Can dialogue help to improve feedback on examinations?

Blair, Alasdair; Wyburn-Powell, Alun; Goodwin, Mark; Shields, Sam

doi:10.1080/03075079.2013.777404

Cited by 26 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…According to Hattie and Timperley (2007), these key questions are related to different feedback stages: feed up; feed back and feed forward. For instance, the summative test as a terminal assessment do not allow that students receive feedback in order to improve a future performance, hindering the feed forward stage to occur (Blair, Wyburn-Powell, Goodwin, and Shields 2014). Once again the weaknesses of traditional assessment methods are identified (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Perceptions of Portuguese undergraduate students about assessment: a study in five public universities

Pereira

Flores

Barros

2017

Educational Studies

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This paper draws upon a broader piece of research on assessment in higher education, particularly focusing on issues regarding the fairness and effectiveness of the assessment methods and their implications for the learning process. The perceptions of undergraduate students are analysed taking into account the effectiveness and fairness of both traditional and learner-centred assessment methods, as well their influence on the learning process. In total, 624 students participated in this study in five Portuguese Public Universities in different areas of knowledge and programmes. Data were collected through questionnaires. Findings suggest that assessment is seen as more effective and fairer when it is done through the use of learner-centred assessment methods rather than by traditional assessment (e.g. written tests or exams). The students also claim that they devote more time to study when assessment is performed through learner-centred assessment methods than by traditional ones. The most used assessment methods are written tests and oral presentations in group. However, differences in the programmes were identified as well as differences according to gender. Implications of the findings for assessment and for the teaching and learning process are discussed.

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confidence: 99%

Perceptions of Portuguese undergraduate students about assessment: a study in five public universities

Pereira

Flores

Barros

2017

Educational Studies

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“…This seems consistent with the literature in the sense that summative assessment -and thus summative feedback-is largely for the purpose of summarising student achievement and may not have immediate impact upon learning (e.g. Blair et al, 2014;Knight, 2002;Sadler, 1989). In their qualitative study exploring students' and tutors' views on what quality feedback was, Beaumont et al (2011) reported the issue of students not collecting summative feedback because it was perceived as being too late or specific to a particular assignment, therefore, not useful.…”

Section: Variety Of Feedback: Types Forms and Modes Of Deliverysupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Because of its link to summative assessment and its emphasis on explaining and justifying grades awarded (Blair et al, 2014), summative feedback is also described as 'feedout' (Knight, 2002) to highlight the fact that, along with grades, it provides achievement-based information for the use of third parties (Knight, 2006in Sadler, 2009).…”

Section: Current Understandings Of How Students Develop Their Academimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Crisp (2007) concluded that feedback on its own is not enough to improve student learning or improve student levels of achievement as its effectiveness is linked to other practices such as class discussions about marking criteria and opportunities for dialogue with their teachers. Askew and Lodge (2000) go further to claim that there is little correlation between formative feedback and student achievement unless dialogue is built in within the system, a view increasingly shared by others (Blair et al, 2014;Boud and Molloy, 2013;Carless, 2013;Nicol, 2010;Price et al, 2010) Students may also fail to capitalise on feedback because of the nature of the feedback. For example, comments on structural aspects of writing (e.g.…”

Section: Current Understandings Of How Students Develop Their Academimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Feedback in Masters Courses and the Development of International Students’ Academic Literacy

Solano¹,

Bernado²

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Despite numerous studies on feedback and academic literacy, few have focused on the experience of international students on postgraduate taught courses, particularly in terms of how feedback contributes to the development of their literacy practices in UK universities. This study contributes to the discussion on what academic literacy is, and the role of tutor feedback in its development. The design includes surveys, semi-structured interviews, feedback samples and course documents, to explore the experiences of students and teaching staff in various disciplines in two British universities. The research reveals core elements of academic literacy and useful insights into their multiple interpretations, underlining how disciplinary variation, student and staff diversity can influence its conceptualisation and practice. Results point to the potential of dialogic feedback to develop academic literacy while also identifying other practices that contribute to its development. One key finding is that, besides the characteristics of feedback itself, personal and institutional factors such as length, structure and interdisciplinary nature of programmes can limit the role of feedback in academic literacy development. The research concludes that pedagogical practices such as assessment and feedback cannot be separated from either the individuals or the pedagogical spaces in which they occur, so their impact can be enhanced or constrained by such spaces and the people inhabiting them. Further research needs to explore the effect of specific personal and institutional factors on feedback practices and academic literacy development. Given the importance of feedback and evidence of student dissatisfaction revealed by the findings, institutions should implement systematic approaches to measure its effectiveness. A key recommendation is for institutions to encourage and maintain meaningful dialogue with students at different levels from programme design to course evaluation. There is also a need for tutors to adopt a more open and inclusive disposition to academic literacy, reducing their reliance on written assessment and being more accepting of international students' native literacy practices.

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“…The free-text comments reveal students' perceptions of the benefits of the purple pens approach for developing their assessment literacy, but also suggest engagement in evaluative judgement about their answers. Blair et al (2014) have proposed that formal contact time is required to afford opportunities for dialogue relating to feedback, which is a key aspect of the purple pens technique. Whilst the dialogic aspect of the feedback sessions did not feature as strongly as we may have anticipated in the student evaluation, some students certainly identified this as an important feature:…”

Section: 'It's Easier To Understand When It's In My Own Words'mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Whole-Class Self-Assessment Method to Enhance Engagement with Feedback in Low-stakes, High-value Assessments in the Physical Sciences

McGarvey

Hancock

2019

NEW DIR TEACH PHYS SCI

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A readily implementable and effective wholeclass face-to-face tutor-led student selfassessment method for enhancing engagement with feedback is described and discussed. Key features of the approach are the transfer of responsibility for writing feedback information from teachers to students within a tutor-led face-to-face dialogic feedback session, and students' self-penned feedback annotations being distinguished from their original work by use of a distinctly coloured pen. Results of a student evaluation are reported and reveal that students perceive this approach as beneficial to their engagement with feedback, their assessment literacy and learning of chemistry.

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Can dialogue help to improve feedback on examinations?

Cited by 26 publications

References 40 publications

Perceptions of Portuguese undergraduate students about assessment: a study in five public universities

Perceptions of Portuguese undergraduate students about assessment: a study in five public universities

Feedback in Masters Courses and the Development of International Students’ Academic Literacy

A Whole-Class Self-Assessment Method to Enhance Engagement with Feedback in Low-stakes, High-value Assessments in the Physical Sciences

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