Using a wiki to support adult learners and their engagement with feedback from tutors

Centre for Medical Education, The Mackenzie Building, Kirsty Semple Way, Dundee DD2 4BFTel: 01382 381952 www.dundee.ac.uk/meded

Dr Susie SchofieldSenior lecturer / eLearning lead

OutlineWho we areWho our students areWhy the need for supportEngaging with feedbackWhy we chose to use a wiki

Who we are

http://www.dusa.co.uk/advertising/

Our students

2,800 graduates2,234 current 90% doctors 75% UK

Why they need supportIsolation - non-cohort, no deadlines, no groupsDistance learningHealth professionals -> social scienceMay be long gap since university studies25% international studentsAcademic writing

Reflection / self-evaluationCritical evaluation of education literaturePlagiarism / academic integrity

ICT skillsInteraction with feedback

What is feedback Get an orange cover

sheet and get rid of

that beast!

Feedback encapsulates:

1. Where am I going? (learner oriented goal)

2. How am I going? (current performance)

3. Where to next? (or how do I get there?)

(Hattie & Timperley, 2007)

“Feedback should help the student understand more about the learning goal, and more ways to bridge the gap between their current status and the desired status”

(Sadler 2010)

“Feedback should be conceptualised as a dialogical and contingent two-way process that involves coordinated teacher–student and peer-to-peer interaction as well as active learner engagement” (Nicol, 2010)

“Feedback should serve the function of progressively enabling students to better monitor, evaluate and regulate their own learning, independently of the teacher”

(Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006)

What the literature says

And yetFeedback often monologic

Teachers often spend considerable time writing feedback to assignments

Students may have difficulty understanding feedback therefore limiting its contribution to future development

Students have often progressed by the time they receive feedback without opportunities for dialogue

Heavy reliance on ‘transmitted’ tutor feedback can create dependency on the teacher

Engaging with feedback• Feedback:• do students read it?• do they understand it?• do they act on it? • can they act on it?

• How can we reduce student (and tutor) isolation?

“Distanced, not disadvantaged”

What are the barriers and enablers to engaging in feedback dialogue

What strategies could a tutor or a learner use to improve feedback dialogue

Teacher-focussed strategiesTimely turnaround of feedbackImprove quality of the feedbackEnsure feedback understandableGenerate assessment rubricsLook at sequencing of assignmentsFaculty development and

benchmarking

Learner-focussed strategiesEducate and empower students to

take an active role in feedbackEngage students in generating

assessment criteria and discussing standards

Create opportunities for students to process and use feedback (e.g. self-explaining)

Engage students in ways to develop evaluative judgements (self- and peer-review)

Generate a dialogue about feedback

The big questionCan we create feedback dialogue in a programme that is…

Non cohort Has nearly 2,500 students across the globe Delivered totally online Tutors across the globe

And can we use technology to ensure it is acceptable to… Our students and tutors Our administrative staff Our external examiners University QA process

3 year Strand A project (£127k) started Sept 2011

Feedback should be dialogicFeedback is often viewed as something that is

‘given’ to a student to correct their errorsHowever feedback should be seen as a process of

communicationCommunication is an on-going evolving dialogue

Meaning is negotiated between individualsTakes account respective ideas, feelings and points of

view

Assessment design should afford opportunities for feedback to be used in future assignments

Developmental perspective on feedback Should not be viewed as a single occurrenceShould be viewed as a series of pedagogical opportunitiesTaking a programmatic approach enables evidence of

learning from feedback to be documented and for feedback to serve to help improve learners’ work in the future

Feedback should develop evaluative judgements and monitoring of own workLearning is enhanced when learners are:

Self-regulatingActively engaging in setting learning goalsSelecting strategies for achieving these goalsMonitoring their progress toward these goals

Reflecting on feedback and processing it through self-explanation has been shown to improve self-monitoring and evaluation

Students should be empowered to seek and query feedback

Fits with capabilities for life-long learning where graduates are required to seek external, credible sources of data to inform their performance and progress

Questioning feedback legitimised

Five key innovations with the use of InterACT: Programmatic design of assessment with emphasis on

sequencing of assignments, formative tasks and feedforward

Structured opportunities for self-evaluation and feedback-seeking in the cover page

