| U21 Teaching &
Learning Conference Does Teaching & Learning Translate? Conference papers |
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| The first year experience: perceptions of feedback | ||
| Associate Professor Carol Johnston & Professor Nilss Olekalns | ||
| University of Melbourne | ||
| First year students arrive at the
university uncertain of the standard and form of the work expected
by their teachers. Students at this level need to assistance to feel
confident about their learning and to be supported in adjusting
university life. In this context feedback on their standard and
progress attains an importance that is probably not reached in any
other year level. Nevertheless, students at both the undergraduate
and graduate levels report a low level of satisfaction with the
quality of feedback that they receive on their assessed work.
Feedback satisfaction in Australia is surveyed through the national
Course Experience Questionnaire and, at the University of Melbourne,
through the Quality of Teaching survey scores. Both these surveys
indicate student dissatisfaction with feedback.
In order to significantly and rapidly improve the quality of feedback a project was undertaken in 2007 to examine existing feedback provision. The perceptions of feedback in first year economics students were explored from both the tutors’ and students’ perspective and both groups were surveyed and interviewed to identify areas of commonality. The aim was to assist in aligning expectations and experiences. This paper reports results of the first year student survey. These results are compared with one from a second year cohort to determine if student perceptions altered over time. An analysis of the nature of feedback provided by tutors on an essay assignment gave a glimpse of the nature of the feedback that was actually being provided. An analytical tool developed by Glover and Brown (2006), in science at Sheffield Hallam and the Open University in the UK provided a coding system and a point of comparison. Over 1500 assignments will be analysed in terms of the content and depth of the tutor comments provided. This analysis will form the foundation of the design of a programme to improve the feedback provision and inform expectations of students in economics at Melbourne. We conclude with a discussion of the efficacy of different approaches to the provision of feedback in improving student learning in first year economics. Glover, C., and Brown, E. (2006), ‘Written
Feedback for Students: Too Much, Too Detailed or Too
Incomprehensible to be Effective?’ Bioscience Education e Journal 7.
Available from
http://www.bioscience.heacademy.ac.uk/journal/index.htm
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