Feedback

Providing effective feedback is part of a process that always involves ‘feedforward’ into the next assessment task, or into preparation of an assignment. In providing effective feedback, staff should take a systems perspective, and focus on the resulting output by the student. In this section ‘feedback’ is assumed to always result in  ‘feedforward’. 

Feedback is an essential element of the learning process (Hounsell et al 2008), and probably some of the most powerful. Effective feedback should enable students to identify strengths and areas for development in their responses to assessment tasks. Advance HE have produced a Feedback Toolkit, guidance on developing student engagement with feedback, and guidance on developing feedback literacy in students.

 The assessment and feedback loop  

Rather than seeing feedback as after the event, Hounsell et al (2008) propose a guidance and feedback loop (maybe spiral) to be a way of considering assessment activities involving both academic staff and students. It is important to note that guidance and feedback are not just activities undertaken by academic staff with students as passive recipients, but that they involve students in active engagement with the process.   

Hounsell et al (2008) 

This Feedback loop shows how to provide students with feedback during teaching,  prior to submission of an assessment task and then how feedback links with the next assessment opportunity. Eg  

• diagnostic feedback– provides an indicator of a student’s aptitude and preparedness for study and identifies strengths and weaknesses in learning. 
• formative feedback – provides students with feedback on progress and informs the development and the response to the assessment task. It may or may not contribute to the overall module grade. 
• summative feedback – provides a measure of achievement in relation to intended learning outcomes. 

All feedback should be regarded as having the potential to feed-forward and inform student development, even at the end of a course of study, or when the task has been carried out to an excellent standard. Academic staff should not just ‘fire off’ feedback and hope it lands. They should have an idea of where it is going and what the result aims to be.  

Using the assessment and feedback loop as a guide, different types of feedback may be identified at different stages in the cycle, all of which have the potential to feed-forward and influence performance.  

In order to promote inclusivity it is essential to take account of the diverse nature of students, and all their different prior experiences of assessment.  Academic staff need to take particular note of the type of assessment, especially where this has not been encountered previously, levels of achievement and the affective dimensions associated with the process.  

Students should be given the opportunity to engage in active clarification of the assessment task. This will be part of the launch of an assessment and continue when preparation for submission has commenced. This should not be a passive ‘briefing’, but a dialogic opportunity for students to discuss and clarify the expectations.  

As the teaching progresses, academic staff may give feedback on draft or preparatory work, and should use the language of the task and the assessment and grading criteria to provide students with effective guidance for their future submission. Using the task feedback sheet or rubric can be particularly helpful in this process.

This is usually accompanied by the grade. However, students tend to focus on the grade rather than the feedback, so separating giving feedback from supplying a grade can be beneficial in terms of student development. 

Dweck (2000) argues that individual differences amongst students are relevant to understanding how feedback is received and acted upon. For example, students who believe intelligence is a fixed quality (i.e. have a ‘fixed mindset’) are less likely to act on feedback advice compared to students who see intelligence as malleable (a ‘growth mindset’) and believe that their efforts will influence assessment outcomes. 

Students should actively reflect on their performance and the feedback given to ‘feedforward’ as they prepare for the next assessment, or the next stage in their lives.  

Opportunities for reflecting on feedback may be in-module or in-class formative activities or assessments and will often offer greater learning opportunities than contributory assessments. Academic staff may also put into place additional support where this has been identified as necessary after reviewing performance on an assessment task.

Key principles for good feedback practice were identified in the Student Enhanced Learning through Effective Feedback (SENLEF) project and suggest that good feedback:  

• Facilitates the development of self-assessment (reflection) in learning. 
• Encourages teacher and peer dialogue around learning. 
• Helps clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards). 
• Explain with clarity (and possibly examples) exactly how to improve on the work submitted. 
• Delivers high-quality information to students about their learning. 
• Encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem. 
• Provides information to teachers that can be used to help shape the teaching. 
• Carefully uses the language of grade descriptors that is appropriate to the level of achievement identified. 
• Makes reference to the assessment criteria previously set for the task and published to the student. 

Other, more recent resources available from Advance HE  are the HEA Feedback Toolkit,  the Developing Engagement Feedback Toolkit, and On Your Marks: feedback in higher education.  

