The University Teaching, Learning and Student Experience Strategy 2013-2020 is available via the T&L Website: http://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/teachlearn/Pages/default.aspx
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See University T&L guidance and resources on Assessment available from http://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/teachlearn/guidanceresources/Pages/default.aspx
This includes access to the:
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University Assessment Policy 2014-2020
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Assessment for Learning Project
The 7 Steps Series is available at http://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/teachlearn/guidanceresources/Pages/7steps.aspx
and include guides on:
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Giving Effective Feedback
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Inclusive Assessment
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Peer and Self-assessment

See Plymouth University Inclusive Assessment – good practice guide available at https://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/teachlearn/guidanceresources/Pages/Assessmen t.aspx
To help students be successful it is essential that there is a feed-in process in the setting of assessment (assessment briefs). The above document asks a series of questions:
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Are students thoroughly prepared for the assessment with a detailed briefing sheet, handbook, information about the assessment format, referencing convention etc.?
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Are students given the assessment, marking and grading criteria so they can self-assess their work?
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Are sessions timetabled for student discussion on the assessment?
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What pre-assessment support is available/ allowable?
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Are all students with modified assessment requirements invited to a tutorial to discuss any additional needs?
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Is all the assessment information easily accessible/ available on the DLE?
As far as is practicable, there should be consideration at programme level of scheduled hand-in dates so as to avoid assessment overload/ bunching for both staff and students .
Ensure all assessment information and documentation is uploaded onto the DLE
Allocate time for an information session to ensure students understand assessment information, expectations and standards as well as plagiarism/ academic offences
Provide a briefing sheet for each assessment – offering detailed assessment information including the default assessment method and any assessment choices, include:
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Learning outcomes
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Assessment criteria, marking scheme, grading criteria (see below)
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Value (weighting)
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Support that is available and allowed; in-class discussion, tutorials, email correspondence, feedback on practice assessments
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Referencing convention guidance
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Assessment format guidance
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Explicit information about dates (as soon as they are available), including in respect of assessment choice, feed-forward opportunities and deadlines for submission
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Cover sheets for submission (where relevant) and feedback sheet – consider providing space for student reflection and self-assessment
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Process for submission – if electronic submission identify whether there is a process of using originality checking software available

Information on examinations/ tests should also include:
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Format of examination/ test (seen, unseen , open book, CAA, group etc.)
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Dates and times (if available) or when and how they will be available
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Value (weighting)
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Links to past papers
Ensure your feed-in process is inclusive:
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Provide detailed information asking students to notify the programme & module leader of any modified assessment provision as soon as possible
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Provide detailed information asking students to notify the programme & module leader of any extenuating circumstances as soon as possible
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If there is peer or self-assessment provide an explanation of what is expected
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Ensure time-lines for support, feed-forward and hand in dates are explicit
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Provide an explanation of the default assessment method and if there are assessment choices make this clear (including any deadline for making a choice)
QAA UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Part B Chapter B3 Learning and Teaching http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/quality-code-B3.pdf
“Effective feedback is the result of: agreeing and communicating clear criteria before students complete the task; assessment that uses those criteria; and feedback based on the criteria and timed so that students can use it constructively in their next stage of learning .”
Assessment marking criteria should be clear and written in ‘student friendly’ language.
They can be supplemented with ‘standards’ (generic) criteria that define various levels of performance/ achievement, generally using degree classifications, and directly linked to particular subjects or disciplines. Good examples of these
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identify that different levels of achievement are expected at each stage/ level of a degree; and
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include description of achievement above 70% (thereby encouraging use of higher grades where appropriate)
Standard/ generic and assessment criteria should be complemented with class based discussion/ formative assessment prior to assessment submission such as for example use of marked exemplars and/or self/peer marking exercises, which may facilitate the development of self-assessment and reflection skills (see Part 3 for more detail).
For more information see FoB T&L Handbook: Standard/ Generic Descriptors and
Assessment Marking Criteria
For guidance on writing assessments (including ensuring they are inclusive) see https://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/teachlearn/guidanceresources/Pages/Assessmen t.aspx
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Writing assessment questions
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Types of exams

