High quality feedback is known to be essential for learning, yet in higher education it has been highlighted as a problem area in the UK by both the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and National Student Surveys. Furthermore, a recent study has shown that there is a fault-line between the highly structured guidance system that exists in schools/colleges and the culture of 'independent' learning that is promoted in higher education and suggests that this is a significant barrier to a successful transition. This article reports research to improve the transition for first year undergraduates by providing a structured set of guidance activities as a means of an extended induction into the assessment processes in higher education. The activities are based on the Dialogic Feedback Cycle which encompasses principles of feedback as dialogue, emphasising guidance at the start of, and during an assignment rather than summative written feedback. The intervention was evaluated by means of a questionnaire and supported by focus groups. The questionnaire was administered to a control group and an intervention group. Results showed statistically significant improvements (p<0.05) in students' perceptions of their understanding of assessment tasks, criteria, and confidence at completing assessment tasks and self-regulated learning. KeywordsFeedback, Feedforward, Dialogical Feedback Cycle DFC, Assessment, Self-regulated learning, transition, computing. IntroductionThe transition from school to higher education is increasingly recognised to constitute a crosscultural process 'with potential for substantial problems ' (Kirkpatrick and Mulligan, 2002, 75) and experienced as an 'alien environment' (Askham, 2008). There can be many reasons for such problems and Lawrence (2005) provides a detailed analysis of the complexities of the cultural transition in terms of socio-cultural competencies, university (learning) literacies and selfmanagement. However, a particularly important aspect concerns assessment practices and feedback. Beaumont, O'Doherty and Shannon (2011) identified the substantial difference between the approaches for assessment feedback at school and higher education as a significant barrier to successful transition. Their study of students' experiences in English schools and * Email:Chris.Beaumont@Edgehill.ac.uk Journal of Further and Higher Educationuniversities revealed that both students and teachers used the term 'spoon feeding' to describe the learning process in school, explaining that it aims to deliver high grades. Whilst this may be good for league tables, it leaves many students unprepared for university assessment, which is typically characterised as 'independent learning' (Leese, 2010). Bingham and O'Hara (2007) confirm the difficulty students have in becoming 'autonomous' learners.It is therefore important to explore the effectiveness of approaches that will help students make a successful transition between the two sectors; in short, to scaffold the development of self-regulated learning skills. Ind...

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