Designing and implementing peer formative feedback within online learning environments

With increasing need to achieve appropriate balance between learning support and self-regulation within the context of online learning, formative feedback has been identified as a viable means to achieve meaningful engagement. Specifically, this study sought to establish how peer–peer formative feedback was facilitated in an online course and to what extent this engaged students in meaningful learning experiences. This case study entailed an in-depth investigation into the design and implementation of an online course in a New Zealand university. The studied course was part of a postgraduate programme in continuing (in-service) teacher education. The study adopted a case study methodology with a bias on qualitative techniques. Online observations, analysis of the archived course discourse and interviews were utilised as sources of data. The data from multiple sources were subsequently triangulated to corroborate the evidence. The findings indicate that peer formative feedback promoted active learners’ participation and meaningful engagement. The findings further showed that opportunities for dialogic peer formative feedback promoted learning support and self-regulation.     

Student perspectives on formative feedback as part of writing portfolios

Despite the crucial role that students play in formative assessment practices, student perspectives on such practices are relatively under-researched. Through a qualitative analysis of 128 reflection notes written by student teachers of English, this article investigates the students’ perceptions of formative feedback as part of portfolio assessment at two teacher education institutions in Norway. As such, it contributes to bridging the gap between research and practice. Students received peer and teacher feedback on assignments and wrote reflection notes during the semester. Findings show that students are positive towards teacher feedback and highlight the significance of teacher praise. Main objections raised against peer feedback concern the lack of constructive criticism. However, positive attitudes towards peer discussion groups suggest that they may be a more effective way of implementing peer assessment than formalised written peer commentary. Student reflections suggest that a failure to understand the task and the feedback is a possible hindrance to successfully revising assignments. Overall, students’ positive attitudes towards the portfolio process, which includes multiple drafting, suggest that students in higher education would benefit from more opportunities to revise and resubmit their work, yet they need adequate practice in providing peer feedback, and interpreting and implementing feedback in general.     

Making learning effective – quantity and quality of pre-service teachers’ feedback

ABSTRACT

Feedback is an essential formative assessment practice that has the potential to influence student learning and achievement positively. Providing effective feedback, however, is a challenging task for teachers. Especially beginning teachers struggle with the provision of information that supports students in developing and improving their competences. Learning to provide feedback thus is an important aspect of teacher education. The present exploratory study investigates pre-service chemistry teachers’ practices regarding the judgement of students’ level of achievement and the provision of feedback in the context of the control-of-variables strategy. A sample of N?=?40 bachelor and master students at Kiel University judged students’ written artefacts and provided feedback with the aim to support students in their progression towards the learning goals. The quality of the feedback was coded with respect to its correct judgement of the students’ current levels of achievement and the support it provided regarding next steps in learning. The results show that only a few of the pre-service teachers could correctly judge students’ current levels of achievement and provide feedback that is expected to be effective. Overall, the findings indicate a need for more research in this field and a need for the implementation of formative assessment practices as a topic in pre-service teacher education.     

A written,reflective and dialogic strategy for assessment feedback that can enhance student/teacher relationships

In response to the shortcomings of current assessment feedback practice, this paper presents the results of a study designed to examine students’ and teachers’ experience of engaging in a written, reflective and dialogic feedback (WRDF) strategy. The strategy was designed to enhance the learning experience of students undertaking a large first-year core course at a regional Australian university in semester 2, 2012. The evaluation consisted of three components: student surveys pre- and post-WRDF; a student focus group post-WRDF; and a teacher survey post-WRDF. Participating students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the WRDF assessment feedback suggested that students value feedback highly, and show a preference for feedback combining written, reflective and dialogic processes. The research findings suggest that the WRDF framework can be utilised to address the immediate, practical problem of students’ and teachers’ dissatisfaction with the practice of assessment feedback. Thus, WRDF may be used to nurture teacher/student relationships and enhance the learning process. Although a relatively intensive process, the WRDF strategy can serve an integral role in enhancing feedback practices and supporting students.     

