Student engagement with intrinsic feedback

The success of intrinsic feedback is dependent on student engagement. Some key considerations include:

• approaches to engaging students with feedback should be designed according to programme context and level of study
• student understanding of feedback should be checked to ensure that students are fully able to utilise any feedback they are given
• use of self and peer feedback can encourage greater student engagement with feedback as well as fostering student understanding of knowledge as contestable.

Student engagement with feedback is vital to its effectiveness as a tool for students to make meaning of their learning; intrinsic approaches are no different. Nicol (2010, p. 503) writes that while the quality of any given feedback is important, ‘the quality of the students’ interaction with those comments is equally and perhaps more important’. There are a number of factors which influence student engagement with feedback. Carless et al. (2011) found some resistance from students to teaching methods that encouraged autonomy and self-regulation. However, they suggest that, ‘an important incentive for students is that developing enhanced self-regulative capacities is likely to lead to better quality learning and higher grades. If this message can be communicated effectively, increased engagement with relevant practices should follow’ (Carless et al 2011, p. 406).

In a study by Orsmond and Merry (2009) high-achieving students were found to be self-regulators who were both motivated and interested in their subject. Their interest went beyond particular pieces of work indicating a deep approach to learning and they were found to make more effective use of their feedback. In contrast, low achieving students focused their efforts on understanding what the tutor was looking for, even in discussions with peers. The authors note that:

Students need to see the end point of feedback in terms of 'self' rather than in terms of 'others'. Changing the perception of tutor feedback in non-high achieving students could have a major effect in their learning. This cannot be done through tutors writing more detailed feedback, or even in tutors and students discussing feedback that has been given. (Orsmond and Merry, 2009, p. 15).

As it cannot be assumed that students will simply and straightforwardly engage with feedback, it may be beneficial to adjust the approach depending on student level. For example, provide intensive feedback at Level One – tutor, self and peer; incorporate greater self-evaluation at Level Two to encourage self-regulation; then provide more intensive feedback again at Level Three to encourage stronger specialised skills. Additionally, student understanding and self-regulatory practices can be encouraged through the adoption of a holistic approach to assessment and feedback, seeking to develop, not just to evaluate learning. Within this approach students may construct their own ‘feed forward’ i.e. consider how they can utilise feedback they have received to inform future study. As an example, staff in the School of Public Health and Clinical Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire have produced a reflection on feedback assessment form that can be used by students to consider what actions they should put in to place to develop their learning based on feedback they have received (Delli-Colli, n.d., p. 14).

There are a number of resources available to support student understanding of and engagement with research. Examples are available on the CADQ webpage on engaging students in the use of feedback to improve their work. Other resources are:

• The NTU School of Architecture Design and the Built Environment have created two documents for students to aid their understanding of feedback:
  ADBE Feedback handbook [PDF]
  ADBE Feedback leaflet [PDF]
• Mandy Clark from Schools, Colleges and Community Outreach has built on the work of ADBE by producing a NOW-based assessment for students to deepen their understanding of the purposes and uses of feedback. The assessment involves students working through a series of questions relating to their understanding of feedback. Students can re-visit the assessment at later stages in their studies to reinforce their understanding and to see whether they are making the best use of any feedback they have received.
• Tina Byrom and David Hindley both from the School of Education have conducted research with NTU students looking at student perceptions of feedback and how technology might be embedded within pedagogical strategies to provide formative developmental feedback. Presentation slides and a summary of the research findings are available online from the NTU Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2011 Proceedings.
• Sheffield Hallam have produced a student guide to using feedback
• Oxford Brookes ASKE (Assessment Standards Knowledge Exchange) have produced ‘Advice for Students: make feedback work for you’.
• A joint project between the Learning Development Team (based in Libraries and Learning Resources) and the Nottingham Business School aimed to challenge issues of student engagement with feedback through use of the web tool ‘Wordle’. See  ‘Using Wordle to encourage student engagement with feedback’ for details.

References
CARLESS, D., SALTER, D., YANG, M. and LAM, J., 2011. Developing sustainable feedback practices, Studies in Higher Education, 36(4), 395-407.

DELLI-COLLI, S., no date. UCLan Good Practice Guide to Feedback. [Accessed 26 October 2011].

NICOL, D., 2010. From monologue to dialogue: improving written feedback processes in mass higher education. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(5), p. 501-17.

ORSMOND, P and MERRY, S., 2009. Processing tutor feedback: a consideration of qualitative differences in learning outcomes for high and non-high achieving students. Paper presented at the Fostering Communities of Learners, 13th EARLI Conference, Amsterdam, 25-29 August 2009. [Accessed 28 May 2011].