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Rethinking feedback: what's it for, and how can it make a difference? DAI HOUNSELL

This article explores the fundamentals of feedback in higher education and its importance in enhancing student learning. It discusses the different forms and purposes of feedback, as well as strategies to improve its effectiveness. The article also highlights the need for better opportunities to collect and use feedback, and ways to enhance students' understanding of feedback and standards.

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Rethinking feedback: what's it for, and how can it make a difference? DAI HOUNSELL

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  1. University of Nottingham, 22 September 2011 Rethinking feedback: what's it for, and how can it make a difference? DAI HOUNSELL UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH www.tla.ed.ac.uk/feedback.htm

  2. The Trouble with Feedback

  3. Feedback Fundamentals

  4. FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK What forms does feedback take? pro formawritten commentsexemplars examsguidancefeedforwardtraditional collaborationon-display learningpeeraudio past questionsscreencastwhole-class clickersin-class assignmentscumulativeediting anticipatory feedback electiveselfco-revision e-feedbackredraftingreviewing progress criteriadialoguesupervisioninteraction briefingstudent involvement faster feedback model answerstrainingvideoonline

  5. what's effective or feasible feedback can vary in relation to the level of study / stage of students' progression in the subject at university level the task or activity they are engaged in the wider course setting / teaching-learning environment (and its feedback 'affordances' and constraints) the purpose(s) of the feedback 'signature' feedback practices (c.f. Shulman) an expanding palette of possibilities FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACKWhy Does Feedback Speak in So Many Voices?

  6. Feedback comprises information, processes, activities or experiences which aim to encapsulate, enable or boost students' learning i.e. feedback doesn't just come from comments by lecturers/tutors [good] feedback is performance-enhancing FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK So what is 'feedback', exactly ... ... and why does it matter?

  7. Feedback comprises information, processes, activities or experiences which aim to encapsulate, enable or boost students' learning Feedback can focus on: attainment what a student knows, understands or can do at a given point in time progress where a student currently stands in relation to a specified goal, target or level achievement what a student has achieved as demonstrated in a completed assignment or task FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK So what is 'feedback', exactly ... ... and why does it matter?

  8. Why feedback matters learning without feedback is 'blind archery' feedback is indispensable to effective teaching and assessment, optimising the conditions under which each student can achieve their best FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACKWhat is 'feedback' and why does it matter?

  9. Sources of feedback Lecturers, tutors, demonstrators, supervisors, mentors Fellow-students / peers, a student’s own reflections The audience for a seminar or poster presentation, professional practitioners Feedback where and when? FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK Who gives feedback, where and when ?

  10. FUNDAMENTALS OF FEEDBACK FEEDBACK'S MANY PURPOSES

  11. Feedback That Makes More of a Difference

  12. Feedback that makes more of a difference • Better opportunities to use feedback • Enhancing students' grasp of feedback and standards • Boosting the availability and richness of feedback

  13. FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCEBetter opportunities to use feedback Why is feedback often uncollected ? Why might some feedback always come too late ?

  14. FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCEBetter opportunities to use feedback Why is there such a big difference between how we give feedback to our undergraduate and our doctoral students ?

  15. FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCEBetter opportunities to use feedback Why is there such a big difference between how we give feedback to our undergraduate and our doctoral students ?

  16. From feedback to feedforward – 'feedback-first' and draft/revise/resubmit assignments cumulative assignments – wikis FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCEBetter opportunities to use feedback (Beaumont et al 2008)

  17. Generic and whole-class feedback On-display learning Collaborative tasks & activities FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCEBoosting the availability & richness of feedback

  18. OBSERVATION AS A PROXY FOR FEEDBACK

  19. FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCEEnhancing students' grasp of feedback & standards • "The many diverse expressions of dissatisfaction with written feedback can be interpreted as symptoms of impoverished and fractured dialogue. Mass higher education is squeezing out dialogue with the result that written feedback, which is essentially a monologue, is now having to carry much of the burden of teacher-student interaction." • (Nicol, 2010)

  20. ESSAY WRITING AND FEEDBACK (1987) "Tutors fail to acknowledge 'the subtle interplay between what is said and what is taken for granted' (Rommetveit, 1979, p. 96) and so do not seek to close the gap between their own and their students' understanding of expectations." (Hounsell, 1987, p. 114)

  21. Elective feedback Exemplars Peer and self-generated feedback FEEDBACK THAT MAKES MORE OF A DIFFERENCEEnhancing students' grasp of feedback & standards

  22. FEEDBACK, CONNOISSEURSHIP & DIALOGUE "[Students] need to learn to discover what quality looks and feels like, and the aspects – whether large or small – that detract from it. They need to develop a vocabulary for expressing and communicating what they find. Furthermore, they should gradually attune their growing realisations and discourse to the norms of the discipline, field or profession" (Sadler, 2010) The process of engagement needs staff and students to share and develop a greater understanding of the complexity of feedback processes, and of what can be expected from all parties in this process." (Price, Handley & Millar, in press)

  23. Feedback that makes more of a difference • Better opportunities to use feedback • Enhancing students' grasp of feedback and standards • Boosting the availability and richness of feedback

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