Assessing and giving feedback to students Session learning

Assessing and giving feedback to students

Session learning outcomes • On completion of this session you should be able to; – Understand the purpose of assessment and the role it plays in helping students to learn – Recognise the challenges involved in marking and grading student work and develop approaches to ensure that your own practice is reliable and transparent – Understand apply the principles of giving effective feedback to students

The role of the postgraduate teacher in assessment • As a PGw. T you are not likely to be asked to design summative assessments • HOWEVER, you need to – Understand assessment criteria and alignment to learning outcomes – Be able to guide/advise students – Be able to provide constructive feedback to students – Utilise formative assessment methods to support students and develop your teaching

KEY PRINCIPLES OF ASSESSMENT

The power of assessment • “Nothing we do to, or for our students is more important than our assessment of their work and the feedback we give them on it” (Race et al, 2005) • Elton (1987) coined the term ‘backwash’ to refer to the effects of assessment on student learning

Assessment backwash • Negative backwash often occurs in an exam based system – Teachers typically ‘teach towards the exam’ – Students learn by looking at past papers and practising model answers – Strategic and surface learning • Positive backwash can occur in a system where assessment is aligned to learning outcomes – In preparing for the assessment, students will be learning the intended outcomes

Types of assessment Formative assessment Summative assessment • Assessment for learning • Carried out during teaching/learning • Formative feedback may • Assessment of learning • Carried out after the teaching/learning • Used to see how well the student has learnt what they were supposed to • The result/grade is final – Improve learners learning – Improve teachers teaching • Formative assessment and feedback is inseparable from teaching

Criterion vs Norm-referencing • Norm-referencing – Individual achievement is judged in relation to the performance of the whole population – Only a set percentage can achieve each level • Criterion-referencing – Achievement is measured against a clear set of criteria

Assessment criteria and alignment • Assessment criteria must align with the learning outcomes – Assessment tasks should be set to enable students to meet these • Criteria should be simple and clear to students • Staff should mark to the assessment criteria • It is good practice to link feedback to the assessment criteria

MARKING AND GRADING

How do we mark? • Electronically – using Turnitin Grademark • Electronically – annotating the original script • Handwritten annotations on the original script • Other….

Top tips for marking students’ work 1. Familiarise yourself with the criteria and assessment brief 2. Mark to the criteria and marking scheme 3. Plan and manage your time 4. Beware of bias/prejudice/halo effect 5. Be confident to use the full range of marks – just make sure you can justify each mark you give

GIVING FEEDBACK

Types of feedback • Feedback comes in may forms – Written, verbal & audio – Individual & group • How and when might you use the different styles of feedback? • What are the advantages and disadvantages of each

Student perceptions of feedback • Each year the National Student Survey (NSS) scores show widespread dissatisfaction with feedback • Common complaints include – Feedback takes too long to be returned – Feedback is limited or not useful – Inconsistency in the quality and quantity of feedback

The “feedback sandwich”

What do students want? • Praise for what they have done well • Clarity about what was good so that they can do it again • Clear identification of where they went wrong • Specific pointers on how to put things right • Identification of transferable skills (feedforward) – particularly important for students who pass!

Baume (1998) “When we are giving feedback to students, we are teaching”

Encouraging students to engage with feedback • Producing assessment feedback for students is difficult and time consuming • Despite demands for it, students may not recognise, understand or use it • We need to think of ways to engage students with their feedback

Summary • Marking and giving feedback is challenging and time consuming • You need to prepare for marking in the same way you prepare for teaching • Try to self-moderate where you can • Keep feedback simple, clear and constructive • Remember: You are teaching students how to do better next time

References & further reading • Baume, D. (1998) Marking and giving feedback. Milton Keynes: Open University • Elton, L. (1987) Teaching in higher education: Appraisal and training. London: Kogan Page. • Race, P. , Brown, S. & Smith, B. (2005) 500 tips on assessment (2 nd Ed). London: Routledge.