Foundation Skills/Ways of assessing student learning and providing meaningful feedback/Ways of providing meaningful feedback to students

Ways of providing meaningful feedback to students
Since 2005, higher education students in the UK have been participating annually in the National Student Survey (NSS) of student satisfaction. This survey asks students to respond to 23 statements, of which 5 are related to assessment and feedback. Consistently students’ experience of assessment and feedback has been the least satisfactory of all the areas of experience surveyed.

The five statements related to assessment and feedback were:


 * The criteria used in marking have been clear in advance
 * Assessment arrangements and marking have been fair
 * Feedback on my work has been prompt
 * I have received detailed comments on my work
 * Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand

How would your students respond to these five statements?

The Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) measures student satisfaction and engagement at New Zealand and Australian tertiary institutions. (Otago Polytechnic staff enrolled in this course can access the 2012 AUSSE report for the polytechnic on their staff intranet.). The AUSSE survey includes only one statement related to feedback:


 * Received prompt written or oral feedback from teachers/tutors on your academic performance

In 2012, less than 60% of students in Australian and New Zealand responded "often" or "very often" to the above statement! Clearly, then, there is a problem with providing feedback on assessments and performance. Using the survey statements as a basis, it is obvious that the problem will be addressed if we provide meaningful and timely feedback that enhances student learning and performance. But, exactly how do we do this?