Improving the student learning experience
Contents Feedback: 2
Introduction And History Of The Campaign
3
So Why Is Feedback So Important?
3
Student Experience And Opinion
6
Common Complaints About Assessment Feedback
7
The Ten Principles Of Good Feedback Practice
11 Feedback On Exams:
45 Assessment: Student Opinion 46 Different Types Of Assessment 46 Summative Assessment:
68 Counter-Arguments –
Dealing With Critics
69 Useful Resources
47 Formative Assessment:
Plagiarism
48 Reflective And Peer Assessment
70 Introduction
48 Diagnostic Assessment
72 Why Do Students Plagiarise?
49 The Role Of The Quality
74 Detection vs. Deterrence
Assurance Agency (QAA)
49 Quality Assurance In The European Higher Education Area
74 Deterrence 75 Detection
91 Identifying Routes Of Influence 92 Planning The Campaign 93 Action Plan Sample 94 Delivering And Monitoring The Campaign 94 Evaluating The Campaign 95 Monitoring Policy Implementation 95 Conclusion 96 Case Studies – Assessment 96 General Assessment Campaigns
51 Scottish Enhancement Themes
75 Actions For Your Union
12 Assessment Feedback Form
53 Grading Criteria
76 Penalties: What Happens
14 Student Feedback Coversheet
53 Programme Specifications And Learning Outcomes
77 International Students
100 Anonymous Marking
Post Grad
55 Liberating The Curriculum
78 Actions For Your Union
101 Facts And Figures - Assessment
16 Introduction
55 Diversity Audits
80 Useful Resources
102 Bibliography
16 What Does Ptes Tell Us That Can Cast A Light On Feedback Issues?
59 Useful Resources
Anonymous Marking
Research Guide
82 Introduction
104 Introduction
82 What Is Anonymous Marking?
104 Why Research?
83 Why Do We Need
105 Planning, Preparing, Testing
Mechanisms And Good Practice
18 Some Key Differences That Could Affect PostgradUate Taught Students’ Experience Of Feedback
Campaign Tools 20 The 10 Point Plan To A Successful Feedback Campaign 25 How To Get Access To Exam Scripts 26 Letter To Institution 27 Focus Group Materials 31 Student Rep Training 34 Case Studies – Feedback 38 Key Facts And Figures 43 Bibliography - Feedback
60 Assessment, Feedback
And Engagement: Challenges And Opportunities For Students Of The Arts
61 The Future Of Assessment 61 NUS’ Principles Of Effective
Assessment Practice
63 Engaging Students In
Assessment Development
E-Assessment 64 Introduction
If Students Are Caught?
Anonymous Marking?
86 Common Complaints
And Criticisms Of Anonymous Marking
87 Key Issues To Note 87 Getting Involved Nationally 87 There Are 4 Easy Things
You Can Do To Help…
64 What Is E-Assessment?
87 Key Contacts At NUS
64 Virtual Learning Environments
Campaign Tools
64 E-Portfolios 65 Why E-Assessment?
88 Introduction To Effective
Campaigning
97 E-Submission 99 Plagiarism
107 Conducting Research 109 Surveys 110 Deciding What To Ask 111 Getting Students
Involved: Promotion
111 Analysing Results 111 Statistical Packages 112 Coding Your Data 112 Delivering The Results: Closing The Feedback Loop 112 Communicating Your Results To Students
Assessment
67 E-Submission
88 The Campaign Cycle
44 Introduction
67 Why E-Submission?
89 Analysing The Issue
113 Communicating Your Results To The Institution
44 Purposes Of Assessment
67 E-Submission Software
90 Developing The Strategy
113 Writing A Report
1
Introduction to the toolkit or future learning. In fact, poorly managed assessment can actually demotivate and hinder learning. All students should be given the best chance of succeeding while at university, yet much of their dissatisfaction around assessment and feedback currently acts as a negative barrier to their progression. FACT aims to bring together, and update, NUS work on assessment and feedback conducted over the last three years, including the Great Feedback Amnesty, Assessment Feedback Form, exam feedback stickers, and information on plagiarism and anonymous marking. We have also added new sections, including liberating the curriculum, how postgraduate students (both taught and research) are affected by assessment and feedback, and many others. As well as providing you with the knowledge to fight for better assessment and feedback practices in your institution, FACT aims to give you practical tips and resources to engage students in this issue. Hello and welcome to the NUS Feedback and Assessment Campaign Toolkit: improving the student learning experience – FACT for short! The National Student Survey has shown consistently over the last five years that assessment and feedback is the biggest cause of dissatisfaction among the student body. This has also been reinforced by the 2008 and 2009 NUS/HSBC Student Experience Report. There are many reasons for students’ dissatisfaction – from the speed with which they receive feedback on their assignments to the inability to submit their work electronically. These issues and many more are included in this toolkit, to get students’ unions like you thinking about how best to tackle these challenges and make significant wins for your students. NUS believes that poorly applied assessment and feedback mechanisms are, quite rightly, a huge concern as they fail to engage students with either their current
All of the FACT resources will also be available for download from our NUS Connect site. Just go to: www.nusconnect. org.uk/campaigns/highereducation and follow the toolbar to the new learning and teaching hub. This will give you access to all of the contents so you can edit some of the materials yourself to make your assessment and feedback campaign your own. We wish you good luck with your assessment and feedback campaign over the coming year. Please let us know if you need any further assistance – myself and the Education and Quality Team at NUS are here to help. We would love you to feed back to us and let us know what you got up to in your campaign.
Usman Ali Vice President (Higher Education) NUS