Designing a feedback strategy 

In designing a feedback strategy for a module it is useful to consider how the three processes identified by Sadler (1989:21) are incorporated into the module delivery. These three distinct processes were identified to have a significant impact on enabling students to manage or self-regulate their learning.  

1. Developing a concept of the goal/standard or reference level being aimed for; 
2. Comparing the actual (or current) level of performance with that goal or standard; 
3. Engaging in appropriate action which leads to some kind of closure of the gap. 

Effective feedback practice blurs the divide between teaching and assessment and is positioned as a process of ongoing engagement through the provision of opportunities for self-assessment and dialogue, placing the focus of the process in the classroom and on the delivery of the curriculum. 

Carless and Boud (2018) have identified four interrelated factors that influence students’ feedback literacy; 

• appreciating feedback;  
• making judgments;  
• managing affect;  
• taking action  

This approach is characterised by the provision of opportunities for students to develop their own skills of self-assessment in relation to the standards expected on the module and is an attempt to focus students’ efforts on engagement with the learning process. Any of these approaches could be supported by digital technologies. 

Developing a concept of the goal/standard or reference level being aimed for 

1. Online quizzes (e.g. using a VLE such as “WebLearn”). 
2. Marking exercises using past work at different standards and applying assessment criteria. 
3. Generic feedback from a tutor on previous cohort performance in assessment. 
4. Summing up questions at the end of a class. 

Comparing the actual (or current) level of performance with that goal or standard 

1. Practising a presentation and gaining peer/tutor feedback. 
2. Discussing draft work with other students. 
3. Short presentations are given to peers on topics covered to date. 
4. Discussion/debate about topics in class. 
5. Short tasks are undertaken in class for peer or tutor feedback. 
6. Quizzes. 
7. Self-assessment activities using grading proforma as a checklist. 
8. ‘Correcting’ exercises applying criteria. 

Engaging in appropriate action which leads to some kind of closure of the gap – action planning and student activity in relation to: 

• Comments on drafts. 
• Mock examination opportunities. 
• Model exam responses with audio tutor feedback downloaded from WebLearn. 
• Drafts discussed in groups. 
• Opportunities to discuss approaches to assessments with peers. 
• Planning and drafting exercises. 
• Discussion boards for sharing feedback. 
• Audience response systems (voting). 
• Viva (on responses to feedback). 

– see Appendix 2 for further suggestions. 

One Minute Paper 

During last few minutes of class period, ask students to write "Most important thing I learned today and what I understood least." Review before next class meeting and use to clarify, correct, or elaborate. The comment can be done on post-its and reviewed in class and main point picked up for discussion if you have time. 

Muddiest Point 

Similar to One-Minute Paper but only ask students to describe what they didn't understand and what they think might help and leave this with you – or collect and discuss. If the problem is a common one you might be able to try a different approach. Could ask students to post onto an online discussion board after the session and pick up at start of next session. 

State what you know 

Students write their understanding of vocabulary or concepts before and after a session and sharing these with peers and tutors. 

Student-generated test questions 

Divide the class into groups and assign each group a topic on which they are each to write a question and outline answer for the next test/exam. 

Adapted from: Classroom Assessment Techniques – Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (iastate.edu).

Formal feedback on performance may be individually written, written to a group, recorded as audio or video and provided verbally face to face.  However, there is evidence that suggests that written feedback may not be read, may not be understood and may not be acted upon despite the fact that students often report that they have paid attention to any feedback they receive and have the opportunity to use it (Crisp, 2007). Consequently it is important to make use of multiple forms of feedback, and to alert students to the occasions when this is being done.  

Formal feedback will also need to be shared with a moderator and/or external examiner in order that the reason for an assessment judgment may be clarified.  

