Teacher feedback literacy, designing learning environments & prospects for change

1. Teacher feedback literacy,
designing learning
environments & prospects for
change
@CarlessDavid #FLEPP21
Feedback literacy symposium,
University of Surrey, Jan 12-13, 2021
The University of Hong Kong

2. Overview
1. Feedback principles & practice
2. Teacher feedback literacy
3. Recent interview data
4. Discordances & prospects for change
5. Future directions
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3. THREE KEY CONCEPTUAL
PAPERS
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4. The University of Hong Kong

5. Beyond Feedback
Students cannot convert feedback
statements into actions for improvement
without sufficient working knowledge of
some fundamental concepts
Task compliance
Quality
Criteria
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6. The University of Hong Kong

7. Feedback as design
Reposition feedback as part of curriculum
design (p. 699)
If there is no discernable effect, then feedback
has not occurred (p. 702)
… shifts from the provision of feedback to the
design of learning environments (p. 710)
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8. The University of Hong Kong

9. Learning from comparisons
Productive learning occurs through learners
comparing own work with multiple other
attempts at a similar task (Nicol, 2020)
Focus feedback literacy more on internal
feedback than on processing feedback from
others (p. 17)
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10. THREE KEY PEER FEEDBACK
DESIGNS
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11. The University of Hong Kong

12. Student peer review
Y1 Engineering design: 82 students
Assignment: product design
Two reviews composed & received
Self-review
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13. Learners as feedback producers
Composing PF engages learners in:
-Critical thinking
-Applying criteria
-Reflection
-Learning transfer
(Nicol et al., 2014)
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14. Noticing new ways of doing
Receiving feedback mainly addresses what
is there, seeing others’ work reveals what
has not been considered
(Nicol et al., 2014, p.113).
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15. The University of Hong Kong

16. Sustained & cumulative
Undergraduate ecology programme
50 students
Student peer review embedded within the 3
year program
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17. Peer review + response
Research proposal assessment task
Anonymous peer review (two staff & two
students)
Revise and respond (rebut) addressing the
four peer reviews
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18. The University of Hong Kong

19. Research context
3 SPOCs & 3 MOOCs
Questionnaire completed by 108 students
Interviews with SPOC participants
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20. Audio peer feedback
Feeling personally committed
Understanding own learning processes
Comparing own work with that of peers
(Filius et al., 2019)
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21. Implementing peer feedback
• Scaffolding & coaching
• Selling benefits
• Modelling
• Multiple reviews e.g. trios
• Leveraging comparisons
• Opportunities for dialogue then revision
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22. TEACHER FEEDBACK
LITERACY
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23. Defining teacher feedback literacy
“Knowledge, expertise & dispositions to
design feedback processes in ways which
enable student uptake of feedback”
(Carless & Winstone, 2020, p. 4)
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24. (Carless & Winstone, 2020)

25. Work in progress
Interviews with teachers acknowledged for
their feedback practices
Science, Law, Accounting, Education,
Engineering, Medicine
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26. Interview protocol
Feedback practices;
Student response;
Effective feedback;
Teacher capacities for feedback;
Meaning of feedback.
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27. Coding frequency
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28. Kennedy Kam-Ho Chan, HKU
The University of Hong Kong
Peer
Design
Personalized
He got pzazz

29. Kennedy’s view of feedback
“Feedback is a process of students thinking
about their work, and their strategy of
learning.
It can be short-term or for lifelong learning,
and it can involve different people: teachers,
peers, themselves.”
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30. Design & scaffold
“Teachers need to design & scaffold the
learning environment to maximize
opportunities for students to learn from
feedback” (Kennedy)
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31. Central role of students
“Students need to be taught how to give
feedback and also how to act on feedback.
Learning from feedback can only be done by
the students.”
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32. Design example
Draft assignment

