This study explores the experiences of five distance learners at a UK university who needed support to resubmit their final assignment following a fail result. Having received written feedback on the submission, we asked how this could be best delivered to inform and motivate a successful resubmission. Written feedback alone was found to be…

Where traditional learning and assessment approaches have previously been found to negatively impact on student well-being, the COVID-19 pandemic provided a novel opportunity to explore alternative online learning and assessment conditions conducive to student well-being and academic performance as part of a whole university strategy. To this end,…

The Research Excellence Framework is a high-stakes exercise used by the UK government to allocate billions of pounds of quality-related research (QR) funding and used by the media to rank universities and their departments in national league tables. The 2008, 2014 and 2021 assessments were zero-sum games in terms of league table position because…

National student surveys reveal that feedback is an aspect of the education experience with which students are less satisfied. One method to increase student engagement with their written feedback and to improve feedback literacy is promotion of critical self-reflection on the feedback content. We describe two interventions aimed at improving…

The pandemic forced many education providers to pivot rapidly their models of education to increased online provision, raising concerns that this may accentuate effects of digital poverty on education. Digital footprints created by learning analytics systems contain a wealth of information about student engagement. Combining these data with…

Conceptualising feedback as dialogue places even greater importance on successful interpretation of the message as a crucial step leading to the uptake of feedback. This interpretation is not always straightforward as it takes place through a cultural and linguistic lens that international students bring to feedback conversations. This research…

Assessment and feedback are common sources of student dissatisfaction within higher education, and employers have shown dissatisfaction with graduates' communication skills. Authentic assessment, containing 'real-world' context and student collaboration, provides a means to address both issues simultaneously. We discuss how we used authentic…

Feedback can have one of the biggest positive influences on higher education learners. Despite this, teachers and students consistently report being dissatisfied with feedback. In response, there has been a theoretical shift in how feedback is conceptualised and discussed within the research literature. Older transmission-focused models have…

Increasingly, attention is being turned toward the actions of students in relation to feedback. This paper presents the outcomes of a questionnaire study researching what undergraduate and postgraduate architecture students perceive as the purpose of feedback, how they use feedback on their coursework, and what makes them more likely to act on it.…

Universities are under increasing pressure to equip graduates with a broader set of competencies, such as communication, teamwork and leadership skills, that go beyond subject-specific knowledge. This, alongside growing student numbers in higher education, creates pedagogic challenges, especially with regards to assessment design. Conventional…

Although student feedback literacy has drawn increasing attention in higher education, how it is adapted in second language (L2) disciplinary writing discourse is still under-researched. Situated within an MA TESOL programme at a UK university, this paper reports on exploratory qualitative research into the components of student feedback literacy…

The analysis of exemplars of different quality is a potentially powerful tool in enabling students to understand assessment expectations and appreciate academic standards. Through a systematic review methodology, this paper synthesises exemplar-based research designs, exemplar implementation and the educational effects of exemplars. The review of…

Student frustration with the level and content of feedback is well-noted, especially in relation to new or unfamiliar assessment types. At the same time, students are often unlikely to engage with marking and feedback processes, including the use of rubrics or marking criteria before submission. The aim of this project was to build students'…

The higher education sector is under increasing pressure to deliver more and to evidence the fruits of its contribution to society. There is a particular focus on the enhanced engagement of students in order to maximise success, and for this engagement to be achieved equitably across the student body, regardless of demographic backgrounds. This…

Without teacher and student feedback literacy, it is difficult for feedback processes to fulfil their potential. Feedback literacy development within the arts or humanities is, however, under-researched. The current study fills this gap by illustrating how educators in the performative creative arts designed signature feedback practices to…