Making sense of feedback is a complex process, especially for students who are developing their feedback literacies. It isalso  important to remember that a poor grade may be perceived as indicative of personal worth and so damage a student’s sense of ability to be effective and to succeed (See Carless and Boud 2018). For this reason it is suggested that feedback should provide students with options for action to encourage perseverance for example:  

• ask students what feedback they want 
• be explicit – don’t use cryptic marks or comments e.g. ‘!’ or ‘?’ on written work 
• support terms such as ‘excellent’ or  ‘needs improvement’ with examples 
• provide specific guidance as to how to improve 
• end on a positive note e.g. offer encouragement, suggestions or support 
• personalise comments – I wonder if you mean… 

For examples of formal feedback see On Your Marks: learner focused feedback practices and feedback literacy  

 Self-assessment feedback  

One way to engage students with the assessment process, and to support the development of metacognitive and self-reflective skills, is to encourage them to relate the assessment criteria to their own work. This might be incorporated into the formal feedback process through an initial self-assessment provided with their submission (see Appendix 1)

Comparing the two ratings on the same feedback proforma allows the tutor to focus feedback on the areas of mismatch.  

Feedback to large numbers 

• Making use of the module site on Weblearn  
• The use of feedback proformas and statement banks (see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2) may reduce the amount of written feedback required. But it will require that students understand the assessment criteria used in order to make the feedback meaningful.  
• Using class discussion, marking and modeling exercises using the criteria, the involvement of students in the development of criteria and peer assessment 
• Provide generic feedback on assessments in class, highlighting elements of the assessment where students performed well or poorly overall. This can be compiled as a written or audio file during the marking of individual scripts and posted quickly onto Weblearn.

Using multiple forms of feedback eg (individual, group, verbal, written, video, online, face-to-face) may support students in their engagement with feedback, and to follow up on the feedback received. 

Ways to encourage students to engage with the feedback provided include: 

• asking students to transfer to their own copy of their work comments made on assessments with the opportunity to discuss these in class and write them up in their own words. 
• asking students to submit drafts (either as contributory or non contributory assessment). 
• providing formative feedback without a grade; it has been reported that students read  feedback more carefully in the absence of a grade (Black and Wiliam,1998). 
• requiring assignments to be self-assessed prior to submission. 
• providing a grade only after self and tutor assessment feedback has been completed. 
• breaking down assessments into smaller elements through which learning is developed further, using staged assessments with formative feedback given on the first stage for a second submission which is only graded (Cooper (2000) reported the positive impact of such a system on learning). 
• providing a grade and feedback followed by a short viva in which students explain how they understand and would use the feedback with the opportunity to resubmit the work addressing the specific feedback points for a higher (or same) grade (see Prowse et al 2007). 
• Including the opportunity to discuss the mark and feedback as part of the assessment criteria and grading scheme (this type of opportunity may be called demonstrating ‘studentship)’ 

Examination feedback  

Giving feedback on examinations can be difficult, and feedback is often aimed at internal and external assessors and moderators rather than at students. 

Although feedback is not routinely provided on performance in examinations, Weblearn may be used for giving feedback on performances in general.  

Systematic methods can be used to record the rationale for the grade awarded. For example, a form like the one given in Appendix 3 can be used to help guide the marker’s decision making about grades and also provides a convenient summary of the student’s performance on all the answers. This makes it much easier to respond helpfully to students who request feedback on their examination performance. 

Although examination scripts are not routinely returned to students it should be noted that data protection legislation requires that ‘internal and external examiners comments written on scripts or separately must be made available to students ‘in intelligible form’ if requested (Bloxham and Boyd 2007:137). Original examination scripts cannot be returned to students but copies can be made. 

Other opportunities may be made available through: 

• tutor/self/peer feedback on mock exams. 
• post examination tutorial/guidance sessions. 
• generic feedback on examinations posted on the VLE (WebLearn). 
• a proforma used to provide more detailed feedback to students with failed examination scripts. 
• audio feedback on mock exams. 
• one to one feedback sessions for students, particularly referral students. 
• mini group tutorials. 

Peer feedback 

Peer feedback is a valuable process, occurring in safe and trusting environments where students may engage with assessment criteria, compare their own responses to that of others and articulate what they understand. A ‘compassionate’ approach is suggested (See the work of Theo Gilbert, eg Gilbert (2017). 

It also creates the opportunity for additional sources of feedback to that provided by the tutor.  

A ‘Group crit’ is a particular approach used in art and design which enables collaborative peer feedback.  

Different contexts will require different strategies and preparation to ensure that students feel confident in the process and the quality of the peer feedback they receive.  Including students in formal assessment and grading, as opposed to the provision of formative feedback, occurs perhaps most frequently in decisions about the grading of group work. Concerns about the fairness of such grading processes will be paramount to students. 

