1. Leading Enhancement in Assessment and Feedback in Medical Sciences
Hazel Marzetti:
Neil Lent:

2. Aims To gain a birds eye view of the programme
To understand students’ experiences
To identify excellent practice within the department

3. Context Accounting and finance
Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare
Ancient History
Biological Sciences
Biomedical Sciences
Business
Chemistry
Classics and Classical Studies
Computer Science and Informatics
Economics
Engineering
European Languages, Literatures and Cultures
History
Mathematics
Physics
Veterinary Medicine

4. Curriculum mapping and assessment blueprinting
Methodology
Desk based audit
Staff workshop
Curriculum mapping and assessment blueprinting
Assessment Experience Survey
Focus Groups
Student Research
Report
Second meeting
What next?

5. Headline Findings
84% of students either satisfied or very satisfied with assessment and feedback (51 students).
There were however 4 distinct areas for improvement:
Assessment methods
Marking consistency
Clarity of assessment expectations
Approach to feedback

6. Assessment expectations
They didn’t really say what they’re trying to achieve using this assessment method, or using this type of test. They don’t really say, okay, we want you to know this. This is why we’re doing this. [lab test]
I’m realising now, I must have interpreted it [the assessment guidance] completely differently. My marker must’ve been like, what?

7. Suggestions Continue providing written expectations in advance
Provide opportunities to work with assessment expectations and marking criteria
Peer marking – facilitate discussion of drafts or plans of students’ work in advance of the assessment
Encourage students to make individual appointments to discuss assessed work with staff.

8. Marking Consistency
Marking is so subjective, it depends on what mood the person is in, how many other papers they’ve marked, and how many other ones that they didn’t like, and now they’re in a bad mood, and ... I just feel like it needs to be more standardised.
I can never really tell, like, how much you can transfer that feedback to other essays, because of the whole difference between the courses, so I do find that is a bit difficult, still.

9. Suggestions
Increasing confidence in the moderation and/or second marking process through clear communication
I struggle to imagine that a second marker would’ve read my first feedback and thought that’s appropriate.
Communicating clearly within the department about what is expected of students
Ensuring that student understand fully what is expected of them because….

10. Negative Cycle Unclear about assessment expectation
Poorly completed assignment
Receives poor grade and does not understand feedback.

11. Approach to feedback
I wasn’t expecting to get feedback being, like, ‘whoa, let me just publish it, that was amazing’. But I was really proud of it. So, I was disappointed with the mark, but it wasn’t the end of the world, but the feedback, it sounded like my marker was really annoyed at me. Like, I was reading my feedback, and I was like, it sounded as if my marker really thought that I hadn’t put a lot of work into it, and it was really obvious I had, like, it really was.
It was on a Turnitin, and you had a little comment box, and I had, like, rhetorical questions, like obviously I’d made a statement, then I’d got, ‘is it?’ and that’s not feedback. I was so angry. So, I went and spoke to her, and she did give me feedback, and she said, ‘Oh, yes, this feedback wasn’t that great’

12. Suggestions Give feedback with empathy
Focus on providing feedback that will allow students to both understand their grade and give them actionable feedback for their next piece of work.
Provide face to face feedback.
Ask students what they would like feedback on, with reference to future work they know is coming up and provide feedback around specific issues identified.

13. Assessment methods
I feel like exams are weighted too much, just because I do find I’m just not an exam person. I’ll do ok, but I think it’s just in my head, I just can’t get it out because of the stress of the exam. I’m just not in a great condition.
When an exam is, like, 70% of a course mark, I’m just like, that doesn’t make any sense, because I feel like assessment, you should be assessed more on your continuous work throughout the semester, rather than just a two hour period where you have to regurgitate everything that you’ve memorised, or you slightly understand, or you really understand it, but it’s still about, like, how much you remember, and actually regurgitating, it’s not like ... Because, somebody could memorise something in, like, a week, come in, say it all, and literally get, like, amazing, and the someone who understands everything, and who’s done really well on coursework, and who’s showed their understanding, could come in and achieve, bomb the exam, but then the exam is the biggest weight of your grade.

14. Suggestions
Review whether exams are the most appropriate method of assessment
If they are review whether they should be worth 60% or more
Explore other methods of coursework based assessment that could be used as an alternative

15. Compare to NSS Free text comments more positive than negative.
Areas students felt could be improved were:
Feedback
Organisation
Assessment
Departmental culture

16. Take away messages
Staff’s expertise, supportive nature, and enthusiasm is a major perk of the degree programme.
Staff may consider:
Reviewing the assessment methods to check that exam is the best primary method of assessment
Finding out about the other courses students are taking and ensuring that feedback will be useful to the assessed work for these
Provide more opportunities for students to play with assessment and marking criteria before final summative assessments
Increase confidence around second marking and moderating processes