Contextual Background:
I am Course Leader on the BA (Hons) Fashion Styling and Production course at LCF. My values inform who I am as a practitioner, I plan sessions where students are encouraged to speak openly, with the intention of developing trust and confidence.
One of my main priorities in increasing inclusive practice as a form of social justice.
As a practitioner who regularly conducts assessment and feedback, I care very much about the quality of feedback and try to ensure it is inclusive.
Evaluation:
Formative Assessments can be a difficult space to navigate, students often feel anxious and nervous, while tutor feedback can sometimes be perceived as critical, rather than supportive. I want this to change, I want the students to fully understand that our feedback is supportive and comes from a place of compassion. I want to include students more in the process of receiving feedback, giving them choice, and empowering their own criticality as Race states “an alternative way to diversifying assessment is to increase the range of assessment approaches, by bringing in at least some self-assessment, peer-assessment and group assessment”.(Race, 2001, p. 8)
Currently, students are not offered an option on how they receive feedback. However, for upcoming Year 3 formative assessment presentations scheduled on 11 March, I will be applying research and findings to improve our current model of formative assessment. Before the students commence their presentation, they will be asked by the panel to choose which type of feedback they would prefer. The options are ‘Coaching feedback’ or ‘Sandwich feedback’. The teaching team will also be encouraging the students to offer their response/summary, as peer feedback, following each presentation.
The reasoning behind this is aligns to Race’s research on self-assessment, which is integral to feedback, particularly during presentations. “There is learning payoff associated with receiving feedback from one or more fellow students, but perhaps even greater learning payoff in formulating and giving feedback to other students. It is the person who explains who really deepens their learning, rather than the person being explained to.” (Race, 2001, p. 22)
Moving forwards:
I view the changes I am implementing as an attempt to create more compassion in the student experience. As Hill states “formative feedback is a key moment where compassionate approaches can be enacted.” (Hill, 2023, p. 89))
Furthermore, there is a noticeable strain on tutors during formative assessment, as they are often required to ‘hold the space’ when leading feedback, while the students in the group of presenters usually sit in receptive mode. I envisage the above changes as addressing this imbalance in feedback, by inviting the student audience into a more central role as peers. I hope that this will enliven and create a more inclusive space, particularly relevant for Year 3, as Race states “it can be argued that these forms of assessment help students to develop skills invaluable in later lifelong learning contexts, and their own ongoing continuing professional development as graduates”. (Race, 2001, p. 23)
References:
Race, P. (2001) A Briefing on Self, Peer and Group Assessment. LTSN generic Centre.
Hill, V. (2023) Belonging through assessment: Pipelines of compassion. QAA Collaborative Project.