2010 05 04

SIG invited symposium

UTILIZING ASSESSMENT

INFORMATION FOR (IN)FORMATIVE

FEEDBACK

2010 05 04

STUDENTS’ USE OF FEEDBACK IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Anders JönssonMalmö University

Sweden

2010 05 04

BACKGROUND

Feedback holds a great potential for learning

Still, some students do not use the feedback they receive

Why?

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

2010 05 04

PREVIOUS RESEARCH

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

• Students did not act on their feedback, although they did value to receive it (Brown & Glover, 2006)

• Students do not use assessment information to improve their learning (Mclellan, 2001).

• Less than half of the students collected their formative feedback (Sinclair & Cleland, 2007)

• Students seldom read their teachers comments and those who did read them, did not use them (MacDonalds, 1991)

2010 05 04

PREVIOUS RESEARCH• Students did not act on their

feedback, although they did value to receive it (Brown & Glover, 2006)

• Students do not use assessment information to improve their learning (Mclellan, 2001).

• Less than half of the students collected their formative feedback (Sinclair & Cleland, 2007)

• Students seldom read their teachers comments and those who did read them, did not use them (MacDonalds, 1991)

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

• Students are not very happy about their feedback (e.g. Rust, 2002; Scott, 2005).

• Teacher feedback is not homogenous (e.g. Connors & Lunsford, 1993).

2010 05 04

PROCEDURE

Literature review

1. Broad search for recent (2009-2010)

papers on feedback in higher education in

several databases

(27 studies)

2. Inclusion criteria•Empirical research•Higher education•Printed and peer-reviewed work•Time limit 1990•Feedback from teachers/tutors•Not error correction in ESL

3. ”Snowballing”

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

2010 05 04

DATA

In total: 103 studies

Majority of studies published in journals,

followed by edited books.

Studies vary across subjects (Humanities,

Technology, Business)

Almost exclusively written comments on

students’ written work (although a growing

number of digital-audio feedback)

Research designs mostly questionnaires

and/or interviews – almost no studies on

students’ use of feedback in vivo

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

2010 05 04

RESULTS

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

A large number of different factors may influence students’ use of feedback:

Students’ perceptions of the teacher

(e.g. credibility, scariness)

The content of the feedback

(e.g. focus on form or ideas)

The actual message

(e.g. positive or negative)

The mode of delivery

(e.g. written or oral)

The context

(e.g. with or withour grading)

Timing

…

2010 05 04

RESULTS

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

2010 05 04

The feedback is given along

with a grade/mark

RESULTS

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

Teachers are not educated to give feedback

The feedback is not given within the course or module of interest

The feedback makes no

reference to the

assessment criteria

The feedback is mainly

summative

The students have no

strategies for using their feedback

The feedback contains

expressions of power and

authority

2010 05 04

Why do students not use their feedback?

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

The information is not useful

Students’ use their feedback if they are

asked to:

1.Revise a task and hand it in again

2.Make use of their feedback in similar

assignments

COMMON OBSTACLES:

No in-built features for using feedback

(i.e. it is up to the students themselves)

The students do not receive their feedback

until the course/module is over

The feedback is on the ”wrong level”

(e.g. task-level feedback on non-revision

tasks)

2010 05 04

Why do students not use their feedback?

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

The feedback should be comprehensive, specific, detailed, and personal

Students prefer:

1.A lot of feedback

2.Specific, detailed, and personal feedback

3.Positive feedback (some even like to be

praised)

4.Feedback accompanied by a grade or a

mark

BUT:

The amount of feedback does not

necessarily affect how students use their

feedback. However, important issues may

be missed at the expense of more

common issues.

The students may make more changes if

told exactly what to do, but the results are

not always for the better.

Positive feedback often lead to less

changes.

Grades seem to make the students less

willing to challenge the teachers’ feedback

and also to focus on smaller (and safer)

changes.

2010 05 04

Why do students not use their feedback?

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

The feedback should be comprehensive, specific, detailed, and personal – OR NOT!

Students prefer:

1.A lot of feedback

2.Specific, detailed, and personal feedback

3.Positive feedback (some even like to be

praised)

4.Feedback accompanied by a grade or a

mark

BUT:

The amount of feedback does not

necessarily affect how students use their

feedback. However, important issues may

be missed at the expense of more

common issues.

The students may make more changes if

told exactly what to do, but the results are

not always for the better.

Positive feedback often lead to less

changes.

Grades seem to make the students less

willing to challenge the teachers’ feedback

and also to focus on smaller (and safer)

changes.

2010 05 04

Why do students not use their feedback?

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

The feedback is delivered as a authoritative monologue

When the teacher expresses authority

through the feedback, students tend to take

on a passive role and comply with the

teacher’s comments – even if it means

abandoning their own ideas.

COMMON OBSTACLES:

The teacher makes use of imperatives,

”obliging modalities”, or an insensitive tone

in the feedback – sending the message

that the teacher’s point of view cannot be

contested.

The students are grades, but are not

informed about the grading criteria.

2010 05 04

Why do students not use their feedback?

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

Not everyone knows how to use the feedback productively

Many students do not possess any

strategies for using the feedback they

receive. The students refer to very diffuse

strategies, such as ”keeping the feedback in

mind” or ”having to work harder next time”.

COMMON OBSTACLES:

The students are not taught effective

strategies for using feedback.

2010 05 04

Why do students not use their feedback?

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

The students do not understand the ”academic discourse”

A lot of students do not understand the

comments they receive. Surprisingly often

this is due to illegible handwriting, but also a

lack of understanding of common terms,

such as ”analysis” or ”logical conclusion”.

COMMON OBSTACLES:

The students are given only words – not

examples.

The students are seldom given the

opportunity to discuss the meaning of their

feedback or the assessment criteria.

2010 05 04

How to make students use their feedback?

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

• In-built structures for using feedback• The student are active in both using and producing

feedback• The feedback process is dialogic • The students learn how to use feedback as an integrated

part of instruction• The students can learn from each other

From Pryor & Crossouard(2010)

2010 05 04

Criteria

Criteria

How to make students use their feedback?

Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

Studentanswer

Studentanswer

Modelanswer

(feedback)

Modelanswer

(feedback)

Task: Compare your answer with the model answer. What strenghts and weaknesses can you identify?

How can your answer be improved?

Task: Compare your answer with the model answer. What strenghts and weaknesses can you identify?

How can your answer be improved?

2010 05 04Sweden

MALMÖ UNIVERSITY

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Anders Jönssonanders.jonsson@mah.se