‘My students don’t do anything with my feedback’
Feedback can create a very strong learning effect in students. A prerequisite is that feedback is of high quality (see also this ECHO Tip from 2007 on giving feedback, in Dutch). However, that is not the whole picture. What’s the use of giving quality feedback if students don’t act on it? As Boud (2000) puts it:
‘The only way to tell if learning results from feedback is for students to make some kind of response to complete the feedback loop. This is one of the most forgotten aspects of formative assessment. Unless students are able to use the feedback to produce improved work, through, for example, re-doing the same assignment, neither they nor those giving the feedback will know that it has been effective.’
In this tip, we will look at a number of ways to get students to actively engage with feedback.
Have the students rework assignments based on the feedback
This is the most common method of getting students to ‘do something’ with the feedback: having students rework the same assignment based on the feedback received. An alternative is to let them include the feedback in future, similar assignments (e.g. in a learning trajectory). Of course, this requires proper coordination with all lecturers involved.
Make criteria explicit
This method involves students in the feedback process right from the start. Instead of merely stating the criteria, let students discuss the meaning and interpretation of criteria, the focus of different criteria, or which criteria are appropriate for a particular assignment.
Let students indicate what they want feedback on
In addition to having students give feedback on the criteria you’ve drawn up, you can also ask them what they would like to receive feedback on (e.g. when they hand in their assignments). This has several advantages, the first being that students have to think about their own skills, strengths and weaknesses. This is how they learn to assess their own performance, a generic competence that is important in many study programmes. Secondly, it forces them to think about criteria and to take a more active approach to them. Finally, there is a good chance that students will actually do something with this feedback, as it is feedback that they themselves asked for.
Offer the opportunity to discuss the feedback received
Giving students the opportunity to discuss the feedback received is also a way to motivate them to process it.
Organise peer feedback
Have students give each other feedback. This extra feedback can complement the feedback they receive from the lecturer. An alternative is to give them the opportunity to discuss the feedback received amongst themselves. In doing so, they can help one another process the feedback. Both alternatives activate students in dealing with feedback.
Encourage students to reflect on the feedback
As an additional part of an assignment, you can ask students to fill in a short reflection form about the feedback. Possible topics are whether or not they agree with the feedback and why or why not, and what points of attention they take away from the feedback for future assignments. You can also set completion of this reflection form as a conditional criterion.
Want to know more?
Boud, D. (2000). Sustainable Assessment: Rethinking assessment for the learning society. Studies in Continuing Education, 22(2), 151–167.
Nicol, D. (2010). From monologue to dialogue: improving written feedback processes in mass higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(5), 501–517.
Price, M., Handley, K., & Millar, J. (2011). Feedback: focusing attention on engagement. Studies in Higher Education, 36(8), 879–896.
Quinton, S., & Smallbone, T. (2010). Feeding forward: using feedback to promote student reflection and learning – a teaching model. Innovations in Education and teaching International, 47 (1), 125–135.
Lees deze tip in het Nederlands