Assessment can be set for formative or summative purposes. Formative assessment focusses on helping learners to develop and utilises feedback strategies designed to inform, encourage and support this development i.e. ‘feed-forward’. In contrast, summative assessment will measure actual performance by the awarding of a grade to the assessment, which will then form, or contribute to, the mark for the course of study.
QAA UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Part B Chapter B3 Learning and Teaching http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/quality-code-B3.pdf
“This Chapter addresses the role of assessment in promoting learning, especially as the basis for reflection and dialogue between staff and students. This activity is often referred to as assessment for learning and equated with formative assessment, being developmental. It is contrasted with assessment of learning - often equated with summative assessment - the principal purpose of which is to determine student attainment against predetermined criteria
.”
Formative assessment Summative assessment
Purpose Assessment for learning
Informs/guides learning
Assessment of learning
Provides a measure of learning
Grade/Mark Un-weighted, does not contribute Weighted, contributes to grade to grade
Poor quality work not penalised Poor quality work penalised
Source: http://otl.curtin.edu.au/local/downloads/assessment/Assessment%20design.pdf
Knight, P. and Yorke, M. (2003). Assessment, Learning and Employability. SRHE/OUP
In addition to utilising assessment for learning, by having the chance to practice and rehearse formative assessment also provides an opportunity to:
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Give credit for what has been done, with reference to the expected standard
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Correct what is wrong, thereby helping the student to avoid repeating the error
(hence merely saying something is wrong is insufficient)
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Encourage emancipation by alerting the student to possibilities which they may not have hitherto discerned
Where directly linked to, or mirroring, summative assessment, a sequence of formative tasks, with associated feedback, can scaffold learning and help ensure success in that final summative assessment.

Resource:
Combining Formative and Summative Assessment on a Continuous Basis, Case Study 2,
SENLEF project, available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/id353_senlef_guide.pdf
These activities may also develop self-reflection, important if students are to be able to genuinely understand and benefit from the feedback they receive. To self-reflect, students need to know:
1. what a good performance is (in other words, to understand the goal or standard being aimed for)
2. how their current performance relates to good performance
3. how to close any gap between current and good/ better performance
Resource:
Nicol, D. and Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006) Formative Assessment and Self-regulated
Learning: A Model and Seven Principles of Good Feedback Practice. Studies in Higher
Education.
Vol. 31,(2) 199-218. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075070600572090
Below is a range of formative assessment examples, which could be used in combination to scaffold learning, and to develop self-reflection.
1. Outline plans for summative assessment tasks
Short summaries/ drafts/ plans (with word or page limit); may be directed to include main points/ headings, selected bibliography etc. depending on nature of the assessment (can be used for range of assessment including presentations)
May be submitted to the tutor and feedback may be individual, generic, combination of both; may be given broad indicator of grade rather than exact percentage (to encourage focus on feed-forward comments rather than grade)
May alternatively be discussed and peer critiqued/ assessed (if anonymised) in class-room setting (‘hand in/pass out’) and/ or electronically; this process may occur instead of submission to tutor or be a step prior to handin to promote a ‘dialogue feedback system’
May be supplemented with feed-forward generic guidance
May be submitted with self-assessment matched against marking criteria – consider getting students to practice using any cover/submission sheets and in turn whether these can include space for self-assessment/ reflection
May be followed by student generated action plan based on responding to the feedback
(especially if the feedback identifies ‘action points’)
Consider, in light of staff and student workload, if a defined number of opportunities to do this has to be set, and/or whether this is available only during a defined period of time – ensure this is clearly communicated to students

