Feedback Misunderstood or just not recognized

1
Feedback Misunderstood or just not recognized?

• Deborah Murdoch Eaton
• Medical Education Unit

2
National Student Survey

• All final year students at HE institutions
• Rate 1-5 agreement with 22 statements about HE
  experience
• The teaching on my course
• Assessment and Feedback
• Organisation and management
• Learning Resources
• Personal Development
• Overall satisfaction

3
NSS inevitably used for ranking

• University of Leeds
• Overall satisfaction 82 agreement (score 4 or
  5)
• Ranked 2007 76 / 145

4
National Student Surveyassessment and
feedback questions

• The criteria used in marking have been clear in
  advance
• Feedback assignments and marking have been fair
• Feedback on my work has been prompt
• I have received detailed comments on my work
• Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things
  I did not understand

5
Assessment and Feedback category

• Nationally the lowest rated category
• 62 agreement rating 4/5 nationally
• 55 Univ Leeds overall
• 48 Medicine / Dentistry ( from 41 2006)
• Compared with other medical schools?
• Range 19 56 agreement

6
Feedback Leeds School of Medicine

• What do students (and staff), understand by
  feedback?
• Can we do it better / do we need to do it better?

7
Feedback Group with students (2006/7)

• Nominated representatives across all student
  years
• Focus group technique to explore understanding
  amongst student body
• Working group to consider where to go to from here

8
Feedback group key findings

• Lots of positives about recent changes (P3)
• Misunderstandings
• Difference between feedback on the course cf
  feedback on their work back to students
• Why feedback not instantaneous
• When / how / why they get feedback
• How to get more or judge if they need more

9
Early in course - insecurity

• I dont find negative feedback helpful, it
  undermines my confidence and leaves me feeling
  like I cant do anything
• getting feedback from friends might not be
  helpful as they might just be being nice not
  wanting to hurt your feelings
• positive feedback can make you complacent

10
What is done with feedback

• I dont do anything with feedback when I get it
• SSCs are the only part of the course where we
  get feedback, and it is not an important part of
  the course
• I just file good comments or good grades

11
Types of feedback lack of specificity

• More Effort Required is a comment that is
  often put on work when giving bad marks, but you
  may have put in a lot of effort so this comment
  isnt helpful
• a tick by a paragraph wasnt helpful as it
  doesnt make you do anything differently

12
Feedback group key findings

• Lots of positives about recent changes (P3)
• Misunderstandings
• Difference between feedback on the course cf
  feedback on their work back to students
• Why feedback not instantaneous
• When / how / why they get feedback
• How to get more or judge if they need more
• Recognising when they get it (particularly if not
  individual / one-to-one or face-to-face)

13
What is feedback

• group work and (peer) presentations / discussion
  is not feedback its just chat to fill in time
• .cant give you feedback as they dont know
  you and anyway the answer is either right or
  wrong
• discussions during tutorials or . to the whole
  lecture theatre are not proper feedback are
  they?

14
Timely feedback

• SoM guidelines
• Feedback on assessments and academic progress

15
Year 3 SSC summer 2007

• Literature review on good practice in feedback
• Identify and develop ways of improving students
  understanding of feedback in the medical course
• Staff
• students

16
Whats in the literature (HE not just medicine)

• Principles of Good Feedback
• Gibbs Simpson 2004. Does your assessment
  support your students learning. J Teaching
  Learning in Higher Education
• Phil Race website literature
• www.Phil-Race.com
• Engaging Students with Assessment Feedback what
  works
• FDTL5 project literature review, HEA website
• NSS Institutional Case Studies
• HEA website

17
Key aspects of good and effective feedback from
literature

• Students and staff must have a clear and mutual
  understanding of the desired learning outcomes of
  a learning activity
• Feedback is provided in a timely fashion, and in
  sufficient detail. It should focus on the
  performance of the student in achieving the
  desired outcomes

18
Key aspects of good and effective feedback from
literature (2)

• Feedback is recognised as being given
• Feedback is attended to and understood
• Feedback is acted upon

19
Development of Feedback resource

• Key elements
• Information about what is purpose of feedback
• When and how they get feedback
• What to do with it
• How to judge if you need more and how to get it

20
Whats on the site?

• principles of good feedback
• how to get the most out of feedback.
• Individual ICU / SSC mapping
• where to get feedback, in relation to specific
  learning outcomes for that ICU.
• Links to the full learning outcomes for each ICU.
  
• Links to explain how to go about
• obtaining
• using different types of
  feedback.

21
Current content links.

• Why has the site been put together?
• Whats on the site?
• How do I use the site?
• Opportunities for feedback in the course
• Principles of good feedback
• How to get and use specific types of feedback

22
Feedback project 2007/8

• Evaluate students understanding of purpose of
  feedback, and its role in their learning
• Evaluate whether the electronic resource is
  helpful in improving this

23
Key points

• Staff liaison to ensure
• Review of resource and contents for their ICU
• Publicise and direct students to it at
  appropriate times eg after assessment results
• Staff able to access the resources

24
Study

• Beginning of academic year
• Focus groups
• Each year
• Understanding of feedback
• Views on how best to launch the resource
• Questionnaire to whole school
• Understanding of feedback
• Staff liaison
• Launch of electronic resource
• End of academic year
• Focus groups
• Questionnaire to whole school

25
Outcome???

• Improved student understanding of role of
  feedback in their learning
• Use and recognition of wider range of resources
  for feedback
• Improved staff awareness of role of feedback /
  mechanisms / highlighting for students
• Improved NSS scores