Importance of Theme “Getting Feedback Back by the Three Week Deadline”
The theme “feedback is returned by the three week deadline” is incredibly important as it ensures students’ educational development and encourages students to reflect on their progress. In addition through providing feedback, students and staff begin a dialogue on the students’ academic performance.
Dr Phil Race, Addressing Student Satisfaction – adopted from material published in Making Teaching Work by Phil Race and Ruth Pickford, London: Sage, 2007).
How to ensure that feedback is returned by the three week deadline ?
- Give students feedback at the point of them submitting their work for assessment, even before you have started to mark their work.
- Make sure students know they are getting feedback. We may know that we are giving them feedback, but it is useful to actually say so to them at the time.
- Reduce the size of the pieces of work you will mark, for example by setting tight word limits on assignments. Rather than saddle yourself with a pile of 3000 word essays or reports to mark, consider having 300 word critical arguments or “interpretations”.
The theme is also significant in relation to the National Student Survey and the Higher Education Academy Fellowship.
National Student Survey
The theme has been taken from the National Student Survey question “feedback on my work has been prompt” under the category Assessment and Feedback.
In the recent 2014 NSS results 66% of students at Swansea University agreed that “feedback on my work has been prompt”.
Higher Education Academy
The theme is also important in regards to the United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) as “feedback has been returned by the three week deadline” contributes to Areas of Activity A3 assess and give feedback to learners.
For more information on the UKPSF follow the link https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/professional-recognition/uk-professional-standards-framework-ukpsf