Resources:
Nicol, D. (2010) From Monologue to Dialogue: Improving Written Feedback Processes in
Mass Higher Education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.
Vol. 35,(5) 501-517.
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602931003786559
Self and Peer-assessment of Written Work in English Literature, Case Study 6, SENLEF project: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/id353_senlef_guide.pdf
Dochy, F., Segers, M., and Sluijsmans, D. (1999) The Use of Self, Peer and Co-assessment in Higher Education: A Review. Studies in Higher Education.
Vol. 24,(3) 331-350. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079912331379935
2. Discussion of assessment exemplars
Provision of exemplar responses to assessment, which can include in-class tests, examinations and presentations etc.; may be anonymised work previously submitted (with permission); may cover a range of quality e.g. pass, good, excellent etc.
Can form basis of discussion in class-room setting and/or peer assessment, with focus on assessment criteria and learning outcomes; may be provided with explanation of ‘standard expectation’ so discussion focusses on how exemplars do not meet, meet or exceed the standards
May be followed by generic feedback matched to marking criteria and learning outcomes
Where appropriate, an alternative is to provide a ‘model answer/ solution’ sometimes with a commentary (including for MCQ/ short answer type in-class tests/ examinations)
May be utilised to prepare for practical assessment (e.g. oral presentations by examining/ discussing recordings, with permission)
Resources:
Handley, K. and Williams, L. (2011) From Copying to Learning: Using Exemplars to Engage
Students with Assessment Criteria and Feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher
Education.
Vol. 36,(1) 95-108. Available at : http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602930903201669
Hendry, G., Bromberger, N. and Armstrong, S. (2011) Constructive Guidance and Feedback for Learning: the Usefulness of Exemplars, Marking Sheets and Different Types of Feedback in a First Year Law Subject. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.
Vol. 36,(1) 1-11.
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602930903128904 (has some generally useful information that could apply outside the law discipline)
Orsmond, P., Merry, S. and Reiling, K. (2002) The Use of Exemplars and Formative
Feedback when Using Student Derived Marking Criteria in Peer and Self-assessment.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.
Vol. 27,(4) 309-323. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0260293022000001337
Feedback as D eviations from a ‘Sound Standard’, Case Study 1, SENLEF project: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/id353_senlef_guide.pdf

3. Independent study assessment (‘take-home assessment’)
Answers to assessment questions undertaken as ‘independent study’; may use previously set assessment questions/ tasks
May be submitted at any time (‘on demand’) or by/ within deadlines - consider, in light of staff and student workload, if a defined number of opportunities to do this has to be set, and/or whether this is available only during a defined period of time – ensure this is clearly communicated to students
May be submitted to the tutor for individual feedback with indicator of grade rather than exact percentage (to encourage focus on feed-forward advice); may refer to previous feedback to scaffold learning; may also require self-assessment matched against marking criteria
May alternatively be focus of class room activity for peer critique/ peer assessment
May be followed by feedback (generic) and/ or, where appropriate, model answer/ solution
Resource:
Work to Win: Formative Assessment on Demand, Case Study 8, SENLEF project: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/id353_senlef_guide.pdf
The following examples of formative assessment are generally not linked directly to preparing for summative assessment (except for example, in the case of MCQ style assessment, where prepa ration may include practice in the form of ‘quizzes’).
These methods, however, may provide both students and tutors with a means of regularly assessing progress, during and throughout the course of study (to scaffold learning), as well as enhancing interactivity in class environments. They may also feed into session preparation (e.g. areas of difficulty re-covered, clarification of common misunderstandings); offer tasks to form part of and encourage discussion/ dialogue and peer assessment; tasks for independent study time and/or preparation for class sessions; and in some cases a means of gathering on-going student evaluation/ feedback.
1. Quizzes
Objective questioning in the form of ‘quizzes’ (e.g. MCQ, true/false, mix/match, short answers etc.) can be used both in the class-room (e.g. at the start to identify learning from the previous session, form the basis of an overview of previously covered ground) and electronically for ‘self-testing’ (computer aided assessment (CAA), see below for further details)
Can be tutor or self-marked or peer assessed (‘hand in, hand out’) – self-marking/ peer assessment is immediate and can form the basis of discussion/ dialogue; tutor marking may identify areas where additional clarification may be required
Consider getting students to write questions
Question banks may provide revision resource

