Abstract
Student dissatisfaction in higher education with written feedback on their assessed work is a topical issue given the publicised findings of the National Student Survey. This paper presents excerpts from interviews with students about their experience with written feedback together with analytical and interpretive commentary. The context of the research was a post-92 university with a wide range of higher education provision and a commitment to widening participation and student retention. The paper begins with an overview of feedback studies in higher education and a summary of current agenda. The data and analysis are presented in three sections. A final discussion section outlines some salient findings from the research.
Highlights
Student dissatisfaction in higher education with written feedback on their assessed work is a topical issue given the publicised findings of the National Student Survey
The following is an example of uncertainty about the meanings and register of feedback that occurred on numerous occasions with students in applied and vocational areas
The evidence of this research suggests that students, at all levels, frequently find the language of feedback comment inconsistent and vague and are confused about the meanings of assessment criteria
Summary
The research comprised semi-structured interviews with student respondents who came from a cross-section of disciplinary areas. The following is an example of uncertainty about the meanings and register of feedback that occurred on numerous occasions with students in applied and vocational areas It indicates that there is a dissonance between what teachers write and intend and what students know and understand. A second year student studying a joint degree who could make no sense of the following comments on his essay:. It lacks proper academic subtlety, ...there is an endemic vagueness throughout ...writing skills will make or break a piece of work of this length. The following excerpt is from a small group session with students in the third year of study who were asked to comment on a structured feedback form used in their subject area. What appears interesting in the above excerpt is that neither teacher nor student seems to understand the contents of the form or how to use it
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