Dealing confidently with feedback: the impact of a Grow Your Academic Resilience workshop

Abstract

A key concern for educators is that students actively receive, engage with, and implement their academic feedback. However, increasing evidence suggests that students in HE do not engage well with feedback. One way to address this concern is to look at how we can develop feedback literacy in students, which requires a level of academic resilience. Resilience in an academic context is known to increase retention and students’ engagement in their learning, as well as supporting workplace readiness. This research looks at students’ readiness and willingness to engage with their academic feedback and assesses whether learning about academic resilience can improve feedback engagement. Two cohorts of students were identified to take part in a Grow Your Academic Resilience (GYAR) Workshop. Using a mixed methods approach, participants were invited to complete a pre- and post-session questionnaire. Participants quantitatively rated their pre- and post-session confidence about dealing constructively with academic feedback, while free-text responses provided qualitative data. Findings suggest that offering students practical tools and strategies increases their willingness and confidence in engaging with and acting upon their feedback.