Some core textbooks are sometimes accompanied by companion websites which in some cases include ‘self-test’ questions
CAA Faculty Resource: a) QuestionMark Perception can be used to create online quizzes and tests that include a range of question types (with immediate feedback where appropriate) including Multiple
Choice, multiple response, drag and drop, numeric, matching and many more. These tests can then be made available to students to take online.
From September 2014, QuestionMark Perception will only be used for Summative CAA in
Plymouth. Plymouth Operational Guidelines for Computer Aided Assessment using
QuestionMark Perception can be found here b) Formative CAA can from September 2014 be done using the Quiz tool in Moodle.
(Colleagues who have previously used Perception for Formative Assessment will be contacted about the transition of their questions.) This software is only available for download once initial online training has been completed.
If you wish to undertake the training (or find out more about Perception) please contact:
Emma Purnell: emma.purnell@plymouth.ac.uk
. Please include the module code you wish to use Perception with (or other context if it is not linked directly to a module) and you will be sent you the necessary online training links.
2. ‘Clickers’
Clickers allows you to “ask the audience” and get them to vote or answer questions
Questions can be asked throughout class-room activities with instant responses discussed/ analysed; response can be individual or group based (if limited access to numbers of clickers)
This system has quick and easy configuration and the ability to add questions into preexisting PowerPoint presentations to create interactive classroom activities and resources
Clickers Faculty Resource:
Plymouth University uses TurningPoint (for more information see here ).
The Faculty of Business has 3 sets of 40 Clickers that can be loaned out .
For training or a demonstration please contact:
Emma Purnell emma.purnell@plymouth.ac.uk
or you can request training when you make a booking using the email address given below.
To book the Clickers please contact: fobloanequipment@plymouth.ac.uk
and give the dates when you wish to use the Clickers
Resources:
Feedback in Interactive Lectures using an Electronic Voting System, Case Study 3, SENLEF project: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/id353_senlef_guide.pdf

Using Immediate Feedback in Class: the New Approaches to Teaching and Learning in
Engineering (NATALIE) Project, Case Study 5, SENLEF project, as above (development and use of a ‘classroom communication system’)
3. Traffic Lights (low-tech personal response system)
Using green, yellow and red cards for students to use to indicate they understand, think they understand, or do not understand, or red and green to provide yes/ no answers etc.
4. ‘Exit slips’
Handed out at the end of the session and gathered in on students leaving (e.g. to tutor, deposited in box, sticky notes posted on dry-erase boards etc.)
May also offer a means of gathering on-going student evaluation
For example:
1. Things I learnt in today’s session……
2. Things I found interesting in today’s session……
3. I have a question about…..
Or use exit slips as a form of quiz (e.g. response to questions, solution to a problem, a summary of learning); checking the answers can mean quick identification of an area that may need consolidation and can inform the next session
5. Write it Up (‘one minute papers’)
Used for specific concepts; can form basis of independent study in preparation for classroom activities or within the class session (individual or group)
For example:
Topic/ question :
List key sources for this topic/ question: List key words and phrases question:
about this topic/
Write a paragraph summarising the topic/ question using the above terms:
Write one page summarising the topic/ question using the above terms:
Prepare a 3 minute presentation summarising the topic/ question using the above terms:

