Feedback on learning
"Feedback on learning" is one of the four principles defined in the "Teaching Large Classes".
A Toolbox that supports the described solutions, has been created.
Intention:
Students receive feedback on their learning and have the opportunity to gain clarification on the subject matter.
Challenge:
If students are unsure what is expected of them, and how they will cope with the subject, there is a risk that they will not achieve their full potential. Each student must have the opportunity to gain constructive feedback on their level of subject matter knowledge and working process in a way that makes it possible for them to adjust their own input and strategy and in doing so increase the amount they learn. The individual student also needs to be able to deal with the subject-related questions that may need answers during the course. Feedback and clarification are often two sides of the same coin.
Students can receive feedback as well as subject-related clarification on their work processes and their subject-related work from teachers, instructors, peers or the student themselves. Feedback from teachers is the traditional form of feedback given, with the student receiving feedback from an ‘expert’.
More often than not, the feedback process is a source of knowledge and insight that benefit both teachers and the students. All students should receive the feedback and subject-related clarification that is relevant to them.
In large classes, there may not be sufficient time for teachers to give all students feedback of high quality, nor individual explanations of subject-related matter, and repeating the same feedback and explanations may be seen as a waste of time, which is why tools, techniques and methods are needed to make it possible to manage feedback and questions efficiently.
Solutions:
General feedback
Use general non-personalised feedback when the same feedback and subject-related explanation is relevant to many students at once, e.g. for typical errors and to highlight good or not so good examples.
Feedback from student instructors
Wherever possible, allow student instuctors to provide some of the feedback.
It is the teacher’s responsibility is to equip the student instructors for the assignment, which includes being explicit about what areas the feedback should given in.
Peer feedback
Allow the students to receive feedback on their assignments from one or more of their fellow students. Much can potentially be learnt from giving and receiving peer feedback, because the process invariably requires the student to reflect on their own tasks for future use.
Teachers has a responsibility to qualify the students to give each other feedback, so that they feel confident giving feedback and trust the constructive feedback that they receive. Peer feedback can be done either online or offline, or anonymous or not. Regardless of the format used, the university teacher should oversee the process and have a presence among the students, e.g. by highlighting examples of positive feedback or by themselves contributing feedback in the event that there are inconsistencies in the students’ feedback.
Self-evaluation
Allow the individual student to gain an insight into their own progression and reflect on their working process and input through self-evaluation. This student self-evaluation can (for example) be done via a rubric or a test score on an online test.
Teachers responsibility is to prepare the tools that the student will need. During online tests, it is possible for teachers to provide automated feedback on the individual questions
Teachers also plays an important role, regardless of the feedback method.
Teaching Practice Examples:
Videoes