Student self-evaluation

Written peer feedback

Brainstorm & negotiate criteria

Oral peer feedback

Develop action plan

Revise assignment
(Winstone & Carless, 2019, chapter 7)
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33. DISCUSSION
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34. Feedback as contested term
“There is more than one idea of feedback
struggling for wider acceptance” (Boud &
Molloy, 2013, p. 700)
Needs of learning vs capacities of the
teacher
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35. Feedback as interaction
“Feedback is an interaction between
teachers and students” (Science)
“Feedback is bi-directional: a question
prompts a response” (Engineering)
“Feedback is an interaction between a
teacher and a student to help the student
learn and change” (Law)
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36. Feedback as advising
“… helping students with friendly
observations and advice” (Medicine)
“… both an evaluation of student
performance and acting as a consultant to
give them a feasible plan to take action”
(Accounting)
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37. Nietzsche
“It is only that which has no history, which
can be defined” (Second Essay, Section 13)
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38. What does ‘feedback’ mean?
Comments about how well or badly someone is
doing something, which are intended to help
them do it better (Macmillan)
Since 1955
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39. Specialist definition of feedback
Processes through which learners generate
performance-relevant information and use it
to enhance their work or learning strategies
(After Boud & Molloy, 2013; Carless, 2015;
Henderson et al. 2019; & influenced by
Nicol, 2020)
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40. ‘Small’ teacher change
Sparking positive change
through small but powerful
adjustments
e.g. feedback requests
(Winstone & Carless 2019
chapter 6)
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41. Feedback & doctoral education
One-to-one personalized comments
And/or
Learning through comparing work-in-
progress with that of others
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42. Concluding questions
How to package our messages to connect
more widely?
What small changes could make a real
difference?
Is there a ‘behavioral change dimension’ to
teacher feedback literacy?
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43. References
Boud, D. & Molloy, E. (2013). Rethinking models of feedback for learning: The challenge
of design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(6), 698-712.
Carless, D. (2015). Excellence in University Assessment. London: Routledge.
Carless, D. (2020). From teacher transmission of information to student feedback
literacy: Activating the learner role in feedback processes. Active Learning in Higher
Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787420945845
Carless, D. & Boud, D. (2018). The development of student feedback literacy: Enabling
uptake of feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education,
https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354.
Carless, D. & N. Winstone (2020). Teacher feedback literacy and its interplay with
student feedback literacy, Teaching in Higher Education.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1782372
Dawson, P. et al. (2019). What makes for effective feedback: staff and student
perspectives. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(1), 25-36.
Filius, R., de Kleijn, R., Uijl, S., Prins, F., van Rijen, H., & Grobbee, D. (2019). Audio peer
feedback to promote deep learning in online education. Journal of Computer Assisted
Learning. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcal.12363
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44. References (continued)
Harland, T., Wald, N., & Randhawa, H. (2017). Student peer review: Enhancing formative feedback
with a rebuttal. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(5), 801-811.
Henderson, M., Ajjawi, R., Boud, D., & Molloy, E. (2019). Identifying feedback that has impact.
In M. Henderson, R. Ajjawi, D. Boud, & E. Molloy (Eds.), The impact of feedback in higher
education (pp.15-34). London: Palgrave.
Lang, J. (2016). Small teaching: Everyday lessons from the science of learning. San Francisco:
Jossey Bass
Nash, R., & Winstone, N. (2017). Responsibility-sharing in the giving and receiving of
assessment feedback. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1519. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01519
Nicol, D. (2020) The power of internal feedback: Exploiting natural comparison processes.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1823314
Nicol, D., Thomson, A., & Breslin, C. (2014). Rethinking feedback practices in higher education:
A peer review perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(1), 102-122.
Sadler, D. R. (2010). Beyond feedback: developing student capability in complex appraisal.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 35(5), 535–550.
Winstone, N. & Carless, D. (2019). Designing effective feedback processes in higher
education: A learning-focused approach. London: Routledge.
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45. QUESTIONS
&
COMMENTS
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46. Sadler (2010)
Making numerous and purposeful peer
assessments is the crucible within which
[task compliance, quality & criteria] can react
and interact (p. 546)
It challenges the view that feedback from the
teacher should be the automatic choice as
primary agent for improving learning (p. 547)
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47. Boud & Molloy (2013)
Feedback is repositioned as a fundamental part
of curriculum design, not an episodic
mechanism delivered by teachers to learners
(p. 699)
There needs to be an overlap of tasks for
feedback to occur (p. 702)
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48. Nicol (2020)
Power of internal feedback: new knowledge
that students generate by comparing
current competence against reference
information
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49. Mind the gap
The literature has moved forward in how it
understands feedback – but not clear those
involved in feedback have been brought
along with it (Dawson et al. 2019)
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50. Paradigm shift
From teachers delivering comments
To what learners do: feedback requests;
self-generated feedback; taking action.
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51. Comments  action
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Teachers produce comments
Focus on delivery
Students produce comments
Focus on uptake
(Carless, 2015; Winstone & Carless, 2019)

52. The University of Hong Kong

53. Design capacities
Designing task sequences for uptake
Promoting peer feedback
Deploy technology to facilitate interaction
(Carless & Winstone, 2020)
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54. Relational capacities
Clarify purposes and processes
Evidence supportiveness / approachability
Show commitment to help students
(Carless & Winstone, 2020)
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55. Pragmatic capacities
Navigate different functions of feedback
Balance teacher-provided vs. student-
generated feedback
Manage compromises in workload, staff &
student satisfaction
(Carless & Winstone, 2020)
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56. The University of Hong Kong