Exploring cultures of feedback practice: the adoption of learning-focused feedback practices in the UK and Australia

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there have been calls in the literature for the dominant model of feedback to shift away from the transmission of comments from marker to student, towards a more dialogic focus on student engagement and the impact of feedback on student learning. In the present study, we sought to gain insight into the extent to which such a shift is evident in practice, and how practice is shaped by national and disciplinary cultures. A total of 688 higher education staff from the UK and Australia completed a survey, in which we collected data pertaining to key influences on the design of feedback, and the extent to which emphasis is placed on student action following feedback. Our respondents reported that formal learning and development opportunities have less influence on feedback practice than informal learning and development, and prior experience. Australian respondents placed greater emphasis on student action following feedback than their counterparts in the UK, and were also more likely than UK respondents to judge the effectiveness of feedback by seeking evidence of its impact on student learning. We contextualise these findings within the context of disciplinary and career stage differences in our data. By demonstrating international differences in the adoption of learning-focused feedback practices, the findings indicate directions for the advancement of feedback research and practice in contemporary higher education.     

Joint confirmatory factor analysis of the differential ability scales and the Woodcock‐Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities–Third Edition

This study examined the underlying constructs measured by the Differential Ability Scales (DAS; C.D. Elliott, 1990a) as they relate to the Cattell‐Horn‐Carroll (CHC) Theory (K.S. McGrew, 1997) of cognitive abilities. The DAS and Woodcock‐Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ‐III COG; R.W. Woodcock, K.S. McGrew, & N. Mather, 2001) were administered to 131 children in grades 3 through 5 who took part in a concurrent validity study included in the Woodcock‐Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities, Third Edition, technical manual (K.S. McGrew & R.W. Woodcock, 2001). Confirmatory factor analyses using maximum likelihood estimation were conducted with the AMOS 5.0 (J.L. Arbuckle, 2001) statistical program to evaluate three models of increasing complexity, to compare how well each fit the data set, and to identify the one that best described the underlying constructs measured by the DAS. Results suggested that the synthesized Three‐Stratum CHC Model provided the most parsimonious representation among the three models tested. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 119–138, 2007.     

The impact of anonymous marking on students’ perceptions of fairness,feedback and relationships with lecturers

Anonymity in marking is a contentious issue within higher education. Conflicting research findings have identified issues surrounding gender bias, ethnicity bias and fairness in marking. However, the effects of anonymity upon feedback mechanisms have not been systematically explored. This study sought to understand the effects of anonymous marking and feedback upon students’ perceptions of its potential for future learning and relationship building with their lecturers. First year United Kingdom undergraduate business, politics, pharmacy and french students experienced anonymous and non-anonymous marking of coursework across different modules. Student performance data were collected, and a survey was administered following the completion of their modules. Results revealed that anonymous marking did not seem to advantage or disadvantage particular groups of students in terms of grade outcome. There was no significant difference in perceptions of fairness according to whether or not marking was anonymous. Furthermore, the results suggest that anonymous marking might undermine the learning potential of feedback, and minimise the strength of the relationship between lecturers and students, which may minimise the role of dialogue in the feedback process.     

A Simulation Investigation of the Performance of Invariance Assessment Using Equivalence Testing Procedures

Factorial invariance assessment is central in the development of educational and psychological assessments. Establishing invariance of factor structures is key for building a strong score and inference validity argument and assists in establishing the fairness of score use. Fit indices and guidelines for judging a lack of invariance is an ongoing line of research. In this study, the authors examined the performance of the root mean squared error of approximation equivalence testing approach described by Yuan and Chan in the context of measurement invariance assessment. This investigation was completed through a simulation study in which several factors were varied, including sample size, type of invariance tested, and magnitude and percent of a lack of invariance. The findings generally support the use of equivalence testing for situations in which the indicator variables were normally distributed, particularly for total sample sizes of 200 or more.     

Neural Correlates of Risk Processing Among Adolescents: Influences of Parental Monitoring and Household Chaos

Adolescent risky behavior is related to developmental changes in decision‐making processes and their neural correlates. Yet, research investigating how the family environment relates to risk processing in the adolescent brain is limited. In this study, longitudinal data were collected from 167 adolescents (13–15 years, 53% male) who self‐reported household chaos and their parent's monitoring practices, and completed a decision‐making task during functional MRI at Time 1 and Time 2 (1 year apart). Parental knowledge was positively related to insular risk processing only among adolescents in low‐chaos environments at both time points. Results highlight environmental correlates of insular risk processing in the developing brain.     

Social Competence of Learning Disabled Children: Cognitive and Emotional Aspects

The aim of the study was to investigate the structure of social competence among learning disabled children, as reported by themselves and their teachers, and the cognitive and emotional aspects that mediate its level. The sample consisted of 40 learning disabled children and 37 matched nondisabled children. Within Harter's competence model and Schaefer's spherical model, the learning disabled group demonstrated lower levels of competence and adjustment and a less mature concept of competence than did their peers. The social competence of the learning disabled children was accounted for by emotional and physical aspects of competence, similar to that found in younger and in children with an intellectual disability, whereas the social competence of the nondisabled peers was accounted for by a combination of academic, cognitive and self‐esteem aspects. Teachers rated the social competence of both groups of children as mediated by introversion and general competence. However, teachers added physical competence to the explanation of the learning disabled group's social competence, whereas they added task orientation to the explanation for the nondisabled group. Intervention planning should be geared toward increasing the social competence of LD children, through alerting teachers to their less mature self‐competence concept, with its special emphasis on nonacademic aspects.     

Performance of the Grade of Membership Model Under a Variety of Sample Sizes,Group Size Ratios,and Differential Group Response Probabilities for Dichotomous Indicators

Social scientists are frequently interested in identifying latent subgroups within the population, based on a set of observed variables. One of the more common tools for this purpose is latent class analysis (LCA), which models a scenario involving k finite and mutually exclusive classes within the population. An alternative approach to this problem is presented by the grade of membership (GoM) model, in which individuals are assumed to have partial membership in multiple population subgroups. In this respect, it differs from the hard groupings associated with LCA. The current Monte Carlo simulation study extended on prior work on the GoM by investigating its ability to recover underlying subgroups in the population for a variety of sample sizes, latent group size ratios, and differing group response profiles. In addition, this study compared the performance of GoM with that of LCA. Results demonstrated that when the underlying process conforms to the GoM model form, the GoM approach yielded more accurate classification results than did LCA. In addition, it was found that the GoM modeling paradigm yielded accurate results for samples as small as 200, even when latent subgroups were very unequal in size. Implications for practice were discussed.     

Implementing a national policy initiative to support education for sustainable development: lessons from Taiwan’s Environmental Education Act

Educational Research for Policy and Practice - This policy ethnography focuses on a nationwide environmental and sustainability education policy that was developed and enacted in response to United...     

‘Feedback interpreters’: the role of learning development professionals in facilitating university students’ engagement with feedback

Understanding how students engage with assessment feedback is a key concern of higher education professionals. Research commonly represents the perspectives of students and academic staff, yet little consideration is given to the role of learning development staff, despite these individuals supporting students when interpreting and implementing feedback. We report the findings from interviews with learning developers working in a UK University, exploring their insights into the barriers students confront when engaging with feedback, and into the role of learning developers within the feedback landscape. This study suggests that, while many challenges exist for staff and students in the context of assessment feedback, learning development professionals are able to provide a meaningful source of guidance, in partnership with academic staff, and are able to promote students’ development through dialogic interactions. Hitherto these interactions have not been fully explored, yet they provide powerful insight into the hidden processes of feedback recipience.