Slides from Learning and Teaching Forum at Harper Adams University

1. Formative feedback
Rod Cullen, Learning and Research Technologies
@RodCullen, r.cullen@mmu.ac.uk
Rachel Forsyth, Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
@rmforsyth, r.m.forsyth@mmu.ac.uk

2. Outline
• The use of written, audio and video feedback formats
• Student perspectives and experience of receiving
feedback in different formats
• Tutor perspective and experience of providing
feedback in different formats

3. Impact of feedback
“Feedback is arguably the most important aspect of the
assessment process in raising achievement”
(Bloxham and Boyd, 2007)
“Arguably the most powerful enhancement to learning is
feedback during learning”
(Biggs and Tang, 2007)
… however
“academics frequently report frustration that students
fail to act on feedback or to collect it at all”
(Jollands et al. 2009, Bloxham and Boyd, 2007)

4. Activity 1
Why do students often
fail to act on feedback
or to collect it at all?

5. Possible Assessment Scenario
In the final year of his Business Management degree George is set the
task of producing an individual 1500 word management report based on
case study materials that he has been studying with his tutorial group. The
report constitutes 50% of the final unit grade the other 50% is assessed by
a 3 hour examination at the end of the semester.
The hand in date for the essay is 6 weeks before the examination. The
work is marked within 3 weeks and returned to George with his mark and a
detailed written feedback proforma. The assignment is also discussed in a
feedback tutorial during the week the work is returned. The report tests
two of the 5 learning outcomes for the unit. These learning outcomes are
therefore not tested in examination (which tests the remaining three
learning outcomes).
George sits the examination for the unit which is marked in time for exam
board. George is given the mark awarded for the examination but receives
no verbal or written feedback on his performance in the exam.
Will this feedback
help me get a
better mark for
the report?
Will it help me to
do better in the
exam?
Activity 2: How do we want George to
use the feedback he receives on his report?

6. “feedback provided by tutors
focused on performance on the
assignment being assessed…
students often struggle to transfer
learning from one unit to another”
Orsmond et al, 2011
Biggs and Tang (2007) do not
regard the feedback provided
on end of unit summative
assessment as formative as
the feedback is provided when
the unit is effectively finished
and students rarely pay
attention to comments
provided at the end of a
course.
Glover and Brown (2006)
comment that in terms of
written feedback students
receive plenty of it, but that it
is often misunderstood in
relation to assessment
criteria.
Orsmond et al. (2005) found that a majority of
students preferred verbal feedback from tutors
as it enabled questioning and discussion.

7. Some personal thoughts and lots of questions
Tricky relationship
between formative and
summative
assessment
Students are very
strategic about their
engagement with
assessment
The value of formative
actives and feedback
in general are often not
apparent to students
We tend to design
assessment strategies
at unit level rather than
the programme level
When is feedback most
useful to students?
Will students complete work
if it doesn’t get a mark?
Can we better motivate
students to engage with
formative assessment
and feedback?
What is the most
effective way to
give feedback?
Do students
understand the
feedback they
receive?
How does feedback
enhance learning i.e. how
do students use the
feedback they receive?
What impact
does feedback
have on
attainment?

9. Targeting formative feedback
1. Set
Assignment
2. Draft
Submission
(Optional)
3. Formative
Assessment
4. Reflection
and
Reworking
5. Complete
Submission
6. Summative
Assessment
“Formative
Feedback”
directly linked
to current task
“Summative
Feedback”
or
“Feedforward”
to inform future
work
Directly linked
Indirectly linked
Not linked

10. Three Case Studies + two of our own modules
Tropical Land Use and Conservation (20 credits)
2010/11 Level 5 cohort of 40 students
Written (2000 word) assignment mid-way through the autumn term
Dr Francis Brearley
Accounting, Finance & Economics (30 Credits)
2011/12 Level 6 cohort of 251 students
Written (2000 word) assignment examining theory in relation to real world
mergers and acquisitions
Wendy Wild and Peter Wild
Employment and People Management (30 credits)
2011/12 Level 5 cohort of 98 students
A written (2000 word) reflective essay
Ed Bielinski