Scaffolded reflection on feedback and structured processing of feedback by students and staff

Creation of a space for dialogue on assessment and feedback between students and staff (wiki)

One programmatic repository for each student’s work giving quick access to individual student and all staff

• Student downloads assignment rubric and cover-page

• Student completes and submits cover-page and assignment

• Tutor marks assignment and comments on cover-page

• Tutor sends email to student

Phase 1

Content (understanding of theory / principles and application to own context)- Understanding of learning theory- Evidence of critical reflection on learning theory and key learning and teaching principles- Evidence of application of learning theory to own practice

Self-evaluation: Tutor feedback:

Style, format and language (e.g. structure, coherence, flow, formatting, use of language)

Self-evaluation: Tutor feedback:

Sources and references (e.g. range of references cited, relevance, consistency, accuracy and completeness of referencing)

Self-evaluation:

Tutor feedback:

Which aspect(s) of your assignment would you specifically like feedback on?

Student comment:

Tutor feedback:

How did previous feedback inform this assignment? Student comment:

Name of Tutor: Date:

• Student downloads marked assignment

• Student uploads document into wiki

• Student reflects on feedback/answers questions; tutor receives automatic alert

• Tutor comments on student reflection; student receives automatic alert

Phase 2

4 reflective questions

How well does the tutor feedback match with your self-evaluation?

What did you learn from the feedback process? What actions, if any, will you take in response to the

feedback process? What if anything is unclear about the tutor feedback?

Why a wiki?ProgrammaticEasy to use for admin / students / tutorsCan be automatically populated with questionsSeparate page for each core assignmentAccess can be limited to student owner + relevant

staffSingle log-inCan subscribe to get own wiki updatesCan upload files, links and other multimediaCan add extra pages as and when needed

Aspects I would like feedback on …..

Ideas of not preparing too rigidly in order to be flexible within sessions – practical advice would be welcomed!

As the first essay I have written in nearly 20 years, I would like to know whether the standard overall was acceptable

Please advise me how I can enter a specific page number in a reference when using Endnote (I wanted to add “p. 58” to the first reference used in the text since this is an exact quote, but failed to find out how I can do it, despite using the help option of the software).

Feedback on whether my peers have had similar thoughts for their own teaching, or other ideas that have been commonly developed would be beneficial in case I have not thought or considered them.

any part of it

How did previous feedback inform this assignment …..It made me realise that instead of focusing on a single or

a few key teaching principles, I focused on many of them without going into much detail. Also I had used bullet points in the text.

Feedback that my writing style was agreeable was reassuring. I appreciated knowing my use of literature was valid and supportive in the previous assignment, so have tried to continue applying the literature to my work.

I tried to be careful to define and reference jargonIt was really helpful in writing present assignment

What did you learn from the feedback process?I already feel that reflection is a more satisfying

process than I anticipated. Feedback also makes me feel like the efforts I take with assignments are recognized

I found the tutor feedback concise and helpful. It is more than I expected for the induction assignment; I am grateful for this. Thanks!

I really like the cover sheet and request for self assessment and what you would like feedback about ... consistent with principles of feedback!!

Thanks toThe team: Dr Rola Ajjawi; Dr Susie Schofield; Ms Karen Barton; Mr Grant Murray; Dr David Walker; Dr Sean McAleer; Ms Natalie Lafferty; Dr Lorraine Walsh

Our reference group

JISC for funding our project

HEA for funding our interim workshop

And of course our students and staff both academic and administrative for all the input and patience

ReferencesHattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. Kluger, AN & DeNisi, A (1996) The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin 119:254-84Nicol, D. J., & 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.Nicol, D. (2010). From monologue to dialogue: improving written feedback processes in mass higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(5), 501 - 517.Sadler, D. R. (2010) Beyond feedback: developing student capability in complex appraisal. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35:5, 535-550.Veloski, J., Boex, J. R., Grasberger, M. J., Evans, A., & Wolfson, D. B. (2006). Systematic review of the literature on assessment, feedback and physicians’ clinical performance: BEME Guide No. 7. Medical Teacher, 28(2), 117-128

Thank you

Dr Susie Schofields.j.Schofield@dundee.ac.uk

Senior LecturerCentre for Medical Education

University of Dundee