Feedback literacy for digital futures
David Carless
University of Hong Kong
@CarlessDavid
April 30, 2021
Auckland University of Technology
The University of Hong Kong
Overview
1. Feedback challenges & strategies
2. Digital feedback possibilities
3. Feedback literacy
4. Implications
The University of Hong Kong
PROBLEMS THAT FEEDBACK
LITERACY MIGHT ADDRESS
The University of Hong Kong
Feedback challenges
1. Timing of feedback
2. Difficulties in decoding feedback
3. Lack of strategies for using feedback
4. Feedback arouses emotional reactions
5. Too much feedback as telling
The University of Hong Kong
Teacher workload
“The generation of information to students
about their work is time-consuming. It
cannot be justified if there is no explicit
expectation that it will be used”. (Boud &
Molloy, 2013a, p. 206).
The University of Hong Kong
Feedback does double duty
Competing audiences & functions of teacher
comments:
- Justifying grade
- Offering advice
- Specific vs generic comments
- Quality assurance dimensions
(Winstone & Carless, in press)
The University of Hong Kong
Feedback designs
Shift from the provision of comments to the
design of learning environments
(Boud & Molloy, 2013b)
The University of Hong Kong
Paradigm shift
From teachers delivering comments
To what learners do: self-generated
feedback; using comments
The University of Hong Kong
Comments  uptake
The University of Hong Kong
Teachers produce comments
Focus on delivery
Students generate insights
Focus on uptake
(Carless, 2015; Winstone & Carless, 2019)
The University of Hong Kong
DISCOUNT CODE:
FLR40
DIGITAL FEEDBACK DESIGNS
The University of Hong Kong
Teacher role
Design learning environments for students
to generate feedback
The University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong
Audio peer feedback
Feeling personally committed
Understanding own learning processes
Comparing own work with that of peers
(Filius et al., 2019)
The University of Hong Kong
Learning by comparison
Peer feedback outcome: learners compare
own work with that of others & then revise
(Nicol, 2020; van Popta et al., 2017)
The University of Hong Kong
Peer video feedback
Peer-to-peer video feedback delivered via
Facebook
Hung (2016)
The University of Hong Kong
Audio/video feedback modes
Enable rapport &
nuance
You can talk faster than you can write
The University of Hong Kong
Teacher video feedback
Video feedback enables social presence
Allied with student response or follow-up
(Mahoney et al. 2019)
The University of Hong Kong
Screencasting
Digital recording of users’ screen combined
with voice narration e.g.
Screencasting & re-drafting on Google Docs
(Wood, 2020)
The University of Hong Kong
Feedback design
Assessment task 1
Assessment task 2
Assessment task 3
The University of Hong Kong
Emoticons & feedback
Embedding emoticons enhanced students’
perceptions of instructor social presence &
accessibility (Padgett et al., 2021)
The University of Hong Kong
Social media feedback
The University of Hong Kong
Thoughts so far …?
Sharing, questions, comments
The University of Hong Kong
THE ROLE OF FEEDBACK
LITERACY
The University of Hong Kong
Defining student feedback literacy
Understandings, capacities & dispositions
needed to use feedback for improvement
(Carless & Boud, 2018).
The University of Hong Kong
Student feedback literacy
The University of Hong Kong
Making
Judgments
Appreciating
Feedback
Managing
Affect
Taking Action
(Carless & Boud, 2018)
Defining teacher feedback literacy
“Knowledge, expertise & dispositions to
design feedback processes in ways which
enable student uptake of feedback”
(Carless & Winstone, 2020, p. 4)
The University of Hong Kong
(Carless & Winstone, 2020)
Feedback literacy competency framework
Macro – Program design & development
Meso – Unit design & implementation
Micro – Individual assignments
(Boud & Dawson, 2021)
The University of Hong Kong
Implications & future
directions
The University of Hong Kong
Disciplines & feedback
Disciplinary nature of feedback practices
(e.g. Esterhazy, 2018)
Signature feedback practices (Carless et al.,
2020)
Discipline-specific feedback literacies
(Winstone, Balloo & Carless, 2020)
The University of Hong Kong
Partnership
Students as partners meets feedback
research & practice
(Matthews et al., 2021)
The University of Hong Kong
Shared feedback literacy
Learning designs or program designs to
enable the mutual development of teacher &
student feedback literacy
The University of Hong Kong
References
Boud, D. & Dawson, P. (2021). What feedback literate teachers do: An empirically-derived competency framework. Assessment &
Evaluation in Higher Education
Boud, D. & Molloy, E. (2013a). Decision-making for feedback. In D. Boud & E. Molloy (Eds.), Feedback in Higher and Professional
Education. London: Routledge.