11. Assessment in Higher Education module
Ongoing action research as reflective practice
• 15 credits
• Offered as a f2f unit (four half-days) or an open,
online unit (6 weeks)
• Average enrolment 20
Enhancing Learning, Teaching and
Assessment with Technology module
• 30 credits
• Offered as a f2f unit (12 half-days)
• Average enrolment 20

12. Formative assessment model
Online
Preparation
In Class
Session 1
Online
formative
activity
Online
Preparation
In Class
Session 2
Online
formative
activity
Week 1 Week 2
Feedback Feedback
Portfolio of tasks
Assessment Strategy
• Mini-portfolio of formatively assessed
activities
• Built week by week (developmental),
underpinning summative assessment task
• Regular, rapid, personalised feedback
• Individual tasks provide evidence/basis for
summatively assessed review of assessment

13. Will students complete work if it
doesn’t get a mark?
Can we better motive students to
engage with formative assessment
and feedback?

14. Targeting formative feedback

15. Course % Non-Sub of Draft
Tropical Land Use and Conservation (20 credits)
2010/11 Level 5 cohort of 40 students 37%
Accounting, Finance & Economics
2011/12 Level 6 cohort of 251 students
40%
Employment and People Management (30 credits)
2011/12 Level 5 cohort of 98 students 50%

16. Formative assessment model

17. Percentage
DCVLE & DEBOL (10 credits) attendance & formative submission 2008-13
1. Reasonably high overall attendance
2. Generally high (70% +) submission rates for formative tasks
4. Consistently lower submission rates for the last week 4
MA
Summativ
e
Assessm
ent
3. Use of the feedback is embedded in the online prep and F2F activities

18. Take home messages
Students need to see the “value” in formative
assessment and feedback
Holistic assessment strategy that integrates formative
and summative assessment
Clear signposting required
More attention on learning how to learn

19. What impact does feedback have
on attainment?
How does feedback enhance
learning: how do students use the
feedback they receive?

20. Targeting formative feedback
Consistently higher attainment for those who submitted a draft – 1 grade band

21. Tropical Land Use and Conservation
Brearley F.Q. and Cullen W.R. (2013) Providing formative audio feedback on a
written assignment. Bioscience Education eJournal Vol 20, pp 22-36
http://journals.heacademy.ac.uk/doi/abs/10.11120/beej.2012.20000022
Complete
4 (16%)
Work in Progress
15 (60%)
Outline
6 (24%)
Submitted 25 (63%) Non-submitted 15 (37%)
60.8% 52.6%
Summativegrade
69.8% 61.6% 51.8%
Fine tuning Reiteration & EvidenceFine tuning & Content
Hand-in
Feedback length
Feedback content
66.6
%
61.3
%
46.2
%
46.2
%

22. Complete
4 (16%)
Work in Progress
15 (60%)
Outline
6 (24%)
Submitted 25 (63%) Non-submitted 15 (37%)
60.8% 52.6%
Summativegrade
69.8% 61.6% 51.8%
Fine tuning Reiteration & EvidenceFine tuning & Content
Hand-in
Feedback length
Feedback content
66.6
%
61.3
%
46.2
%
46.2
%
1. Time on task
2. Better organised/more
strategic
3. Improved performance
4. More feedback, better
understood, easier to
respond to
5. Is this simply making
better students better?
1
2
4
3
5

23. Accounting, Finance and Economics
Same assignment
– previous cohort
Suggested grade for
draft submission

24. Take home messages
Quality of submission influences the quality of the
feedback
The “timing” of the feedback is maybe more
important than the “speed of the feedback” and
“method” of feedback
Where participation is optional the effect may be to
make the “best” students better rather than helping
those who most need it academically
More attention on learning how to learn

25. What is the most effective way to
give feedback?

26. Rationale for audio and video feedback

27. Student perspectives: Text v Audio v Video
Prefer audio and video
to written feedback
Personal and Engaging
Understandable
Annotations important
50:50 split between
audio and video
Utilised differently
Video more impact
Audio more reflective
Cullen W. R. (2011) A multi-technology formative assessment strategy, Media-Enhanced Feedback case studies and
methods, Proceedings of the Media-Enhanced Feedback event, Sheffield, 27 October 2010 pp 28-33
http://ppp.chester.ac.uk/images/4/43/Middleton-Media-enhanced_feedback_proceedings-final.pdf

28. Institutional changes: Feedback
plans for every task
• What format will the
feedback be in?
• How much can students
expect?
• What should they do with
it?

