This presentation - delivered to partners on the INTEGRITY project - provides some guidance to academic faculty on the theory and practice of providing feedback to students on academic writing. Prepared and delivered by Dr Laura Costelloe and Dr Mark Glynn, Teaching Enhancement Unit at Dublin City University. Incorporates material from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning and the Y1 Feedback Project.

1. Feedback to students about
academic writing
Dr Laura Costelloe
Dr Mark Glynn

2. Overview
Linking assessment and feedback: assessment as and
for learning
Sources of Feedback:
Self-assessment
Peer feedback
Teacher feedback: written, audio and
audio-visual

3. Linking assessment and feedback:
assessment as and for learning
Assessment of learning: completing assessment to demonstrate learning.
Assessment for learning: using assessment to give feedback on teaching and student learning.
Assessment as learning: student empowerment and engagement to become a better learner.
(National Forum, 2016)

4. The importance of feedback
Timely and effective feedback can:
－correct errors, and close the gap between current
and desired performance;
－identify strengths and weaknesses;
－build student confidence and motivation; and
－foster self-regulated learning.
(Hounsell, 2003; Hattie and Timperley, 2007; Sadler, 2010; Carless et al, 2011; Merry et al, 2013)

5. Feedback has traditionally been conceived of as originating from the
teacher, and primarily comprising written commentary on end of
module, and in most cases graded, assignments
(Nicol 2010, Carless 2013)
More contemporary perspectives however consider feedback not
only as it relates to assessment, but also highlight the importance of
cultivating feedback in settings beyond the formal evaluation of
learning
(Boud and Associates 2010, Carless et al. 2011, McArthur and Huxham 2013, Sambell 2013, Hounsell 2015, Sambell 2015)

6. Recent research also calls for a reconceptualisation of feedback that
goes beyond the transmission of information from teacher to student,
and instead frames feedback as a dialogic process that ultimately
supports learners to become self-regulating
(Hounsell 2007, Sadler 2010, Nicol 2010, Carless et al. 2011, Price et al. 2013)
The reframing of feedback as dialogue means that the teacher is no
longer the sole provider of feedback. Instead, a student’s peers, and
ultimately his or her self, become important additional feedback
sources
(Yang and Carless 2013, Nicol, Thomson and Breslin 2014)
Contemporary perspectives also point to the affordances that
technology might generate in supporting provision of feedback that
goes beyond written commentary
[Quotations taken from Y1 Feedback, 2016]
(Carless 2015)

7. Sources of Feedback on Academic
Writing
Self-Assessment Peer Feedback
Teacher Feedback: written,
audio and audio-visual
How many of these sources of
feedback are you familiar with or use
in your own teaching practice?

8. Self Assessment
－ Self-assessment is a process of formative assessment during which students reflect
on the quality of their work, judge the degree to which it reflects explicitly stated
goals or criteria, and revise their work accordingly (Andrade & Boulay, 2003);
－ Because self-assessment and self regulation involve students in thinking about the
quality of their own products and processes rather than relying on their teacher as
the sole source of evaluative judgments (or getting no feedback at all), they are key
elements of formative assessment (Andrade, 2010);
－ Guided checklists, prompts or questions to allow learners to assess their
performance on a task;
－ Can be integrated with peer and/or tutor marking.

9. Example from the University of Reading,
Department of Esoteric Studies (link here)

10. Example from Simon Fraser
University (link here)

11. Short self paced course
Can you foresee any challenges
associated with using self-
assessment as a feedback
mechanism for academic writing?

12. (Wride, 2017a)

13. Guidelines for good practice in self-
assessment (adapted from Wride, 2017a)
Peer feedback is
used as part of the
process
Staff are willing to share
control of assessment:
students are involved in
establishing criteria and
have a direct role in
influencing the process and
guidelines produced for
each stage of the process
The motive for self-
assessment is to
enhance student
learning
Self-assessment is one of
a number of
complementary strategies
to promote self-directed
learning that is integrated
throughout a
module/programme

14. Peer Assessment and Feedback
- Involves students judging and making decisions about the work of
their fellow students against criteria; can be formatively (for
feedback) or summatively (for grades);
- Research suggests that students need support
(guidelines/templates etc.) and practice - giving and receiving
feedback is not an innate skill (Egan and Costelloe, 2016);
- Can be done face-to-face or online, depending on the context.

