Investigating university tutor perceptions of assessment feedback: three types of tutor beliefs

Jinlan Tang,Colin Harrison

doi:10.1080/02602931003632340

Abstract

Feedback is a key element in effective teaching and learning. The issue of how teachers perceive the role of feedback will impact significantly their feedback approaches, the amount of the detail of their feedback and the time and effort expended on the feedback provision. This research was designed with the purpose of exploring how a group of over 50 tutors who were supporting an online university English course perceived, understood and interpreted the processes of assignment feedback. A factor analysis study based on questionnaire data revealed three sets of tutor beliefs towards assessment and tutor feedback: traditional–autonomous–global (TAG), student‐centred (SC) and traditional‐local (TL). Follow‐up in‐depth interviews were conducted with tutors. The TAG tutors saw scores as the most important feedback to students, but doubted the value of detailed feedback. SC tutors maintained that good tutor feedback should offer more than mere scores, and that students needed feedback in order to improve. TL tutors tended to underline all the errors and provide detailed feedback. They were negative towards the idea of their feedback being monitored. The authors identified some differing and converging tutor perceptions on assessment feedback, the understanding of which could arguably play an important role in introducing changes in tutor feedback culture.

Highlights

In recent years, formative assessment has become an important part of the teaching and learning process
The validity and reliability of the rubrics were assessed using a sample of 100 volunteer undergraduates from the University of Barcelona, all of whom were enrolled during the 2014-2015 academic year in the Research Designs course as part of the University of Barcelona’s Degree in Psychology (35 students to evaluate the rubric for the problem-solving activities, 36 for the rubric corresponding to the computer-based activities, and 29 for the independent study rubric)
Analysis of the scores obtained with the rubric for the problem-solving activities revealed statistically significant correlations between students’ self-assessments and peer assessments, between self-assessments and tutor assessments, and between peer and tutor assessments

Summary

Introduction

Formative assessment has become an important part of the teaching and learning process. A defining characteristic of formative assessment is the timely correction of errors, meaning that the feedback which students receive about their learning activities is given early enough to allow them to improve (Brown, Peterson & Yao, 2016; Tang & Harrison, 2011). When this is the case, students have the opportunity to revise and improve their work prior to sitting exams, and this can have a notable impact on their academic achievement. Validity, and usefulness of rubrics and the effects of their use on student learning have been carried out by Brookhart and Chen (2015), Jonsson and Svingby (2007), Panadero and Jonsson (2013), and Reddy and Andrade (2010)

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