Engaging students with feedback through a formative assessment strategy
The Situation
At level 1 of BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy much assessment is practically orientated. This has resulted in students having difficulty in grasping the nuances of writing at level 1 and often being disappointed with their marks. It is also difficult to evaluate how much the students engage with the feedback that is provided to them summatively and if actually they then go onto to use the feedback to improve their standard of writing in level 2 assignments.
In 2006/7 6 out 37 students failed the skills assignment at first submission so it was identified as an area that would benefit from the implementation of a formal formative assessment strategy.
The Strategy
The skills assignment is traditionally 2 X 1000 word sections based on a case study scenario and the students have to justify treatment approaches to address the patient’s problems in their answers using research evidence and clinical reasoning. Students are provided with marking criteria to assist with their essay.
The formative strategy employed required the students to submit either of the two sections of the assignment as a draft approximately 5 weeks before the final submission date. Students were given feedback (not a mark) using the following proforma within 2-3 weeks. This gave the students a minimum of 2 weeks to use the feedback to change their assignment and to tell us how they had used their feedback.
Name of student: ------Section 1/Section 2 Delete as appropriateStrengths of the submitted section / Tutor comments
Areas to develop / Tutor comments: / Student comments: What did you do to address the areas suggested by the tutor? How did you incorporate the suggestions made by the tutor into your final submission? What do you think you have learned from the feedback you have received?
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2
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On submission of the final assignment students were required to complete the right hand box of the proforma and attach it and their draft as an appendix. 10% of the marks for the final assignment wereallocated to the students responses to feedback as on the proforma.
The Results
As a result of the strategy,the following year’s cohort of students, 2 out 40 students failed their assignment a decrease of 4. The marks gained for the section that was submitted for feedback were comparatively better than the section the students did not submit. It was hoped that the feedback for one section would have an effect on the quality of the un-submitted section but that does not seem to have been the case. The students varied in their responses to the feedback as detailed in their comments on the proforma but it was evident that many had used the feedback in a positive way to change their final piece of work.
It’s often said that this formal submission of drafts for feedback is time consuming but from a staff view commenting on the 1000 word drafts did not take long as many of the students made similar mistakes. The value of it for students vastly outweighs the extra effort required.