Boud, D. & Molloy, E. (2013b). Rethinking models of feedback for learning: The challenge of design. Assessment & Evaluation in
Higher Education, 38(6), 698-712.
Carless, D. (2015). Excellence in University Assessment. London: Routledge.
Carless, D. & Boud, D. (2018). The development of student feedback literacy: Enabling uptake of feedback. Assessment &
Evaluation in Higher Education. doi:10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354.
Carless, D., To, J., Kwan, C. & Kwok, J., (2020). Disciplinary perspectives on feedback practices: Towards signature feedback
practices. Teaching in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1863355.
Carless, D. & N. Winstone (2020). Teacher feedback literacy and its interplay with student feedback literacy, Teaching in Higher
Education. doi:10.1080/13562517.2020.1782372
Chong, S.W. (2020). Reconsidering student feedback literacy from an ecological perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher
Education.
Clarke, J. L., & Boud, D. (2018). Refocusing portfolio assessment: Curating for feedback and portrayal. Innovations in Education
and Teaching International, 55(4), 479-486.
Dawson, P., D. Carless, and P. P. W. Lee. (2020.) Authentic feedback: Supporting learners to engage in disciplinary feedback
practices.Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. doi:10.1080/02602938.2020.1769022
Esterhazy, R. (2018). What matters for productive feedback? Disciplinary practices and their relational dynamics. Assessment &
Evaluation in Higher Education 43 (8): 1302-1314.
Filius, R., R. de Kleijn, S. Uijl, F. Prins, H. van Rijen & D. Grobbee (2019). Audio peer feedback to promote deep learning in online
education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcal.12363
Gravett, K. (2020). Feedback literacies as sociomaterial practice. Critical Studies in Education. doi:
10.1080/17508487.2020.1747099
The University of Hong Kong
References (continued)
Hung, S.-T.A. (2016). Enhancing feedback provision through multimodal video technology. Computers & Education, 98,
90-101.
Mahoney, P., S. Macfarlane, and R. Ajjawi. (2019). A Qualitative Synthesis of Video Feedback in Higher
Education.”Teaching in Higher Education 24 (2): 157-179. doi:10.1080/13562517.2018.1471457
Malecka, B. Boud, D. & Carless, D. (2020). Eliciting, processing and enacting feedback: Mechanisms for embedding
feedback literacy within the curriculum. Teaching in Higher Education.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1754784
Matthews, K., Tai, J., Enright, E., Carless, D., Rafferty, C. & Winstone, N. (2021). Transgressing the boundaries of
‘students as partners’ and ‘feedback’ discourse communities to advance democratic education. Teaching in Higher
Education https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1903854
Molloy, E., Boud, D., & Henderson, M. (2020). Developing a learning-centred framework for feedback literacy.
Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(4), 527-540.
Nicol, D. (2020) The power of internal feedback: Exploiting natural comparison processes. Assessment & Evaluation in
Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1823314
Padgett, C., Moffitt, R., & Grieve, R. (2021). More than words: Using digital cues to enhance student perceptions of
online assignment feedback. The Internet and Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2020.100789
Van Popta, E. et al. (2017). Exploring the value of peer feedback in online learning for the provider. Educational
Research Review, 20, 24-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2016.10.003
Winstone, N., Balloo, K. & Carless, D. (2020). Discipline-specific feedback literacies: A framework for curriculum
design. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00632-0
Winstone, N., & Carless, D. (2021, in press). Who is feedback for? The influence of accountability and quality
assurance agendas on the enactment of feedback processes. Assessment in Education
Wood, J. (2020). A dialogic technology-mediated model of feedback uptake and literacy. Assessment & Evaluation in
Higher Education.