6. Statement Opinion S upport (‘SOS’)
Used for specific concepts; can form basis of independent study in preparation for classroom activities or within the class session (individual or group)
For example:
Statement
Read the below statement and explain in your own words what it means.
Opinion
What is your opinion?
Circle: I agree / I disagree
Support
Provide evidence to support your opinion.
Miller, N. (2002). Alternative Forms of Formative and Summative Assessment. Available at: http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/assessment/welcome.htm
Whilst in the discipline of economics, this is a good resource and contains a number of top tip sections on assessing group work; allocating individual marks for group work; self- and peer-assessment; oral examinations; presentations and projects.
Plymouth University, 7 Steps, Giving effective feedback, ‘feed-in’ and ‘feed-forward’, https://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/teachlearn/guidanceresources/Documents/7%20s teps%20effective%20feedback%202011.pdf See step 4 for tips and additional resources
Race, P. Compendium on Making Feedback Work, available via http://phil-race.co.uk
A compendium of my writings on assessment – in ‘Most Popular Downloads’
Compendium on feedback – in ‘More Downloads’
Shute, V. (2008) Focus on Formative Feedback. Review of Educational Research.
Vol.
78,(1) 153-189. Available at: http://rer.sagepub.com/content/78/1/153.full.pdf+html
The tables at the end give some useful tips on ‘things to do’ and ‘things to avoid’ when giving formative feed-forward.

QAA UK Quality Code for Higher Education, Part B Chapter B3 Learning and Teaching http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/quality-code-B3.pdf
Effective feedback for learning also takes into account the need to build confidence as well as to communicate where and how improvements can be made.
Effective feedback to support learning involves an ongoing dialogue between the student and staff, the student and their peers, and the student and an employer, for example, where the student is in a work-based or placement learning environment.
The Great NUS Feedback Amnesty, Briefing Paper (2009) http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/asset/news/6010/Feedback-Amnesty-Briefing.pdf
F eedback should …
1. be for learning, not just of learning
2. be a continuous process
3 be timely
4. relate to clear criteria
5. be constructive
6. be legible and clear
7. be provided on exams
8. include self-assessment and peer-to-peer feedback
9. be accessible to all students
10. be flexible and suited to students' needs
Gibbs, G. and Habeshaw, T. (1992). Preparing to Teach: An Introduction to Effective
Teaching in Higher Education. Bristol: Technical and Educational Services.
To achieve ‘feedback for higher order learning’:
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Write a brief summary of your view of the submitted assessment
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Balance negative with positive comments
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Use constructive criticism to provide positive suggestions for improvement
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Ask questions which encourage reflection about the work
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Explain all your comments
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Suggest follow-up work and references
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Suggest specific ways to improve the assessment
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Explain the mark or grade and explain why it is not better or worse
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Offer help with specific problems
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Offer the opportunity to discuss the assessment and your comments

