Target feedback agency

Framing feedback agency

The feedback we provide students with is often highlighted as a key part of their learning, but there is actually quite a bit expected of learners in their actions of making use of it. Using feedback effectively is a skill, and a skill that they are unlikely to have had specific instruction around. Students need to: 

• work through the language and internalise the advice given
• in some cases extrapolate general comments to apply to particular past or future actions
• make choices about how to action it as part of the things they are doing next
• know on what points to seek clarification (and where)

Strategies

Refer learners to existing student-facing feedback resources

The most low impact way to touch on feedback agency is to briefly discuss the concept of feedback agency within a relevant lecture or tutorial session and refer students to the resources listed above. 

Communicate that:

• using feedback is a skill, one that you can develop and which will allow you to make plans 
• these resources give you straightforward steps you can go through to feel more confident about your use of feedback and how you can perform in subsequent assignments

When teachers refer to particular assistive resources, student support sees a significant uptick in usage, indicating that learners respect and follow up on these recommendations. A member of teaching staff being able to say ‘I used these same resources/methods when I was doing my degree’ is about the strongest endorsement that can be offered as it takes away any stigma.

Make it clear when discussing the use of resources that is doesn’t mean they are struggling, it means they are optimising their engagement with their learning. Gaining ‘support’ may feel stigmatising or not match with their learner identity. Move the rhetoric away from ‘you need this support to improve’ to ‘you can use these tools to maximise your capacity in a straightforward, step by step way’ for greater traction. 

Embed and embellish existing resources

The next level is to embed these resources in a tutorial/contact session so that students will actually interact with them as part of their regular instruction. You may consider giving them the Embracing feedback activity in a class session following the reception of a piece of feedback. 

They may be asked to:

• work through the components of the sheet
• write down a plan of what they will do differently based on what they have extracted from their feedback
• look at the assignment submitted and make the changes that the feedback suggests
• discuss with peers the actions that they plan to take for the next assignment based on the feedback received

By providing the space to engage with these resources as part of class time, learners have the opportunity to see how they work by performing the actions for themselves. A shared discussion with peers also helps to decrease any stigma around needing to improve, and has the potential to create a greater sense of accountability around following through on the actions they identify.

Build it into a wider feedback ecosystem

Consider how you can weave feedback agency into a wider feedback ecosystem configuration. This would have the base of embedding the existing resources into subject practice, as discussed above, but could also connect to a wider range of feedback mechanisms.

This may involve:

• unpacking and giving students the opportunity to discuss the concept of feedback agency 
• asking them to create or submit anticipated feedback that can then be used as part of the subsequent unpacking process
• considering how you could draw information from students through these activities that then informs the way the subject gives feedback and provides opportunities for feedback agency
• considering whether the way the teaching team needs to provide feedback needs to change based on the feedback agency instruction you provide