The University of Hong Kong
THANK YOU
The University of Hong Kong
Enhanced implementation of PF
• Scaffolding & coaching
• Selling benefits
• Modelling
• Multiple reviews e.g. trios
• Leveraging comparisons
• Opportunities for dialogue then revision
The University of Hong Kong
Feedback requests
• Learners eliciting comments on areas of
interest
• Stating preference for more critical or
more encouraging feedback
• Stating preference for modes of feedback
The University of Hong Kong
Curated eportfolios
E-portfolios for eliciting, processing and
using feedback
Curated for feedback
(Clarke & Boud, 2018; Malecka, Boud &
Carless, 2020)
The University of Hong Kong
Empirical work on student feedback literacy
1. Commits to feedback as improvement;
2. appreciates feedback as active process;
3. elicits information to improve learning;
4. processes feedback information;
5. acknowledges & works with emotions;
6. recognizes feedback as reciprocal process;
7. and enacts outcomes of feedback
(Molloy et al. 2020)
The University of Hong Kong
Authentic feedback
Processes resembling the feedback
practices of the discipline, profession or
workplace
(Dawson, Carless & Lee, 2020)
The University of Hong Kong
Learning theories deployed
Social constructivism (Carless & Boud,
2018; Winstone & Carless, 2019)
Sociocultural theory (Chong, 2020;
Esterhazy, 2018)
Sociomaterialism (Gravett, 2020)
The University of Hong Kong
Critiques of feedback literacy
Assumes more agency than students (&
teachers) may possess (Gravett 2020)
Might be construed as a deficit model of
students (or teachers)
Definition & scope of ‘literacies’
The University of Hong Kong
Competency framework
Macro e.g. plans feedback strategically
Meso e.g. timing, sequencing
Micro e.g. responds to students’ needs
(Boud & Dawson, 2021)
The University of Hong Kong
Common enterprise
Teachers need to accommodate to existing
levels of student feedback literacy & design
to extend student feedback literacy further
… but not all teachers are in a position to
influence design dimensions
(Boud & Dawson, 2021)
The University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong

Feedback literacy for digital futures

  • 1.
    Feedback literacy fordigital futures David Carless University of Hong Kong @CarlessDavid April 30, 2021 Auckland University of Technology The University of Hong Kong
  • 2.
    Overview 1. Feedback challenges& strategies 2. Digital feedback possibilities 3. Feedback literacy 4. Implications The University of Hong Kong
  • 3.
    PROBLEMS THAT FEEDBACK LITERACYMIGHT ADDRESS The University of Hong Kong
  • 4.
    Feedback challenges 1. Timingof feedback 2. Difficulties in decoding feedback 3. Lack of strategies for using feedback 4. Feedback arouses emotional reactions 5. Too much feedback as telling The University of Hong Kong
  • 5.
    Teacher workload “The generationof information to students about their work is time-consuming. It cannot be justified if there is no explicit expectation that it will be used”. (Boud & Molloy, 2013a, p. 206). The University of Hong Kong
  • 6.
    Feedback does doubleduty Competing audiences & functions of teacher comments: - Justifying grade - Offering advice - Specific vs generic comments - Quality assurance dimensions (Winstone & Carless, in press) The University of Hong Kong
  • 7.
    Feedback designs Shift fromthe provision of comments to the design of learning environments (Boud & Molloy, 2013b) The University of Hong Kong
  • 8.
    Paradigm shift From teachersdelivering comments To what learners do: self-generated feedback; using comments The University of Hong Kong
  • 9.
    Comments  uptake TheUniversity of Hong Kong Teachers produce comments Focus on delivery Students generate insights Focus on uptake (Carless, 2015; Winstone & Carless, 2019)
  • 10.
    The University ofHong Kong DISCOUNT CODE: FLR40
  • 11.
    DIGITAL FEEDBACK DESIGNS TheUniversity of Hong Kong
  • 12.
    Teacher role Design learningenvironments for students to generate feedback The University of Hong Kong
  • 13.
  • 14.
    Audio peer feedback Feelingpersonally committed Understanding own learning processes Comparing own work with that of peers (Filius et al., 2019) The University of Hong Kong
  • 15.
