Learning and Teaching Committee

 

Subject:        Module Specifications

 

Origin:           Programme Development and Quality Team

Action required

 

Learning and Teaching Committee is asked to approve the addition of a ‘Method of Feedback’ field to the University template for module specifications.

 

Background

 

This proposal has arisen primarily from discussions over the past year on the results of the National Student Survey.  The ‘assessment and feedback’ section was for Loughborough the lowest scoring set of questions in the survey in both 2005 and 2006.  Within this set of questions, there are two questions on assessment and three on feedback.  The feedback questions received lower scores than those on assessment in most of our subject areas.

 

The group chaired by the PVC(T) which has been looking at the University’s NSS data and the PDQ Team have both concluded that further action is required to improve this aspect of students’ learning experience.

 

In the course of these discussions, Vice President of the Students’ Union, Karen Roxborough, has been keen to emphasise that students are looking for constructive feedback that will provide some guidance on how to improve their performance; it is not only students in danger of failing who want this information.  Feedback sheets are not always very helpful or informative especially if textual comments are limited: it is important that the criteria behind grades and marks and other ‘shorthand’ used in the feedback sheets are fully explained to students in advance.

 

It has been noted that the revised version of Section 6 of the QAA Code of Practice on the Assessment of Students now includes the following precepts:

           

            ‘3.  Institutions encourage assessment practice that promotes effective learning’.

 

‘9.  Institutions provide appropriate and timely feedback to students on assessed work in a way that promotes learning and facilitates improvement, but does not increase the burden of assessment

 

It has also been noted that some other HEIs include information on feedback in their programme specifications. 

 

There are several paragraphs in the current Coursework Code of Practice dealing with feedback but these are couched in fairly general terms.

 

All these factors have led to the conclusion that there should be a requirement to include information about formative feedback to students in module specifications.

 

Curriculum Sub-Committee is supportive.  At its last meeting, the Sub-Committee  considered a revised module specification, drawn up as part of the development of the new LUSI student information system.  In view of the importance to students of feedback on assessment performance and the considered value in identifying other ways in which feedback is provided to students (eg tutorials), it has proposed that a new free-text section entitled ‘Method of Feedback’ should be included in the LUSI module specification, between the ‘Method of Learning and Teaching’ and the ‘Method of Assessment’ sections.  The use of free-text format is considered the most appropriate because the prime purpose is to provide information for students.  It is also the hope that staff completing the module specification will be encouraged to think about the type of feedback they are giving and whether it is the most effective.