4.3 Feedback and Planning

We've already mentioned the importance of feedback in the learning process and it is important to stress this point again. Often, in large enrolment classes, it is difficult to provide every student with detailed, supportive, individualised feedback on their learning progress. This is a pity, given how valuable and effective feedback can be. However, we also know that many students aren't fully aware of how to use feedback effectively to enhance their learning, and indeed that many staff are unsure of how best to structure feedback, or find appropriate opportunities to provide it in a busy course and assessment schedule.

Check to see what options your LMS/VLE provides for feedback to students on assignments that they submit or tasks that they complete. Canvas, for example, has a 'Speedgrader' which lets you read through student submissions and add comments embedded into the document and/or in a response to students. It also, allows you to set up rubrics which can be really helpful (as mentioned earlier) as a means of providing quick and useful feedback to students as well as providing a rationale for the grade (if any) that you are awarding. Feedback which is effective is that which students can act on and which helps them improve their confidence, skills, or performance. Rubrics can be effective because they combine a standardised approach with individual feedback (particularly if you include comments and remarks).

Similarly, it may be possible to set up a progress display for students so that they can see how they are doing (cumulative marks, marking sections completed, etc) but this is also something that is worthwhile doing for any course or module even using more basic technologies.

Increasingly, educators are also using audio and video technologies to give feedback to students on their work. This can help in terms of speed but also in providing a sense of personal connection and individual feedback. Many assessment platforms and LMS/VLEs have these options inbuilt and in some cases you can also highlight areas in a student's work as you are reviewing and evaluating, giving them insight into how you interpret and critique such work (which in itself is a skill for self-efficacy).

Some automated systems or tools which can be used by students themselves to obtain feedback on their work include Turnitin's Feedback Studio (for academic writing support), or Microsoft's Presenter Coach for support on presentations (live or recorded).

It is also extremely useful, and good practice, to seek feedback from students about how they think they are doing at key stages in the semester and any comments they might have about the course itself. At the very least, doing this mid-semester, can be helpful and identify any issues in the way the course is being delivered that you can modify or address. This needn't be very detailed. It can use the simple 'Stop, Start, Continue' method, but it is also useful to ask students how they feel they are doing/coping with the course (although some do such a 'check-in' more frequently, especially if there are concerns about student wellbeing). A simple 'forms' application can be used either within or separate from the VLE/LMS tools.

Triangulating information from student feedback, available simple engagement statistics from the LMS/VLE, and your own reflections on student performance in assignments is invaluable in redesigning courses and modules for the future. Reflective practice, using data and other forms of information, to enhance courses is a key part of a professional and high quality approach to teaching.

It is also good practice to let students who have provided feedback to you what has been done as a result of this effort on their part. This 'closing the loop' is known to increase the likelihood that students will engage with such evaluations in future.

Reflection

Whilst most LMS/VLEs have the capability of supporting assessment (of different types), feedback, and progress tracking, often these features need a lit bit more training to be able to use effectively.

How would you describe your familiarity with these aspects of your institutional system?
Are these tools something that you use regularly and consistently, and what is the bigger picture across your programmes?
What other approaches do you take to providing feedback to students on their progress?
What sources of data or information do you use to inform course development and re-design?

References and further resources

Hoon, A., Oliver, E., Szpakowska, K., & Newton, P. (2014). Use of the ‘Stop, Start, Continue’ method is associated with the production of constructive qualitative feedback by students in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(5), 755–767. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.956282

Pitt, E., & Winstone, N. (2022). Enabling and valuing feedback literacies. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 48(2), 149–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2022.2107168

Sambell, K. and Brown, S. (2022) 'Using Rubrics to Promote Learning. A Maynooth University ‘Assess for Success’ Guide.' Maynooth: Maynooth University. CC BY-NC-SA https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/sites/default/files/assets/document//Using%20Rubrics%20to%20Promote%20Learning.pdf

Society for Learning Analytics Research (SoLAR) https://www.solaresearch.org/about/what-is-learning-analytics/