Race, P., 20 Tips for making feedback work, extracted from ‘Compendium on making feedback work’ available via http://phil-race.co.uk
(in More Downloads) – see also link on
T&L website at https://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/teachlearn/guidanceresources/Pages/Assessmen t.aspx
The following suggestions aim to give you some practical ways in which you can design feedback which helps to make learning happen with your own students.
1 Help students to want feedback. Spend time and energy helping students to understand the importance of feedback and the value of spending some time after receiving work back to learn from the experience. Most students don’t do this at the moment, concentrating principally on the mark.
2 Get the timing right.
Aim to get feedback on work back to students very quickly, while they still care and while there is still time for them to do something with it. The longer students have to wait to get work back, especially if they have moved into another semester by the time they receive their returned scripts, the less likely it is that they will do something constructi ve with lecturer’s hard-written comments. It could be useful to consider a policy not to give detailed written feedback to students on work that is handed back at the end of the semester if that area of study is no longer being followed by the student, and to concentrate on giving more incremental feedback throughout the semester.
3 Make feedback interesting! Students are much more likely to study feedback properly if they find it stimulating to read and feel it is personal to them, and not just routine or mundane. It takes more time to make feedback interesting, but if it makes the difference between students making good use of it or not, it is time well spent.
4 Give at least some feedback straightaway. Explore the possibilities of giving students at least some feedback at the time they hand in their work for marking. For example, a page or two of comments responding to ‘frequently occurring problems’ with the assignment they are handing in, or illustrative details along the lines ‘a good answer would includ e…’ can give students some useful feedback while their work on the assignment is still fresh in their minds, and can keep them going until they receive the detailed and individual feedback on their own attempts in due course. Giving
‘generic’ feedback at the time of submission in this way can also reduce the time it takes to mark students’ work, as there is then no need to repeat on script after script the matters that have already been addressed by the generic feedback, and tutors can concentrate their tim e and energy on responding to the individual student’s work, and giving specific feedback on their strengths and weaknesses.
5 Make use of the speed and power of technology. Explore the uses of computerassisted formative assessment. While a number of universities including Luton,
Plymouth and the Open University are using computer assisted assessment summatively, many would argue that it is currently most powerfully used to support formative feedback, often automatically generated by email. Students seem to really like having the chance to find out how they are doing, and attempt tests several times in an environment where no one else is watching how they do. They may be more willing to maximise the benefits of learning through mistakes when their errors can be made in the comfort of privacy, and when they can get quick feedback on them before they have built them into their work. Of course, many computer assisted assessment systems allow you to monitor what is going on across a cohort, enabling you to

concentrate your energies either on students who are repeatedly doing badly or those who are not engaging at all in the activity.
6 Link feedback directly to the achievement of intended learning outcomes.
Explore ways in which formative assessment can be made integral to learning. Too often assessment is bolted on, but the more we can constructively align (Biggs 2003) assignments with planned learning outcomes and the curriculum taught, the more students are likely to perceive them as authentic and worth bothering with. Giving students feedback specifically on the level of their achievement of learning outcomes helps them to develop the habit of making better use of the learning outcomes as targets, as they continue to study.
7 Provide most feedback at the beginning. Investigate how learning can be advanced in small steps using a ‘scaffolding’ approach, This means providing lots of support in the early stages which can then be progressively removed as students become more confident in their own abilities.
8 Use feedback to let students know what style of work is expected of them.
Devote energy to helping students understand what is required of them in terms of writing, that is, work with them to understand the various academic discourses that are employed within the institution, and help them to understand when writing needs to be personal and based on individual experience, such as in a reflective log, and when it needs to be formal and using academic conventions like passive voice and third person, as in written reports and essays.
9 Use feedback to help students learn how best to use different kinds of source materials. Help them also to understand that there are different kinds of approaches needed for reading depending on whether they are reading for pleasure, for information, for understanding or reading around a topic. Help them to become active readers with a pen and post-its in hand, rather than passive readers, fitting the task in alongside television and other noisy distractions.
10 Take care with the important words. Ensure that the language you use when giving feedback to students avoids destructive criticism of the person rather than the work being assessed. Boud (1995) talks about the disadvantages of using ‘final language’ that is language that is judgmental to the point of leaving students nowhere to go.
Words like “appalling”, “disastrous” and “incompetent” fall into this area, but so also do works like “incomparable” and “unimprovable” if they don’t help outstanding students to develop ipsatively also.
11 When possible, use feedback in rehearsal contexts. Consider providing opportunities for resubmissions of work as part of a planned programme. Students often feel they could do more will work once they have seen the formative feedback and would like the chance to have another go. Particularly at the early stages of a programme, consider offering them the chance to use formative feedback productively.
Feedback often involves a change of orientation, not just the remediation of errors.
12 Get students giving feedback, not just receiving it. Think about ways of getting students to give each other formative feedback. The act of giving feedback often causes deeper thinking than just receiving feedback. Involve students in their own and each other’s assessment. Reflection is not a luxury; it is the best means available to help them really get inside the criteria and understand the often hidden ‘rules of the game’ of Higher Education. In particular, asking students to review each other’s draft material prior to submission can be really helpful for all students, but particularly those who lack confidence about what kinds of things are expected of them.

