July 17, 2018

As a community of impactful professionals we are each thinking about how to best direct our efforts to secure results for our students and our communities.

In this series of bulletins, we are drawing on Subject Experience Survey questions to inspire the topic for the week. We will be looking at teaching strategies to maximise positive student responses and also to maximise the response rate. The national QILT 2017 Student Experience Survey report highlights the importance of these areas.

This week’s focus comes from
Question 12: I received timely feedback on my assessment tasks in this subject; and

Question 13: Feedback I received throughout this subject helped me to learn effectively.

There is a growing body of work examining the features of ‘Dialogic Feedback’ (Ajjawi & Boud, 2018). In Issue#6 of Teaching Tuesdays, we featured twelve conditions for feedback success, recommendations developed from the project Feedback for Learning: Closing the assessment loop.

Item 2 on the list is Learners are active in the feedback process.

QUOTE: By the time learners complete their studies, they should have developed strategies to evaluate their own performance, as well as being able to engage in feedback processes independently. It is critical that educators foster this independence by assisting learners in understanding feedback processes, including how to seek, generate, and use feedback comments themselves. Educators could consider giving learners opportunities to judge their own work along with others, and encourage them to talk with their peers about the quality of their work.

At the recent Assessment in Higher Education Conference, one of the key feedback themes was Dialogic Feedback. The program and full list of abstracts can be accessed online here.

Reference

Ajjawi, R., & Boud, D., (2018). Examining the nature and effects of feedback dialogue. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. doi: 10.1080/02602938.2018.1434128

Steen-Utheim, A. & Wittek, A. L. (2017). Dialogic feedback and potentialities for student learning. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 15: 18-30. doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2017.06.002. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210656116302033

The paper by Steen-Utheim & Wittek (2017) includes a literature review of foundational and current literature on feedback in higher education, including dialogue and dialogic feedback. For their study they drew four quality dialogic dimensions from the literature as an analytical framework for an empirical study of oral feedback dialogues. From this they have proposed a model for dialogic feedback for student learning.

The four quality dialogic dimensions for student learning that were proposed as the basis for their model were:

1. Emotional and relational support
   
2. Maintenance of dialogue
   
3. Students’ opportunities to express themselves
   
4. The others’ contributions to individual growth.
   

Dialogic feedback is a developing field in which such models can help to conceptualise methods for learners to "engage in feedback processes independently."

Reference

Steen-Utheim, A. & Wittek, A. L. (2017). Dialogic feedback and potentialities for student learning. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 15: 18-30. doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2017.06.002. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210656116302033

This week's feature is drawn from the Transforming Assessment webinar that was held on 11 July, 2018.

Feedback was the theme of this year’s Assessment in Higher Education Conference held at the end of June 2018 in Manchester UK. A panel of presenters from the conference delivered the Transforming Assessment webinar.

Key points for you to ponder from the introduction by Prof Sally Jordan who presented highlights from the keynote speaker, Prof David Carless (HK):

• “Feedback is defined as a process through which learners make sense of information from various sources and use it to enhance their work or learning strategies” … (Carless & Boud, 2018)
  
• Feedback doesn’t become feedback until it’s acted on by learners. Avoid thinking that feedback is something that we give to students rather than the other way around.
• Feedback at the end of a learning program is not so useful, rather it is helpful during learning.

• “Provocative feedback” – where’s the pzazz? Feedback that makes you really think about what you have done.
  

These points were revisited by the panel members at the end of the session.

Frequent rapid feedback, feed-forward, and peer learning for enhancing student engagement in an online portfolio assessment.

by Theresa Nicholson, Manchester Metropolitan University:

Theresa presented the results of the study in which students in a first year, core academic skills module started compulsory online WordPress portfolios. Through the vehicle of regular written feedback from tutors, the aim of the study was to encourage timely progress for students. After discussing the wider benefits and challenges experienced in the study, the conclusions were that:
Online portfolios facilitated

• Progress monitoring, with both students and tutors being better informed

• Improved engagement by students
• Timely progression
• Higher attainment
• Student reflection and self-evaluation
• Better grasp of standards required
• Moving towards increasing dialogue and learner agency
  

Video assessment of clinical skills.

By Dr Mark Glynn, Dublin City University, @glynnmark
The team in this project investigated methods to address assessment challenges in large cohort first-year nursing subjects that have a number of clinical skills that have to be assessed on an individual basis.

