiding            writing/arts/sociology/3.1.3.xml
                                                   ‘I’:
                                                   http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/
                                                   writing/arts/sociology/2.3.1.xml
Benefits of template
 Clear direction to session


 Useful and organized links for skills tutors to refer to


 Tangible links and email for follow up by students


 Encouraging feedback from students to improve on advice
Underlying pedagogy
 Students need to take ownership of their work, to accept and
  understand tutor comments to align their work against
  learning outcomes
 Formative feedback encourages students to develop their
  work to achieve ‘academic literacy’ = writing in the way
  required by their discipline
 Role of exemplars to help students ‘see’ what is required by
  their subject, also seeing other work helps students to be
  objective about their own work.
Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning:
Critical Interventions for Enhanced Learning (CIEL)

 The ASK approach
 ATTITUDE: change- to help students rethink their belief in
  assignment/learning closure
 STRATEGIES (recognition of variety of learning styles and
  needs as a starting point): electronic links/ academic study skills
  feedback tutorials
 KNOWLEDGE (cognitive and practical):
- Understanding the need to act on feedback.
- Knowing how to act on feedback.
     Student Feedback following session
     with Study Skills Advisors
                Satisfied       Unsatisfied

            1       2       3    4    5       No Response


Handouts    59% 12%         12% 0     2% 15%

Electronic 66% 22%          12% 0     0       0


Survey of January sessions on Walsall Campus
Ongoing research
 2007- 08 Skills Tutors in Humanities
- Explore role in unpacking tutor feedback
- Helping students prepare for a tutorial
- Providing links to electronic resources


 2008- 09 Skills Advisors across University
- Piloting of feedback tutorial template
- Feedback on range of resources
- Contribution of resources to student need
References
 Burke, D. (2007) ‘Getting the most out of feedback:’ in Nutt, D. & Tidd, J. (Eds.) 1st
   European FirstYear Experience: Conference April 2006, pp. 36- 49, Teesside, University of
   Teesside.
 Falchikov, N. ‘Improving Feedback To and From Students,’ in Knight, P. (Ed.) (1995).
   Assessment for Learning in Higher Education, London: Kogan Page, pp. 157- 166.
 Lea, M.R. & Street, B. (1998) Student Writing in Higher Education: an academic
   literacies approach, Studies in Higher Education, 23 (2), 157-172.
 MacLellan, E. (2001) Assessment for Learning: the differing perceptions of tutors and
   students, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 26(4), 307- 318.
 Race, P. (2001) ‘Using feedback to help students to learn’York: Higher Education Academy.
 Sommers, N. ‘Responding to Student Writing’ College Composition and Communication, Vol.
   33, No. 2., 1982, 148 – 156.
 Weaver, M.R. (2006) Do Students value feedback? Student perceptions of tutors’
   written response, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 31(3), 379-394.