13 Provide students with a list of feedback comments given to a similar assignment or essay prior to them submitting their own. You can then ask students, for example in a large-group session, to attempt to work out what kind of marks an essay with these kinds of comments might be awarded. This helps them to see the links between feedback comments and levels of achievement, and can encourage them to be more receptive to constructive but critical comments on their own future work.
14 Give students pre-feedback comments. For example, send students an email containing the comments that you have put on their assignment and ask them to give you a response. You could include in your email a set of statements to use in response to your feedback, designed so that students could delete from the set as appropriate, or add their own responses to them, to make the task of responding to your feedback as easy as possible.
15 Let students have feedback comments on their assignments prior to them receiving the actual mark.
Encourage them to use the feedback comments to estimate what kind of mark they will receive. This could be then used as the basis of an individual or group dialogue on how marks or grades are worked out.
16 Get students to look back positively after receiving your feedback. For example, ask them to revisit their work and identify what were their most successful the parts of the assignment, on the basis of having now read your feedback. Sometimes students are so busy reading, and feeling depressed by the negative comments that they fail to see that there are positive aspects too.
17 Keep a database so that you can readily refer to feedback given on the last assignment when making comments on the present one. This relies on your feedback comments on each successive piece of work being produced and stored electronically, otherwise it would become excessively time consuming.
18 Ask students to respond selectively to your feedback on their assignments.
This could for example include asking them to complete sentences such as:
 ‘the part of the feedback that puzzled me most was…’,



‘the comment that rang most true for me was….’,
‘I don’t get what you mean when you say…’,
‘I would welcome some advice on…’.
19 Ask students to send you, confidentially, an email after they have received your feedback, focusing on their feelings.
In particular, this might help you to understand what emotional impact your feedback is having on individual students. It can be useful to give them a menu of words and phrases to underline or ring, perhaps including:
Exhilarated very pleased miserable shocked surprised encouraged disappointed helped
(other:)………………… daunted relieved
20 Ask students to tell you what they would like you to stop doing, start doing, and continue doing in relation to the feedback you give them.
This is likely to help you to understand which parts of your feedback are helpful to specific students, as well as giving them ownership of the aspects of feedback that they would like you to include next time.

Biggs, J. (2003). Teaching for Quality Learning at University (2 nd ed). Buckingham:
Society for Research into Higher Education/OUP (see Chapter: Assessing for Learning
Quality). Available at: http://www.ntu.edu.vn/Portals/96/Tu%20lieu%20tham%20khao/Phuong%20phap%20giang
%20day/teaching%20for%20quality%20learning-j.biggs.pdf
Includes variety of examples of different assessments and suggestions on how to speed up feedback such as:

List assessment criteria on a pro-forma to avoid having to repeat comments (see also
Race below at page 11 for more detail an advantages and disadvantages of using this approach);

Create an electronic library of comments for typical assessments (see also Enhancing
Effectiveness and Efficiency in Student Feedback, Case Study 4, SENLEF project: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/resources/id353_senlef_guide.pdf
)
Race P. Compendium on making feedback work’, http://phil-race.co.uk
(in More
Downloads)
Suggestions include:

Giving generic ‘debrief’ feedback at the time of submission thereby reducing the amount of written feedback covering these points; if provided electronically students can go back to it at any point (if provided for formative assessment it can build into the summative); consider supplementing this with a verbal debrief/ discussion in class session; see page
11 for advantages and disadvantages to using this type of feedback

Issuing model ans wers/ solutions with marked assessment (perhaps with “commentary notes highlighting principal matters arising with students’ work as a whole”); see page 10 for advantages and disadvantages to using this type of feedback

