Yes, as CeCe Peniston sang: ‘I just cannot hide it’…for now, this is the final blog in our blog series of ‘Feedback Fundamentals’.
Hopefully if you’re a regular reader you’ve found we’ve covered some key areas and thanks for your time and contributions along the way!
In this short blog I’ll cover some of the blogs that weren’t. Or might yet be…
Blog #8
This blog was due to be called ‘Feedback: what does the literature tell us?’
In this blog we were due to explore some of the insights and messages from literature with ‘feedback’.
‘Happy feedback is all alike; every unhappy feedback is unhappy in its own way.’
or
‘Two stage-exams, both alike in dignity,
In fair Temple Quarter, where we lay our scene,’
Blog #27
This blog was due to consider some of the ways in which feedback fundamentals might be shaped by AI. Lots of discussion has centred on assessment through AI approaches, but there’s been less of an uptick on the feedback side (maybe an interesting reflection on the positioning of these two within the discourse). One example which caught my eye was the work on ‘feedback augmentation’ from Queen’s University Belfast. In a recent presentation, Professor Judy Williams and Beth Elder discussed a research project which saw human expert providing formative feedback, which was then fed into an AI with further descriptive prompts.
The reporting measures indicated students’ perceptions of the quality of feedback improved. There’s no doubt a host of things to consider around this and other emerging approaches. Blogs #28 and #29 started some of these discussions in response to all the comments on this particular blog.
Blog #64
In this blog, the plan was to explore representations of feedback fundamentals through some of the renowned artistic representations of feedback.
Not many people are aware that Henri Rousseau’s ‘Surprise’ (1891) is also considered to be a depiction of the challenges of integrating TB1 exam feedback with coursework based assessment in TB2.
Similarly, there is often thought that Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life is an examination of ‘representation and infinity’, but is also cited as an example of aspirations for creating effective tone in feedback from MCQs.
Blog #125
The new language of assessment? A lot has been said about feedback and assessment already. As Ludwig Wittgenstein almost remarked, ‘“The limits of my language mean the limits of my feedback.” With this in mind, Blog #125 explored the view of a new lexicon around assessment and feedback. From feedback has sprung feedforward. How about planting some new ideas with seedback? Or even seedforward. Other new coinages could include commeants (really explanatory comments) as well as a feature at the end of the academic year – summery marking (feedback designed to give insight into how to improve in the following year’s units).
Blog #216
The premise of this blog was ways in which to conceptualise some of the experiences of feedback using game theory.
And by game theory, I mean:
- Rock = summative assessment?
- Paper = formative assessment?
- Scissors = low engagement?
Other highlights included ‘pass-the-(feedback)parcel’ and ‘capstone hopscotch’.
Blog #343 and Blog #512 were formative blogs which led up to a summative Blog #729, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to have time to do those, so it might have just been Blog #729.
Many of these blogs will need time to ‘incubate’, but what would be my main reflections after spending some serious time reading and reflecting on feedback?
- Feedback is integral to students’ experiences at university. If it *isn’t*, then it is definitely a starting point for some other, bigger conversations and reflections.
- Feedback is deeply connected with relationships.
- Efforts to improve feedback can be challenging and complex; like many such problems, collaboration is a powerful approach for addressing this.
There are lots of colleagues and resources at the Bristol Institute of Learning and Teaching with both interest and expertise in this area. At the time of writing (April 2024), the Fast-Track Feedback initiative have facilitated a number of workshops and debriefs. It has been a great opportunity to have further conversations and insights into staff and students’ experiences of feedback in their programme. Hopefully we can share some insights in due course.
For now though, may the feedback journey continue…