The method chosen was for one student to take a video of another student performing the required skill and then uploading the video to the lecturer for assessment. The outcome of this study for students was increased engagement and reduced assessment anxiety. For the lecturer, the marking time was reduced by up to 90%.
Some other benefits for students included:

• Allowed on the spot peer review

• Allowed student reviewer to learn from fellow student
• So became Assessment – of, for, as learning
  
• Students repeated tasks as often as necessary, and had reduced anxiety performing for peers, rather than lecturer
• Career development – videos could be integrated into e-portfolios

Some other benefits for lecturers included:

• Video review and a bank of frequently used comments improved consistency of feedback
• Feedback became more of a dialogue
• Feedback could refer to specific point in video
• Video was available for disputed results
• More efficient use of time and the ability to take a break when fatigued which was less possible when doing 'live' assessments
  

Finally, an unexpected benefit was that students began to use the peer videos as a learning technique outside of assessment as they were learning new skills.

Feedback Footprints: Using learning analytics to support student engagement with, and learning from, feedback.

By Dr Naomi Winstone & Dr Emma Medland, Surrey Assessment & Learning Lab

QUOTE: Feedback has the potential to be one of the strongest influences on student learning.

In this Digital Footprints project, a student-facing analytics dashboard was developed to allow student self-regulation of feedback in a model similar to popular health and fitness dashboards.

- FEATS – https://tinyurl.com/FEATSportfolio (Feedback, Engagement & Tracking) was developed in consultation with students and comprised:

• Feedback review and synthesis tool – Allows student self-regulation
• Resource bank – for students to access to develop based on feedback of needs
• Action planning tool

Some results:

• High level of engagement – partnership approach with students
• High cognisance by students of the importance of engaging with feedback
• Student empowerment
• Strong partnerships

This was a very interesting talk and it is well worth viewing the webinar for a fuller understanding of this project and its outcomes.

Concluding remarks from the presenters

- Feedback is a dialogue

- Let students know about the dialogic process of peer review in publishing papers

- Feedback process is not as effective when there is teacher dependency – need to increase student agency

- Affordances of technology – need to make sure that technology use does not replicate a transmission approach to feedback but using audio or video, instead look at the feedback dialogue approach - don’t use technology because it’s there, but because it does something useful for learning and teaching.

Key references available from CSU library

Carless, D. & Boud, D. (2018), The development of student feedback literacy enabling uptake of feedback, Assessment in Higher Education DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354

See below for information about next month's Transforming Assessment webinar.

Monday 20 Minute Mentor ****ENDS ON AUGUST 12****

Do you have 20 minutes per week to learn new teaching tips?

You have a short window of opportunity to access this resource.

CSU has an 8-week institutional subscription to the Monday Morning Mentor Summer (USA) Edition that expires on August 12. You can listen to the presentation and download the accompanying resources up to that time.

For the unique weekly passwords

CSU staff, please contact Ellen McIntyre: elmcintyre@csu.edu.au

or

Watch for weekly announcements on YAMMER and WHAT'S NEW .

Quote from a CSU Academic on Yammer: “These are good."

Email feedback: “It was easy to listen to, non-sensational and credible. I love the fact that the short session can be ingested at any time of the day.”

Topics so far in 20-Minute Mentors:

How Can Improving Student Feedback Improve the Quality of Each Educational Encounter? This is about feedback from students and teaching responses, e.g. Subject Experience Survey.

How Do I Get Students to Come to Class Prepared?

What are the Secrets to Making Highly Effective Educational Videos?

What is Essential in a Grading Policy?

How Do I Release My Students' Natural Zest and Curiosity for Better Learning?

How Can I Use Simple Gamification Strategies to Engage my Students?

How Can I Move My Teaching Forward at Midcareer?

How Do I Set Students up for Success in Online Courses?

How Can I Inspire Creative Confidence in the Classroom?

Every week for eight weeks we will receive a new topic,

"presented by respected academic peers, cover timely and relevant topics in only 20 minutes—long enough to provide actionable insights, but short enough to fit anyone’s schedule."

Follow Teaching Tuesdays on Twitter.
Our Twitter feed includes links to further hints, tips and resources in the broader field of teaching in higher education. https://twitter.com/TeachingTuesday



Link to: Folder with all previous issues of Teaching Tuesdays

Professional Development opportunity for all.

Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching

is an open access COURSE for the Australian Higher Education Sector.

This teaching induction course provides key introductory learning and teaching concepts and strategies for those who are in their first few years of university teaching. The self-paced course is comprised of 11expert-developed modules, and several specialty modules and resources.
Follow this link for more information: Contemporary Approaches to University Teaching

NOTE: Completion of this course will provide some credit and a pathway into the CSU Grad. Cert. in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education (GCLTHE). It can provide a basis for commencing preparation for Associate Fellowship (HEA).

You have access to a range of quality CSU resources to help you incorporate educational resources and techniques into your teaching. Check out the following:

• Teaching at CSU - the Division of Learning and Teaching website with links to resources for Teaching Staff, Online Learning, Assessment, Curriculum, Indigenous Curriculum, Workplace Learning, Technologies, Feedback and Analytics, and Learning Spaces.
  