Formative computer‐based assessment in higher education: the effectiveness of feedback in supporting student learning

A formative computer‐based assessment (CBA) was one of three instruments used for assessment in a Bachelor of Education course at Queen’s University (Ontario, Canada) with an enrolment of approximately 700 students. The formative framework fostered a self‐regulated learning environment whereby feedback on the CBA was used to support rather than measure student learning. The four types of feedback embedded in the CBA included: (a) directing students to a resource, (b) rephrasing a question, (c) providing additional information and (d) providing the correct answer. Although students originally reported positive experiences with the formative CBA, two follow‐up surveys revealed that they found the four types of feedback to be moderately effective in supporting their learning.     

Master’s thesis projects: student perceptions of supervisor feedback

A growing body of research has investigated student perceptions of written feedback in higher education coursework, but few studies have considered feedback perceptions in one-on-one and face-to-face contexts such as master’s thesis projects. In this article, student perceptions of feedback are explored in the context of the supervision of master’s thesis projects, using review studies with respect to effective feedback in coursework situations. Online questionnaires were administered to collect data from three cohorts of master’s students who were either working on their thesis or had recently finished it (N?=?1016). The results of the study indicate that students perceive the focus of feedback in terms of a focus on task and self-regulation; they perceive the goal-relatedness of feedback in terms of feed up (goal-setting) and feed back-forward (how am I going and where to next?); and elaboration of feedback is perceived in terms of positive and negative feedback. Furthermore, students that perceive the feedback to be positive, and to provide information on how they are going and what next steps to take, are the most satisfied with their supervision and perceive they are learning most from their supervisor. The findings are discussed in relation to findings in coursework settings, and are explained using goal orientation theories.     

Using student feedback to improve teaching

Gathering student feedback on teaching practice is commonly used in educational settings as an improvement tool and performance measure. Typically this feedback is collected using rating style surveys when a subject concludes; however, whether this practice improves the quality of teaching requires further research. This study was designed using an action research methodology to investigate the impact of student feedback on teacher practices in a secondary setting. Specifically, the efficacy of an ongoing, collaborative feedback model in which teachers collected student feedback regularly, were guided in reflecting on the data, and were supported through professional development to improve their practices was explored. Results supported student feedback as a valuable improvement tool, and powerful stimulus for teacher reflection. Student feedback informed teachers on the effectiveness of their practice and identified areas for future professional learning. Additionally, it opened up a dialogue around teaching and learning in the classroom, and gave the teachers insights into the unique challenges experienced by their students.     

The motivational paradox of feedback: teacher and student perceptions

The notion that future performance can be affected by information about previous performance is often expressed in terms of ‘closing the gap’. Feedback has long been recognised as a mechanism through which teaching and learning may be influenced. The current wave of support in the United Kingdom for assessment for learning echoes these sentiments. This paper examines the feedback strategies employed by two experienced literacy practitioners in England. Using data gathered from field observations, interviews and documentary sources, the paper presents evidence of espoused practice associated with feedback, demonstrating that whilst teachers may claim that they make effective use of some feedback strategies to support pupils’ learning and motivation, that this is not supported by empirical data. The paper also identifies that whilst some teachers aim to mark every piece of pupils’ written work for perceived motivational benefits; such a strategy can undermine pupils’ intrinsic motivation and lead to a culture of over-dependency, whereby the locus of control with regard to feedback lies solely with the teacher. The paper concludes by exploring some possible implications for practice with regard to the provision of written feedback in particular.     

Feedback codes and action plans: building the capacity of first-year students to apply feedback to a scientific report

Effective feedback can build self-assessment skills in students so that they become more competent and confident to identify and self-correct weaknesses in their work. In this study, we trialled a feedback code as part of an integrated programme of formative and summative assessment tasks, which provided feedback to first-year students on their initial attempt at a scientific biology report. We investigated the students’ perceptions of the feedback code and associated action plan exercise, and found that the code provided the majority of students with clear feedback, whilst the action plan provided a tool for decoding and interpreting the feedback and ensuring errors were not repeated in a subsequent report. We argue that a feedback code can be a valuable inclusion in a wider programme of feedback provision particularly when it is supported by activities that require students to engage with the codes and feed that learning forward to subsequent tasks.     