    Learning by comparison Peerfeedback outcome: learners compare own work with that of others & then revise (Nicol, 2020; van Popta et al., 2017) The University of Hong Kong
  • 16.
    Peer video feedback Peer-to-peervideo feedback delivered via Facebook Hung (2016) The University of Hong Kong
  • 17.
    Audio/video feedback modes Enablerapport & nuance You can talk faster than you can write The University of Hong Kong
  • 18.
    Teacher video feedback Videofeedback enables social presence Allied with student response or follow-up (Mahoney et al. 2019) The University of Hong Kong
  • 19.
    Screencasting Digital recording ofusers’ screen combined with voice narration e.g. Screencasting & re-drafting on Google Docs (Wood, 2020) The University of Hong Kong
  • 20.
    Feedback design Assessment task1 Assessment task 2 Assessment task 3 The University of Hong Kong
  • 21.
    Emoticons & feedback Embeddingemoticons enhanced students’ perceptions of instructor social presence & accessibility (Padgett et al., 2021) The University of Hong Kong
  • 22.
    Social media feedback TheUniversity of Hong Kong
  • 23.
    Thoughts so far…? Sharing, questions, comments The University of Hong Kong
  • 24.
    THE ROLE OFFEEDBACK LITERACY The University of Hong Kong
  • 25.
    Defining student feedbackliteracy Understandings, capacities & dispositions needed to use feedback for improvement (Carless & Boud, 2018). The University of Hong Kong
  • 26.
    Student feedback literacy TheUniversity of Hong Kong Making Judgments Appreciating Feedback Managing Affect Taking Action (Carless & Boud, 2018)
  • 27.
    Defining teacher feedbackliteracy “Knowledge, expertise & dispositions to design feedback processes in ways which enable student uptake of feedback” (Carless & Winstone, 2020, p. 4) The University of Hong Kong
  • 28.
  • 29.
    Feedback literacy competencyframework Macro – Program design & development Meso – Unit design & implementation Micro – Individual assignments (Boud & Dawson, 2021) The University of Hong Kong
  • 30.
    Implications & future directions TheUniversity of Hong Kong
  • 31.
    Disciplines & feedback Disciplinarynature of feedback practices (e.g. Esterhazy, 2018) Signature feedback practices (Carless et al., 2020) Discipline-specific feedback literacies (Winstone, Balloo & Carless, 2020) The University of Hong Kong
  • 32.
    Partnership Students as partnersmeets feedback research & practice (Matthews et al., 2021) The University of Hong Kong
  • 33.
    Shared feedback literacy Learningdesigns or program designs to enable the mutual development of teacher & student feedback literacy The University of Hong Kong
  • 34.
    References Boud, D. &Dawson, P. (2021). What feedback literate teachers do: An empirically-derived competency framework. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education Boud, D. & Molloy, E. (2013a). Decision-making for feedback. In D. Boud & E. Molloy (Eds.), Feedback in Higher and Professional Education. London: Routledge. Boud, D. & Molloy, E. (2013b). Rethinking models of feedback for learning: The challenge of design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(6), 698-712. Carless, D. (2015). Excellence in University Assessment. London: Routledge. Carless, D. & Boud, D. (2018). The development of student feedback literacy: Enabling uptake of feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. doi:10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354. Carless, D., To, J., Kwan, C. & Kwok, J., (2020). Disciplinary perspectives on feedback practices: Towards signature feedback practices. Teaching in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1863355. Carless, D. & N. Winstone (2020). Teacher feedback literacy and its interplay with student feedback literacy, Teaching in Higher Education. doi:10.1080/13562517.2020.1782372 Chong, S.W. (2020). Reconsidering student feedback literacy from an ecological perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Clarke, J. L., & Boud, D. (2018). Refocusing portfolio assessment: Curating for feedback and portrayal. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 55(4), 479-486. Dawson, P., D. Carless, and P. P. W. Lee. (2020.) Authentic feedback: Supporting learners to engage in disciplinary feedback practices.Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. doi:10.1080/02602938.2020.1769022 Esterhazy, R. (2018). What matters for productive feedback? Disciplinary practices and their relational dynamics. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 43 (8): 1302-1314. Filius, R., R. de Kleijn, S. Uijl, F. Prins, H. van Rijen & D. Grobbee (2019). Audio peer feedback to promote deep learning in online education. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcal.12363 Gravett, K. (2020). Feedback literacies as sociomaterial practice. Critical Studies in Education. doi: 10.1080/17508487.2020.1747099 The University of Hong Kong
  • 35.
