Making the most out of

feedback from your Foundation Degree

STUDENT GUIDE

WHAT IS GOOD FEEDBACK?

The key aim of good feedback is to help you develop as a lifelong learner. Students have told us that good feedback has helped them to:• improve performance in future assignments• understand why they got the grade they did• move towards the level of performance they would like to reach• develop their own ability to assess and reflect on their work

LIFELONG LEARNERS – WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?Probably the most important skill that you can develop as you progress through your Foundation Degree and Honours Degree (should you choose to progress) is to be able to self-regulate your work . This means that you are able to work independently, without the constant need for module leader/tutor support.

WHERE DOES FEEDBACK COME FROM?‘Feedback’ doesn’t just mean a written document accompanying a marked assignment. It can also be given to you via:• marking comments on a piece of work• in-class discussions and online forums• individual meetings with your module leader/tutor• other studentsUltimately, in addition to the above, you should develop your own skills of evaluation and reflection -giving yourself feedback on your own performance!

HOW ELSE CAN I DEVELOP MY SKILLS IN THIS AREA?• Consider taking up opportunities to receive feedback from lecturers on

formative tasks that you do before your final submission, (i.e. ones which don’t ‘count’ towards your final grade)

• Make sure that you ALWAYS collect each piece of marked work from your module leader/tutor and that you carefully read the feedback that they have given to you – especially if it says things that you don’t really want to hear!

• Work to incorporate feedback comments into subsequent pieces of work – even if they are for different modules or module leaders/tutors

• Incorporate your reflections into your PDP – this will help you to gain a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and how to address areas for development.

...here’s how you do it

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Tutor expectations…In the first year of your FD course, you will be supported by your module leaders/tutors in order to help you develop the skills needed for you to progress as an independent, lifelong learner.

What does this mean?•Yourtutorwillensureyouunderstandwhattheassignmentbriefmeansandwhatis required from you. By making sure you understand key phrases, like ‘assessment criteria’ and ‘learning outcomes’, and give you in-class guidance on the requirements of each assignment task. This process will ensure that the resulting feedback makes more sense•Inadditiontowrittenfeedbackmaterials,youmayhavetheopportunityfortutorialsupport, where you have the opportunity to discuss feedback. This helps you fully understand the module leader’s feedback, and contributes to an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of that assignment•Yourtutorwillhelpyoudeveloptheskillsneededtounderstandfeedbackcomments This will help you see the ‘big picture’ regarding your strengths and weaknesses and you will be able to use your PDP to help you reflect on your own performance.

Tutor expectations…In the second stage of your FD, you will be expected to develop the skills needed for you to progress as an independent, lifelong learner, supported by module leaders/tutors when needed.

What does this mean?•Youwillbeexpectedtotakefullresponsibilityforindividualandgroupassignmenttasks. You will be expected to know where to go if further assistance is needed – e.g. if you do not understand a particular assignment requirement•Builtfromyourpreviousyearsstudy.Youwillbeexpectedtousetherangeoffeedback given in your work and should take responsibility for identifying your actions in response to this feedback.,•Youwillbeaskedtoanalyseyourfeedbackacrossallyourmodules,andwillbeable to identify your strengths and weaknesses. You should be able to demonstrate this through your Personal Development Plan (PDP). By reflecting on these skills demonstrates your abilities as an independent , lifelong learner.

Tutor expectations…If you progress to the third (Honours) year of an undergraduate degree programme, you will be expected to be able to operate independently as a learner, for example in the development of your H level dissertation project What does this mean?

•Lesscontacttimewithtutorsandmorefocusonyourowndevelopmentthroughreflection

Using Pebblepad for ReflectionTo incorporate your reflections in your e-PDP you could use the following tools within Pebblepad – the University’s e-portfolio tool available at: http://e-portfolio.plymouth.ac.uk

1. Click on the Create New menu

2. Select Thought3. Choose your journal type and beginning reflecting by following

the steps

4. You may wish to import a document into your e-portfolio to link into your reflective practice.

Research for this leaflet was conducted by Hannah Roberts (Truro and Penwith College) as part of her Mini Teaching Fellowship Award from the University of

Plymouth HELP CETL, 2008/09.Design of this publication is attributed to Dan Wakelin, University of Plymouth.