Using codes (letter, symbol, number) on assessment and compiling a glossary explaining them; on returning the work provide the glossary and de-brief in a class session; see page 12 for advantages and disadvantages
Note:
Knight, P. and Yorke, M. (2003). Assessment, Learning and Employability. SRHE/OUP argue that:
“[a]lthough many teachers give a lot of feedback on specifics, it is general feedback that has the greater power to stimulate learning. If general feedback relates to the learning intentions declared in course and programme specifications, then this is a clear benefit to the coherence of student learning.
”
Nicol D. and Macfarlane-Dick D. (2006) Formative Assessment and Self-regulated
Learning: A Model and Seven Principles of Good Feedback Practice.
Studies in Higher
Education.
Vol. 31,(2) 199-218. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075070600572090
Increasing the effectiveness of feedback can be achieved by creating a dialogue, so students have the opportunity to discuss feedback (which may also increase satisfaction with

the feedback from a student perspective). With large cohorts this is extremely difficult on any one to one basis so they suggest using the following techniques, for example:

Small group discussions on feedback received (may also include peer discussion as well as tutor responses to questions, as well as generating strategies on how to respond to feed-forward advice)

Personal response systems to ask questions about received feedback which can then be discussed in class (see above for information on PRS)
As noted above, the NUS Feedback Amnesty identifies the desire of students to receive feedback on examinations. This could be achieved using a variety of approaches, although recognising the timing of the exam (at mid-year or end-of-year point) may influence the choice of method used. For example, feedback on mid-year examinations may be extremely important as part of the feed-forward process for future similar assessments; end-of-year examinations may pose some difficulties in dissemination. The size of the cohort may also require consideration of an effective yet practical means of offering examination feedback.
Consider for example:

Providing generic feedback via the DLE/ email

Quick feedback by offering this at a mid-point in the marking process (having identified generic points that may be useful)

Feedback provided for one cohort may be utilised with future cohorts as part of, for example, the assessment briefing
For additional guidance (including ED workshops) see the T&L Website.

See external assessment resources on T&L website: https://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/teachlearn/guidanceresources/Pages/Assessmen t.aspx
Assessment Standards Knowledge Exchange (ASKe) http://www.brookes.ac.uk/aske
Particularly useful for the 1, 2, 3 Leaflets on topics such as:

Assessment - doing better!

Feedback - Make it work for you!

Improve your students' performance in 90 minutes!

Reduce the risk of Plagiarism in just 30 minutes!

How to make your feedback work in three easy steps!

Using generic feedback effectively

Making peer feedback work in three easy steps!
UCL Centre for Advancement of L&T http://www.ucl.ac.uk/calt/support/cpd4he/resources/assessment/
A site offering access to a range of OER on assessment including:

Assessment for Learning I - a glance - view online - download PDF | PPT

Assessment for Learning I Explanation - a glance - view online - download PDF |
ODT | RTF

Diagnostic Quiz - a glance - view online - download PDF | ODT | RTF

Diagnostic Quiz Key and Comments - a glance - view online - download PDF | ODT |
RTF

Diversifying Assessment - a glance - view online - download PDF | DOC

Assessing student learning in diverse ways: Portfolios - a glance - view online - download PDF | PPT

Portfolio Assessment Tasks - a glance - view online - download PDF | DOC

Dialogic Feedback - a glance - view online - download PDF | DOC

Feedback to Students - a glance - view online - download PDF | PPT

Self- and Peer Assessment - a glance - view online - download PDF | DOC
JISC Guide to using technology in feed-forward and feedback
Available via the T&L website see https://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/ouruniversity/teachlearn/guidanceresources/Pages/Assessmen t.aspx
Adding support skills for European teachers (ASSET) http://www.assetproject.info/index.html
D esigned as part of the EU’s Socrates Grundtvig programme for adult education teachers but has some generic useful information and guidance
Bloxham, S., and Boyd, P. (2007). Developing Effective Assessment in Higher Education: A
Practical Guide . Maidenhead: OUP