Quick reference guide for staff on feedback

In this last blog post in ‘Focus On… Feedback’ month, Dr Valerie Pinfield, who is a lecturer in Chemical Engineering, shares her thinking on giving feedback to students.

I wanted to produce a quick-reference guide for staff to check the feedback that we/they are giving to students, and ensure that it has the effect of improving performance. I based the mnemonic on articles by Bright (2010) and Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006) and on a resource by the University of Reading (2015). These articles do not provide a simple easily-accessed summary of what feedback should look like, so I compiled a list of keywords to construct the mnemonic below. Bear in mind that the resource was intended for staff in chemical engineering, so one of the elements is “technical” which may not apply in other subject areas.

 

Perhaps this easy guide to feedback could be of use in your own department? Any feedback on it will be welcome.

Bright, K (2010) Providing individual written feedback on formative and summative assessments. Higher Education Academy, UK Centre for Legal Education. Available at http://78.158.56.101/archive/law/resources/assessment-and-feedback/effectivefeedback/index.html Accessed on 20/02/2015.

Nicol, D and Macfarlane-Dick (2006) Rethinking formative assessment in HE: a theoretical model and seven principles of good feedback practice, Higher Education Academy, Available at: http://www-new1.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/assessment/web0015_rethinking_formative_assessment_in_he.pdf Accessed on 20/02/2015.

University of Reading (2015) Engage in Feedback, including Feedback Audit Tool. Available at http://www.reading.ac.uk/internal/engageinfeedback/efb-Home.aspx Accessed on 20/02/2015.