29. • You will receive your feedback in the form of annotations
on the text and a copy of the marking criteria, highlighted
to show what level you achieved.
Feedback 1
• You will receive your feedback in an audio file. The mark
will be provided separately, in Moodle
• I will not annotate your submission.
Feedback 2
• You will receive your feedback on a standard departmental
feedback sheet.
• The submission will not be returned to you: keep a copy.
Feedback 3
• Generic feedback will be given to the whole class at the
session on 10 January.
• You will receive a copy of the marking criteria, highlighted
to show what level you achieved.
Feedback 4

30. • I suggest that you work carefully through the text,
making corrections and then make three or four action
points to address before your next similar assignment.
Feedback
Action 1
• Make yourself three or four action points as you listen
to the audio file. Post them onto the anonymous
forum and I’ll construct a class action plan for common
areas.
Feedback
Action 2
• On the standard departmental submission sheet for
your next assignment, write down what you’ve done
differently as a result of the feedback on this
assignment.
Feedback
Action 3
• I’ll give the generic feedback to the tutor on Unit B, so
that they can address any issues or avoid repeating
topics you’re already confident in.
Feedback
Action 4

31. Take home messages
Preference for audio and video feedback – influenced
by the type of task and/or novelty value
Annotations seem to be important for “navigation”
purposes
Preference may be influenced by learning styles
Choice of format should be determined by the task and
the purpose of the feedback

32. Thank you for taking part
https://assessmentinhe.wordpress.com/
Assessment in Higher Education Open Course
Rachel Forsyth & Rod Cullen
Six weeks from Friday 6 May 2016
1 Topic, 1 Formative Task and 1 Webinar per week

33. References
Boud, D. (1995). Assessment and Learning: contradictory or complementary? Assessment for Learning in Higher Education. P.
Knight. London, Kogan Page: 35-48.
Biggs, J. B. and Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university. Open University Press/Mc Graw-Hill Education.
Bloxham, S. and Boyd, P. (2007). Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education: A Practical Guide. Berkshire, UK.
Open University Press.
Cullen W. R., (2011) A multi-technology formative assessment strategy, Media-Enhanced Feedback case studies and
methods, Proceedings of the Media-Enhanced Feedback event, Sheffield, 27 October 2010 pp 28-33
Ecclestone, K. (2000) Assessment and Critical Autonomy in Post Compulsory Education in the UK, in, Journal of Education
and Work, Vol. 13, No. 2.
Glover, C. and Brown, E. (2006) Written Feedback for Students: too much, too detailed or too incomprehensible to be
effective? Bioscience Education Journal (7)
Jollands, M., McCallum, N., Bondy, J. (2009) If students want feedback why don’t they collect their assignments? Proceedings
of 20th Australasian Association for Engineering Education Conference University of Adelaide, 6-9th December 2009
Jones, O. and Gorra, A. (2013). "Assessment feedback only on demand: Supporting the few not supplying the many." Active
Learning in Higher Education 14(2): 149-161. http://alh.sagepub.com/content/14/2/149.abstract
McAtominey, D. & Cullen, W.R. (2002) Effective e-Learning with VLE’s, Netskills Workshop Materials
Orsmond, Paul , Merry, Stephen and Reiling, Kevin(2005) 'Biology students' utilization of tutors' formative feedback: a
qualitative interview study', Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30: 4, pp 369 - 386
Orsmond, Paul and Merry, Stephen(2011) 'Feedback alignment: effective and ineffective links between tutors' and students'
understanding of coursework feedback', Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 36: 2, pp 125-136.
Winter, C. and Dye, V. (2004). An investigation into the reasons why students do not collect marked assignments and the
accompanying feedback University of Wolverhampton. 2008.
http://wlv.openrepository.com/wlv/bitstream/2436/3780/1/An%20investigation%20pgs%20133-141.pdf