    References (continued) Hung, S.-T.A.(2016). Enhancing feedback provision through multimodal video technology. Computers & Education, 98, 90-101. Mahoney, P., S. Macfarlane, and R. Ajjawi. (2019). A Qualitative Synthesis of Video Feedback in Higher Education.”Teaching in Higher Education 24 (2): 157-179. doi:10.1080/13562517.2018.1471457 Malecka, B. Boud, D. & Carless, D. (2020). Eliciting, processing and enacting feedback: Mechanisms for embedding feedback literacy within the curriculum. Teaching in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2020.1754784 Matthews, K., Tai, J., Enright, E., Carless, D., Rafferty, C. & Winstone, N. (2021). Transgressing the boundaries of ‘students as partners’ and ‘feedback’ discourse communities to advance democratic education. Teaching in Higher Education https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1903854 Molloy, E., Boud, D., & Henderson, M. (2020). Developing a learning-centred framework for feedback literacy. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(4), 527-540. Nicol, D. (2020) The power of internal feedback: Exploiting natural comparison processes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2020.1823314 Padgett, C., Moffitt, R., & Grieve, R. (2021). More than words: Using digital cues to enhance student perceptions of online assignment feedback. The Internet and Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2020.100789 Van Popta, E. et al. (2017). Exploring the value of peer feedback in online learning for the provider. Educational Research Review, 20, 24-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2016.10.003 Winstone, N., Balloo, K. & Carless, D. (2020). Discipline-specific feedback literacies: A framework for curriculum design. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00632-0 Winstone, N., & Carless, D. (2021, in press). Who is feedback for? The influence of accountability and quality assurance agendas on the enactment of feedback processes. Assessment in Education Wood, J. (2020). A dialogic technology-mediated model of feedback uptake and literacy. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. The University of Hong Kong
  • 36.
  • 37.
    Enhanced implementation ofPF • Scaffolding & coaching • Selling benefits • Modelling • Multiple reviews e.g. trios • Leveraging comparisons • Opportunities for dialogue then revision The University of Hong Kong
  • 38.
    Feedback requests • Learnerseliciting comments on areas of interest • Stating preference for more critical or more encouraging feedback • Stating preference for modes of feedback The University of Hong Kong
  • 39.
    Curated eportfolios E-portfolios foreliciting, processing and using feedback Curated for feedback (Clarke & Boud, 2018; Malecka, Boud & Carless, 2020) The University of Hong Kong
  • 40.
    Empirical work onstudent feedback literacy 1. Commits to feedback as improvement; 2. appreciates feedback as active process; 3. elicits information to improve learning; 4. processes feedback information; 5. acknowledges & works with emotions; 6. recognizes feedback as reciprocal process; 7. and enacts outcomes of feedback (Molloy et al. 2020) The University of Hong Kong
  • 41.
    Authentic feedback Processes resemblingthe feedback practices of the discipline, profession or workplace (Dawson, Carless & Lee, 2020) The University of Hong Kong
  • 42.
    Learning theories deployed Socialconstructivism (Carless & Boud, 2018; Winstone & Carless, 2019) Sociocultural theory (Chong, 2020; Esterhazy, 2018) Sociomaterialism (Gravett, 2020) The University of Hong Kong
  • 43.
    Critiques of feedbackliteracy Assumes more agency than students (& teachers) may possess (Gravett 2020) Might be construed as a deficit model of students (or teachers) Definition & scope of ‘literacies’ The University of Hong Kong
  • 44.
    Competency framework Macro e.g.plans feedback strategically Meso e.g. timing, sequencing Micro e.g. responds to students’ needs (Boud & Dawson, 2021) The University of Hong Kong
  • 45.
    Common enterprise Teachers needto accommodate to existing levels of student feedback literacy & design to extend student feedback literacy further … but not all teachers are in a position to influence design dimensions (Boud & Dawson, 2021) The University of Hong Kong
  • 46.