e-Reflect (Making Assessment Count)
Dr M. Clements, Dr M.J.P. Kerrigan, Dr A. Bond, Ms Y. Nedelcheva & Ms F. Oradini, Prof G. Saunders University of Westminster, London, UK. W1W 6UW. email: G.saunders@westminster.ac.uk
The Story Behind Previous work undertaken within the School of Life Sciences had indicated dissatisfaction from students regarding the extent and level of feedback they receive. In contrast, the view of academic staff is that students receive plenty of feedback but do not use it. The aim of this project is therefore to help students make effective use of the assessment feedback they receive and to help them to identify a strategy to improve their future performance.
Solving the Puzzle
A major component of the project is the e-Reflect process. This process uses the SOS model of feedback whereby students receive Subject, Operational and Strategic feedback for each piece of coursework. Students complete a piece of coursework (1) that is graded and feedback written on the script (2). Following reading the subject feedback, students complete an online reflective questionnaire about their operational performance (3). This generates an automated report which is emailed to the students providing them with operational feedback and suggestions for future work (4). To complete the process students are required to complete an online reflective learning journal which is shared with, and commented on, by their personal tutor (5 & 6).
Although the e-Reflect process is at the heart of the project, we recognise that the heart cannot be complete without knowing more about all the stakeholders involved. Central to this is to understand why staff feel that students only read their marks and pay little or no attention to the feedback they receive. Similarly we need to find out how students use their feedback in relation to developing a coherent learning and improvement strategy.
Comments
BLOGS
Questionnaire
Stakeholder
Electronic Feedback
Operational Feedback
Evaluation
Change
VLE
Automated Report
Student Centred
Personalised Learning
Understanding Student’s Needs
Written Feedback
The Heart of the Project