The programme team for the BA (Hons) in Film, Radio and Television introduced a feedforward model in several modules at levels 5 and 6 in 2018\/19. Given the positive feedback from students and tutors involved, the model has now been rolled out for the whole programme in modules where students have two assessment points. The assignment sheet, which all students submit with their Turnitin submission, has a space for second assignments that asks the student to comment on how they used the feedback from the first assignment to improve their second assignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using feedforward\neffectively<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The main aim of the activity is to ensure students examine their tutor feedback and then apply it in their next piece of coursework. It was hoped this would improve students\u2019 grades in their second assignment in that module, give them greater responsibility for their own learning and develop their assessment literacy. This is a crucial component of students\u2019 academic development that is often overlooked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Concretely, an assignment submission cover sheet is attached to all documents submitted via Turnitin. The form includes a box labelled: \u201cEvidence of Using Feedback from Assignment 1.\u201d When students are submitting their second assignment, they must complete this section to show how they have reflected on the feedback given from their first assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a pilot study with a small number of modules\nincluding American Independent Cinema Year 2 (28 students) and Cinematic City\nYear 3 (22 students) to gauge the uptake of this activity by students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Evaluation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The student response was very positive. The innovation was welcomed by the students and embraced very quickly. 95% of students in both modules used the comment box. The positive impact can also be seen on the students\u2019 results: 80% of students on Cinematic City Year 3 and 77% of American Independent Cinema Year 2 improved their mark in the second assignment. Overall, 35% improved their grade by 5 % points or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More generally, the Feedback\/Feedforward model is one of several developments the team has made to their assessment and feedback practices. With an overall NSS score in Assessment and Feedback of 87 % Agree\/Strongly Agree, twelve points above the sector average, this suggests the students have responded positively to the developments the team has made. \u201cFeedback on my work has been timely\u201d at 90 % and \u201cI have received helpful comments on my work\u201d at 91 % are respectively 12 and 18 points above the sector average. The strong scores in these two areas is testament to the hard work of staff, the staff development sessions on assessment and feedback, engagement with feedforward and the standardisation of feedback through Turnitin. The feedforward model was praised by External Examiners as was the quality of tutor feedback across the programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Challenges and\nlessons learnt <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The team encountered a few challenges. One was how to\nencourage all students to use the comment box. Often it is the students who\nmost need to respond to feedback that avoid taking it on board. One-to-one\ntutorials and evidence of how previous cohorts used this activity to develop\ntheir second assignment and, in most cases, improve their grade, provides a\nstrong motivation for universal take up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students\u2019 emotional response to feedback must also be\nconsidered. Disappointment or frustration at a mark achieved may limit their\ndesire to read the feedback in full. By engaging in pre-assessment sessions\nwhere examples of feedback to previous cohorts are shared in class, students\nbegin to recognise the value of engaging more fully with feedback and how it\nmight feedforward to their future assignments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The feedforward comment box can be linked to a variety of\nassignments, it is not restricted to a second assignment. It can also be used\nto enable summative feedback to be formative in that it can set up students for\ndevelopment in their next year of the degree and in terms of moving in to the\nworld of work or further study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More work needs to be done on training for students in how\nto give and receive feedback. (See High Impact Pedagogies Report below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Advance HE resources on Feedback have been invaluable in\nthinking through our overall assessment strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.advance-he.ac.uk\/knowledge-hub\/developing-engagement-feedback-toolkit-deft<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n High Impact Pedagogies Report: Professor Carol Evans,\nProfessor Daniel Muijs and Dr Michael Tomlinson University of Southampton\n(2015)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/prism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/545\/2020\/02\/feedback-1.png\")
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