Developing Writing in STEM Disciplines > Special Interest Group 'Writing and Communicating in STEM Disciplines' > Workshop 24th January 2013: Providing students with effective feedback and empowering students’ peer assessment

Special Interest Group 'Writing and Communicating in STEM Disciplines' > Workshop 24th January 2013: Providing students with effective feedback and empowering students’ peer assessment

The workshop took place on Thursday 24th January 2013, 10.00 – 16.00, at the University of Bath.

The workshop facilitators were Paul Orsmond, Senior Lecturer in Biology at Staffordshire University and Teresa McConlogue, Senior Teaching Fellow at University College London’s Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT). Trevor Day, a writing consultant to the University of Bath, hosted the event.

In icy, snowy conditions 22 delegates attended from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Germany. They included STEM specialists, writing specialists, librarians and learning developers. Feedback on the value of the workshop has been extremely positive.

Trevor Day's introduction considered the nature of feedback – as two-way processes between students and staff, and between students – and posed questions about the nature, value and practicalities of giving feedback and supporting students' peer assessment.

Introduction to the day

Trevor Day's presentation

Teresa McConlogue’s workshop was Developing undergraduate STEM students’ assessment literacy

The workshop aimed to:

• Explore ideas in the research literature around developing assessment literacy

• Examine examples of a range of student assignments

• Plan ways of helping students to develop assessment literacy

Teresa McConlogue's workshop activity was based on considering the strengths and weaknesses of three students' work from the STEM WISHEES Project at Queen Mary, University of London. The examples were taken from an ethnomethodological study in Computer Science.

Teresa McConlogue's presentation

Teresa McConlogue's background text to the workshop activity

Notes from discussion during Teresa McConlogue's workshop

Background reading for this workshop was David Nicol's (2010) review of four papers on assessment and feedback.

Background reading for Teresa McConlogue's workshop

The papers referred to in David Nicol’s review are (1, 3 and 4 available through your institution’s library):

Sadler, D.R. (2010). Beyond feedback: developing student capability in complex appraisal. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, Volume 35, Issue 5, August 2010, pages 535-550
Orsmond, P. and Merry, S. (2009). Processing tutor feedback: a consideration of qualitative differences in learning outcomes for high and non-high achieving students. Paper presented at the Fostering Communities of Learners, 13th EARLI Conference, Amsterdam, 25-29 August 2009. [Available as a download – see below]
Chi, M. T. H., Roy, M. and Hausmann, R. G. M. (2008). Observing dialogues collaboratively: Insights about human tutoring effectiveness from vicarious learning. Cognitive Science, Volume 32, pages 301-341
Nicol, D. (2010). From monologue to dialogue: improving written feedback processes in mass higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, Volume 35, Issue 5, August 2010, pages 501-517

Orsmond, P. and Merry, S. (2009)

Paul Orsmond’s workshop was Learning and feedback: what is the link?

The intended learning outcomes were, by the end of the workshop, participants being better able to:

• Discuss feedback in terms of social learning,

• Evaluate the GOALS process as a framework for enhancing students' ability to interpret assignments and associated feedback.

A brief description of the GOALS process is given in Paul's downloadable mp3 file below.

Paul Orsmond's brief audio description of the GOALS process

Paul Orsmond's presentation

The focus of Paul Orsmond's GOALS activity was Kelly Redeker's case study at the University of York included in Paul Orsmond's HEA guide, Self- and Peer-Assessment: Guidance on Practice in the Biosciences.

Notes from discussion during Paul Orsmond's workshop

Thanks to all who contributed in their various ways to this stimulating event.