15. Example from Brandeis University (link here)

16. Peer feedback guide and sample template
from York University (link here)

17. Peer feedback template from Plymouth
University (link here)

18. Enabling Peer Feedback
3.10

19. Some ideas for implementing peer
assessment and feedback (adapted from
Wride, 2017b)
Share draft assessments
before they are submitted;
peer-peer discussion can
significantly enhance
learning
Consider using online tools
to support peer feedback,
e.g. students post their
essay online and then
receive feedback from
peers to help with revising
their writing
Exchange notes during the
class: students look for
perceived gaps and
differences in
understanding
Students can work in
groups to provide feedback
on assignment drafts, using
the assessment criteria to
guide the feedback
provided to each other

20. Teacher feedback: written, audio
and audio-visual
Feedback is one most powerful influences on learning gain (Hattie &
Timperley, 2007)

21. Consider using technology to
provide feedback to learners
Some feedback tools:
Voicethread:
Interactive collaboration and
sharing tool that enables
users to add images
Audacity:
Free, easy-to-use, multi-track
audio editor and recorder for
Windows and Mac
Screencast-o-matic:
Easy-to-use, free screen
recorder for Windows and
Mac
Google Docs and Google
Drive:
Easy to share documents,
audio and video, comments
can be added easily
Turnitin:
Audio and written feedback
can be provided using the
rubrics and comment tools
For guides on how to use many of these tools see: http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/Starter+Sheets

22. Feedback using Moodle Marking Guide
3.17

23. Screencasting for Large group
feedback
3.43

24. Using Screencasting to close the
Feedback Loop
3.24

25. What types of feedback do you provide to your learners?
What feedback tools do you use?
Will you try any new tools to give learners feedback on their
academic writing?

26. Contact us

27. Works Cited
● Andrade, H.L. (2010). ‘Students as the definitive source of formative assessment: academic self-assessment and the self-regulation of
learning’ NERA Conference Proceedings, 25 [online]. Available at:
http://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=nera_2010
● Andrade, H. and Boulay, B. (2003) ‘Role of rubric-referenced self-assessment in learning to write’ The Journal of Educational Research,
97(1): pp.21-30.
● Carless, D., Salter, D., Yang, M. and Lam, J. (2011) ‘Developing sustainable feedback practices’ Studies in Higher Education, 36(4):
pp.395-407.
● Egan, A. and Costelloe, L. (2016) ‘Peer assessment of, for and as learning: a core component of an accredited professional
development course for Higher Education teachers’ AISHE-J: The All-Ireland Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education,
8(3): pp. 2931-29313.
● Hattie, J. and Timperley, H. (2007) ‘The power of feedback’, Review of Educational Research 77(1): pp.81-112.
● Hounsell, D. (2003) ‘Student feedback, learning and development’ IN: Slowey, M. And Watson, D. (eds.) Higher Education And The
Lifecourse. Maidenhead: SRHE and Open University Press: pp.67-78.
● Merry, S., Price, M., Carless, D. and Taras, M. (2013) Reconceptualising Feedback in Higher Education: developing dialogue with
students. Routledge.
● National Forum (2016) ‘Assessment OF, FOR and AS learning: continuing the debate and creating a focus’ [online]. Available at:
https://www.teachingandlearning.ie/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Insight-Assessment-OFFOR-and-AS-Learning.pdf
● Sadler, D.R. (2010) ‘Beyond feedback: developing student capability in complex appraisal’ Assessment & Evaluation in Higher
Education, 35(5): pp.535-550.
● Wride, M. (2017a) ‘Guide to self-assessment’ [online]. Available at
https://www.tcd.ie/CAPSL/assets/pdf/Academic%20Practice%20Resources/Guide%20to%20Student%20Self%20Assessment.pdf
● Wride, M. (2017b) Guide to peer assessment’ [online]. Available at:
https://www.tcd.ie/CAPSL/assets/pdf/Academic%20Practice%20Resources/Guide%20to%20Student%20Peer%20Assessment.pdf