Pattern: Feedback on feedback
Pattern: Feedback on feedback
| Summary |
Feedback given to learners should provide opportunities to improve the learning experience. It should comprise constructive feedback to improve learning as well as socio-emotive feedback. Tutors in large courses often resort to grading devoid of effective feedback. To support them in improving their feedback, then need effective feedback on the feedback they give. |
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Status 
| alpha | Confidence
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| details... | Group | Formative e-Assessment
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Problem
Effective feedback needs to:- Alert learners to their weaknesses.
- Diagnose the causes and dynamics of these.
- Include operational suggestions for opportunities to improve the learning experience.
- Address as socio-emotive factors.
Context
- Large scale, technology supported, graded courses: many tutors instructing many students.
- Tutors need support in providing effective feedback, but resources for individual mentoring are not available.
- Feedback is mediated by technology that allows it to be captured and processed in real time (this requirement can be relaxed).
- Topic of study is subject to both grading and formative feedback.
Solution
Embed a mechanism in the learning and teaching system that regularly captures tutor feedback, analyses it, and presents them with graphical representation of the types of feedback they have given. Ideally, this should also include constructive advice as to how to shift from less to more effective forms.In computer supported environments (e.g. VLEs), this mechanism could be integrated into the system, providing tutors with immediate analysis of their feedback, as well as long-term aggregates.
In unmediated environments (e.g. frontal classrooms), the same mechanism can be impemented by cross-observations between tutors, using a printed feedback tracking form.
Related Patterns
list other patterns related to this one, under categories such as component, assisting, conflicting, uses this, etc.
Support
* Source and Additional Supporting Cases
Source Case (chosen from Case Studies)
Other Cases (chosen from Case Studies)
- Open Comment
- Developing Formative Assessment for H812: Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice
- AA308 Case Study: Experiences of a course team producing formative e-assessment for the first time
Links to External Case Stories & Examples
* Rationale (theoretical justification)
Theoretical justification.
Black et al (2003) (applied formative assessment strategies in school settings). 'An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information to be used as feedback by teachers, and by their students in assessing themselves and each other, to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged. Such assessment becomes formative assessment when the evidence is used to adapt the teaching work to meet learning needs' (p. 2). The focus on teacher adaptation of pedagogy is one criterion of formative assessment which emphasises a potentially long cycle of teacher learning which impacts on student learning, as well as 'immediacy' for some learning contexts. There may be limited or no immedaite gains for learners in some contexts, where teacher learning needs to adapt to more complex types of change. Although 'immediacy' features in the 'moments of contingency' in this pattern (Black and Wiliam, 2009), what is 'contingent' may also have longer-term developmental consequences for pedagogy. Both 'immediacy' and 'long- or medium-term change' can be achieved in this pattern.* Verification (Solutions that were derived from this pattern)
Scenarios / solutions which were developed using this pattern.
Notes, Links and References
Liabilities, potential risks, extensions, expected side-effects
Licensing
This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