• Resources for Learning and Teaching Academic and Professional Staff - searchable CSU database
  
• Learning Technologies - the starting point for a range of learning design options
• CSU Learning Exchange: Technologies in Context - a searchable database to promote online learning and teaching strategies
• The CSU wiki - a faculty-based source of learning and teaching information and strategies

Regular seminars on teaching-related topics are listed on the

CSU Professional Learning Calendar - accessed directly here

or from the Division of Learning and Teaching front page - accessed here

CSU Professional Learning Calendar:

Writing Exam Questions. Adobe Connect sessions 18 & 19 July 2018 at 1:00 pm.

OR

Drop In - Sessional Staff. Watch the calendar for the timing of these weekly online sessions.

This week - Adobe Connect session 20 July 2018 at 11:00 am

All CSU students and staff members have access to Lynda.com, an online subscription library that teaches the latest business, creative and software skills through high-quality instructional videos.

A search for 'feedback' with a filter for Higher Education returned 549 results. Resources range from general teaching tips, to keynote lectures, to the specifics of various tools and applications for employing educational resources and techniques.

For example,

Types of feedback (4m 02s) video as part of the broader topic of Gamification of Learning.

Give effective feedback to students (4m 13s) video as part of the broader topic of Teaching Complex Topics.

The next Transforming Assessment webinar session to be held on
1 August 2018, will be on the topic of

Unlocking the code to digital literacy - implications for learning and assessment.

Associate Professor Jo Coldwell-Neilson (Deakin University, Australia) will present an updated understanding of digital literacy. She will discuss a framework to scaffold and contextualise digital literacy learning through the curriculum and inform assessment practices to ensure our graduates are prepared for a digitally enhanced workplace.

This work formed part of an OLT National fellowship: "Unlocking the code to digital literacy".

Information on this and future events, archived recordings of past sessions, and links to resources can be found on the website at transformingassessment.com.

Register for free at http://transformingassessment.com

Highly recommended!

All staff with a CSU email address have free access to our annual

CSU subscription to the Magna Commons series of online seminars

Presentation handouts, full transcripts and supplementary resources are available for download if you don't have time to listen to the seminar.

How to subscribe

Staff with a CSU email address can obtain the Magna Commons CSU subscription code from Ellen McIntyre elmcintyre@csu.edu.au

Magna Commons suggests seminars to watch in the coming month:

Whether focused on creating a diverse student body or a diverse curriculum, increasing student and faculty diversity calls for collaboration across campus. The Magna Commons July focus was on development in multiple forms. Below are some seminars related to DEVELOPMENT:

• Building a Tougher Student: Applying the Research on Intellectual Development
• How to Create a Successful Graduate Teaching Assistant Training and Development Program
  
• The Role of the Strategic Plan in Building Faculty Development Programs

The Division of Learning and Teaching (DLT) will soon commence active mentoring and support of the 2018 cohort of Advance Higher Education Fellowship applications (formerly Higher Education Academy Fellowship).

DLT is proud to announce that it has entered into Access Membership with the Higher Education Academy which significantly reduces the application fee for CSU staff members wishing to receive international recognition of their Learning and Teaching achievements. Since 2015, 27 CSU staff have been awarded prestigious Advance HE Fellowships.

We support CSU Fellowship applications through active mentorship provided by experienced Advance HE Fellows, workshops encompassing application processes and the provision of detailed feedback, and ongoing administrative support.

For further details on the benefits of Access Membership for Advance HE Fellowship applicants please visit our website.

Please contact Matthew Larnach, mlarnach@csu.edu.au, from DLT before August 3rd if you are interested in applying for an Advance HE Fellowship in 2018.

Suggest topics that you would like for Teaching Tuesdays; or
Share your own teaching tips article.

Click on the Green Contact Ellen McIntyre button (below, or at the top of the bulletin) to offer your suggestions.

Folder with all previous issues.

Issue#1 Group Work; Issue#2 Engagement; Issue#3 Engagement;

Issue#4 Academic Integrity; Issue#5 Feedback; Issue#6 Feedback;

Issue#7 Active Engagement; Issue#8 Building on Prior Learning;

Issue#9 Student Diversity;

Issue#10 Learning Outcomes; Issue#11 Deep Learning;

Issue#12 The Teaching-Research Nexus;

Issue#13 Improving Student Learning; Issue#14 Planning for Effective Student Learning; Issue#15 Feedback for Teaching; Issue#16 Gamification;
Issue#17 Activities for Effective Learning

FoBJBS Newsletter: BOLD Issue#16

FoA&E Newsletter: NeXus Issue#4

Email: elmcintyre@csu.edu.au
Website: https://www.csu.edu.au/division/learning-and-teaching/about-us/learning-academy
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