Since 2007, feedback has become the centre of attention in Edinburgh Biology …

1. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & ExpectationsYuhua Hu & Paul McLaughlinThe School of Biological Sciences ELPP, 15 November 2010

2. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Since 2007, feedback has become the centre of attention in Edinburgh Biology … • Promptness • Detailed comments • Helpful feedback ELPP, 15 November 2010

3. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Channels for ‘feedback’? • Written assignment feedback (e.g., essays, lab practical reports) • Exam feedback • In/Post-class Q & A (e.g., after a lecture, during a lab practical)? • Tutorials? • Emails? • Online synchronous/asychronous discussion? ELPP, 15 November 2010

4. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Definition of ‘feedback’: “Feedback is information about the gap between the actual level and the reference level of a system parameter which is used to alter the gap in some way.” “if the information on the gap is merely stored without being utilized to alter the gap, it is not feedback.” ---Ramaprasad (1983, pp4-5) ELPP, 15 November 2010

5. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Criteria for effective feedback: ELPP, 15 November 2010

6. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Technology-Aided Marking Solution • The Hardware: • PC tablet • Stylus pen • Headset with microphone and earphones ELPP, 15 November 2010

7. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Submit Retrieve Students Upload Download Allocate Return Course Organiser Marking Teachers ELPP, 15 November 2010

8. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations So what did the students say… • Promptness • Detailed comments • Helpfulness ELPP, 15 November 2010

9. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Promptness Expectations: received e-feedback within 2 weeks after submission, more prompt than expected Needs: chose quality over promptness; for higher quality feedback, they would rather wait for longer ‘I’d rather have my essay feedback a bit later, knowing that the marker had thought about it a bit more than just going through them in a really really quick time and then just read them once.’ ELPP, 15 November 2010

10. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Detailed Comments Expectations: only expected a mark and a few lines of general comments; surprised and delighted to find very detailed, specifically marked corrections and comments ‘… throughout the actual essay, you had a lot of commentary on the side of your essay so you could relate to where you’d gone wrong.’ ‘I was impressed. They marked the essay with the little comments, but they also gave overall feedback of that marker’s group. So you got a lot of feedback …’ ELPP, 15 November 2010

11. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Detailed Comments Needs: more feedback, especially more feedback on how to improve for their next assignment, e.g., more examples to model on [this was mentioned by both high-achieving students and less able students]and more guidance on scientific writing ‘If one has really really good essays, … [the marker should] still try to give points where one could improve.’ ‘You can’t have too much feedback, whether it’s praise or criticism. … It’s been enough, what I’ve had so far, but obviously I would like more.’ ELPP, 15 November 2010

12. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Helpfulness Expectations: expected only brief and general comments, but instead received understandable and constructive feedback ‘It explained to me like, where I’d lost marks on and how I could improve them and how my essay all tied together.’ ‘… it’d say, ‘you could leave this out in the future’ or ‘this bit’s not right and you maybe need to change your graph slightly’.’ ELPP, 15 November 2010

13. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Helpfulness Needs: distinct differences in perceptions as for what counts as ‘helpful’ feedback Comments on skills development Comments on content ‘I would rather have them to talk about actual biological aspect of what’s going on rather than scientific writing sessions.’ ‘I would much rather have a feedback that’s negative to help you improve.’ ELPP, 15 November 2010

14. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Other strengths mentioned: • Easy access • Legibility • Privacy • Likely feedforward … the interviewees almost unanimously agree that this e-Marking practice should be implemented for the other courses as well. ELPP, 15 November 2010

15. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations 2009 NSS results (Biology): • Overall, the School has achieved a higher rating (89%) [the top quartile of Scottish universities is 89%] • The assessment and feedback scale showed improvement (35%), but the three feedback items still scored less than the midpoint. ELPP, 15 November 2010

16. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations But … … Can we do without the technology? ELPP, 15 November 2010

17. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations source: http://www.tla.ed.ac.uk/feedback/staff/resources.html ELPP, 15 November 2010

18. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations What we’d like to do in future (technical): • Automated downloading of student assignments and allocation to different markers • Automated uploading of e-feedback to the virtual learning system • Scalability: from dedicated PC tablets to markers’ work stations or laptops? ELPP, 15 November 2010

19. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Similar e-Marking Cases: • Aitken, A. M. 1998. All in a Word: Complete Electronic Assignments with Microsoft Word. • Cargill, M. 2001. Enhancing Essay Feed-Back Using 'MindTrail' Software: Exactly What Makes the Difference in Student Development? • Bancroft, P., J. Hynd, F. D. Santo and J. Reye. 2003. Web-Based Assignment Submission and Electronic Marking. • Campbell, A. 2005. Application of ICT and Rubrics to the Assessment Process Where Professional Judgement is Involved: The Features of an E-marking Tool. ELPP, 15 November 2010

20. e-FeedbackMeeting Students’ Needs & Expectations Thank You! ELPP, 15 November 2010