Responding to the Challenges Posed by Summative Teacher Candidate Evaluation: A collaborative self-study of practicum supervision by faculty

In our pre-service department, university practicum supervisors are faculty members who offer academic, social, and personal support to teacher candidates during their year-long program. Their role is described as one designed primarily to provide formative assessment and feedback to improve classroom practice and reflection on practice. This collaborative self-study describes how two new faculty members responded to the challenges posed by the teacher candidate evaluation process. Methods used included formal tape-recorded discussions during meetings of the self-study group of newly hired faculty, email correspondence, field notes, feedback from public forums about our work, and teacher candidate insights concerning the practicum evaluation process conducted by faculty. New strategies were developed to address the tensions associated with using summative evaluations in a formative framework and to improve practice during faculty practicum supervision.     

Formative and shared assessment in higher education. Lessons learned and challenges for the future

Formative assessment is the process by which teachers provide information to students during the learning process to modify their understanding and self-regulation. An important process within this is shared assessment, which refers to student involvement in the assessment and learning practice, a process of dialogue and collaboration between teacher and students aimed at improving the learning process, both individually and collectively. The purpose of this paper is to review the current state of affairs in depth. This paper therefore highlights, on the one hand, the lessons learned through research and development in higher education (i.e. providing clear learning goals and feedback, guiding learning, involving students in learning and assessment, promoting feedback as a process of dialogue, and making processes viable). On the other hand, these lessons also suggest some challenges and difficulties that must be addressed in the future in order to further improve formative and shared assessment in higher education. These include the need for more research on its effects, further conceptual clarification, the intersubjectivity of the process, recognition of the divergent processes and ethical principles, students’ involvement not only in assessment but also in determining academic grades, and broading learning goals and objetives in FA & SA.     

The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback

Student feedback literacy denotes the understandings, capacities and dispositions needed to make sense of information and use it to enhance work or learning strategies. In this conceptual paper, student responses to feedback are reviewed and a number of barriers to student uptake of feedback are discussed. Four inter-related features are proposed as a framework underpinning students’ feedback literacy: appreciating feedback; making judgments; managing affect; and taking action. Two well-established learning activities, peer feedback and analysing exemplars, are discussed to illustrate how this framework can be operationalized. Some ways in which these two enabling activities can be re-focused more explicitly towards developing students’ feedback literacy are elaborated. Teachers are identified as playing important facilitating roles in promoting student feedback literacy through curriculum design, guidance and coaching. The implications and conclusion summarise recommendations for teaching and set out an agenda for further research.     

Student peer review: enhancing formative feedback with a rebuttal

This study examines the use of peer review in an undergraduate ecology programme, in which students write a research proposal as a grant application, prior to carrying out the research project. Using a theoretical feedback model, we compared teacher and student peer reviews in a double blind exercise, and show how students responded to feedback given by each group. In addition, students wrote a rebuttal for every feedback point before re-drafting and submission. Despite students claiming they could tell if the reviewer was a teacher or student, this was not always the case, and both student and teacher feedback was accepted on merit. Analysis of feedback types and rebuttal actions showed similar patterns between students and teachers. Where teachers differed slightly was in the use of questions and giving direction. Interviews with students showed the rebuttal was a novel experience, because it required a consideration of each comment and justification as to why it was accepted, partially accepted or rejected. Being a reviewer helped students to learn about their own work, and it changed the way they understood the scientific literature. In addition, some students transferred their new peer review skills to help others outside of the ecology programme.     

Assessment and the co-regulation of learning in the classroom

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the processes of regulation of student learning that are associated with formative assessment in the classroom. It discusses the concept of co-regulation and presents a model of co-regulation developed in a situated perspective on classroom learning. This model conceptualises co-regulated learning as resulting from the joint influence of student self-regulation and of sources of regulation in the learning environment: namely, the structure of the teaching/learning situation, the teacher’s interventions and interactions with students, the interactions between students, and the tools used for instruction and for assessment. Examples of research showing how co-regulation functions are discussed, in particular students’ use of tools for self-assessment and peer assessment, and the role of teacher–student interactions that encourage active student participation in formative assessment.     