• Feedback/forward should always be of practical use to students in improving their work, and motivational; this means that the comments should clearly state how to improve, not simply say what is good or lacking. 
• Feedback/ forward should not be seen as a stand-alone activity, but rather integrated into a course of study, and often iterative in nature. 
• As with all aspects of assessment, students must believe that the feedback/ forward is fair; this means the careful and consistent level-appropriate use of the language of the grade descriptors that are published to students. 
• The feedback/ forward should refer to the assessment criteria previously published for the task. 
• To assist with the above two points, the use of feedback proformas is recommended. If the assessment is summative and moderation has therefore been carried out, this should be visible to students on the document. 
• As with marks, feedback/forward is normally confidential, although there are occasions when feedback/ forward might be provided in group sessions, but this needs careful managing. 
• Whenever possible, feedback/ forward should not be simply delivered to students, but rather engage students as a focus of discussion or continuing learning. 
• Feedback/ forward should be sensitively constructed, taking account of the level of development of the student’s learning in respect of the course of study and task. While there will be absolute standards required for the recognition of various levels of achievement, if a student is struggling to pass, there is little point offering feedforward about what would be required to achieve a very high mark, and that information would in any case be available in assessment criteria. 
• Feedback/ forward can take several forms - written, oral or recorded; it can also sometimes be constructed together with the student to help ensure that it is accepted, understood, and used. 
• Students sometimes only look for the mark they have achieved and do not engage with feedback/ forward. It can therefore sometimes be helpful to provide and discuss the feedback before the release of marks. 
• It can be productive to ask students to design a set of recommendations and actions for themselves in response to feedback/ forward, this can also help staff to know that it has been correctly understood. 

Advance HE (2013). Available on: HEA Feedback toolkit. 

Advance HE (2016).  Available on: The Developing Engagement with Feedback Toolkit (DEFT)

Advance HE (2020). Available on: On your marks.

Black, P and Wiliam, D (1998) Assessment and classroom learning, Assessment in Education, 5 (1), 70- 74. 

Carless, D. & Boud, D. (2018) The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 43:8, 1315-1325.

Cooper, N.J. (2000) Facilitating learning from formative feedback in level 3 assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 25,3,279-291. (A report of a staged assessment and feedback system). 

Crisp, B.R. (2007) ‘Is it worth the effort? How feedback influences students’ subsequent submission of assessable work’, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 32, 5:571-581. 

Dweck, C.S. (2000) Self-theories: their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development, Hove, UK, Psychology Press. 

Higgins, R., Hartley, P. and Skelton, A. (2001) ‘Getting the message across: the problem of communicating assessment feedback’, Teaching in Higher Education 6, 2:269-273. 

Hounsell, D., McCune, V., Hounsell, J. & Litjens, J. (2008) The quality of guidance and feedback to students, Higher Education Research & Development, 27:1, 55-67.

Ivanic, R, Clark, R and Rimmershaw, R. (2000) What am I supposed to make of this? The messages conveyed to students by tutors’ written comments in Lea, M and Stierer, B. (eds) Student Writing in Higher Education: New Contexts, SRHE, pp 47-65. 

Lea, M., and Street, B (1998) Student writing in higher education: an academic literacies approach, Studies in Higher Education, 23,2,157-172. 

Nicol, D.J. and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006) ‘Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice’, Studies in Higher Education, 31, 2:199-218. 

Mann, S.J. (2001) ‘Alternative perspectives on the student’s experience: alienation and engagement’, Studies in Higher Education 26, 1:7-19. 

Norton, L., Clifford, R., Hopkins, L., Toner, I., and Norton, J.C.W. (2002). Helping psychology students write better essays. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 2, 116-126. (Description of the essay feedback checklist in Appendix 5). 

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. and Reiling, K. (2005) ‘Biology students’ utilization of tutors’ formative feedback: a qualitative interview study’, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 30, 4:369-386.

Prowse, S., Duncan, N., Hughes, J., & Burke, D (2007) ‘…do that and I’ll raise your grade. Innovative module design and recursive feedback.’ Teaching in Higher Education, Vol. 72, No. 4, pp. 437-445. (A report of a staged assessment and feedback system). 

Sadler, D.R. (1989) ‘Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems’, Instructional Science, 18:119-144.