A scaffolded approach to Discussion Board use for formative assessment of academic writing skills

Mastery of academic writing skills remains one of the greatest challenges for university students, especially in the first year. Amongst the reasons offered for the challenges are lack of clarity about the university’s expectations and low levels of teacher feedback on work submitted, a failure to engage, and low levels of contact with teaching staff and other students. Academic staff are challenged by increased class numbers and increased student diversity in classes and university policies to adopt a wide range of information technologies into teaching modes. In this paper, we offer one attempt at addressing these three important contemporary academic challenges: use of information technology to provide timely feedback through formative assessment to help students with a range of abilities to acquire the academic writing skills necessary to succeed in higher education. Early indications show that students find this form of formative assessment very useful. They value the timely and focused feedback from the lecturer and are developing collegiality as they learn from each others’ writing and feedback. We believe that this strategy is sustainable and can be adapted to facilitate academic and social integration for students across many disciplines.     

Teacher learning through participation in a negotiated assessment procedure

This article focuses on the impact of a specific formative assessment procedure, negotiated assessment, on teacher professional learning. Negotiations between the assessor and the teacher as assessee seem to be especially promising for this teacher learning. However, there is no empirical evidence yet that has confirmed this. We explored teachers’ opinions about the usefulness of the different elements in a negotiated assessment procedure for their professional learning and the learning benefits they reported as a result of being engaged in this procedure. Our findings show that teachers found the negotiated assessment procedure useful for their learning and reported different types of learning benefits in terms of change: change in their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes, change in their teaching practice and change in their students’ learning outcomes.     

Feedback loops and the longer-term: towards feedback spirals

A key challenge for feedback practice involves promoting student uptake through the closing of feedback loops. This paper investigates feedback loops by using the concepts of single and double-loop learning to interrogate student responses to feedback. Single-loop learning tackles an identified problem or task, whereas double-loop learning additionally re-evaluates how the problem or task is approached. Evidence from a five-year longitudinal enquiry into four undergraduate students’ experiences of feedback is used to analyse feedback loops. Students reported a variety of experiences: failing to engage significantly with end-of-semester comments; short-term uptake within modules which had two assignments; and longer-term efforts at improving their learning strategies. A model of long-term student engagement with feedback is proposed, including single-loop feedback processes, double-loop feedback processes and unresolved learning puzzles. Whereas feedback loops are mainly focused on the shorter-term, it is suggested that feedback spirals represent an alternative way of analysing complex, iterative longer-term learning processes. Implications for practice focus on student self-regulation and the development of student feedback literacy.     

The relationship between formative assessment and reading achievement: A multilevel analysis of students in 19 countries/regions

Despite the general consensus on the positive impact of formative assessment on student learning, researchers have not shown the underlying mechanisms between specific formative assessment strategies and academic performance on an international sample. This study examines the link between student and teacher reports of teachers’ formative assessment strategies (i.e. clarifying goals and monitoring progress, providing feedback, and instructional adjustments) and students’ reading achievement, based on data from 151,969 fifteen-year-olds in 5,225 schools in 19 countries/regions in PISA 2018 via multilevel analysis of plausible values. The results show that clarifying goals and monitoring progress, and instruction adjustments are positively linked to reading achievement, but providing feedback alone has no significant impact. These findings highlight the complexity of formative assessment as a multifaceted concept and the different impacts of formative assessment strategies on student learning. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

Comparing student learning experiences of in-text commentary and rubric-articulated feedback: strategies for formative assessment

This study compares students’ experiences of two types of criteria-based assessment: in-text commentary and rubric-articulated feedback, in an assessment design combining the two feedback channels. The main aim is to use students’ responses to shed light on how feedback strategies for formative assessment can be optimised. Following action research methodology, the study discusses key categories of student responses from three sources: reflective texts, a questionnaire, and interviews. Results show that different functions were attributed to the two feedback channels: in-text commentary to lower-order concerns related to language proficiency, and rubric-articulated feedback to higher-order concerns related to an overview of writing achievement. We argue that the different functions have the potential of creating a sufficiently balanced assessment design with the possibility of serving both short-term and continuous learning goals. On the other hand, some students found it difficult to navigate between the two feedback channels. The article therefore ends with a ‘lessons learned’ section where we list possible ways in which the current assessment design can be improved for optimal use of the synergy effects emanating from a combination of in-text commentary and rubric-articulated feedback for formative purposes.