1. Transitions through higher education:
Feedback First: Enhancing and Supporting Student Writing During Transition
Dr Ruth Watkins, Head of Student Learning Services,
University of Stirling.
Professor Alison Green, Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Stirling.

2. Rationale
The difficulties which students experience when they make the transition into university are well documented.
Significant academic adjustments
Confident students can feel unprepared
Data from our own institution

3. University Stirling data (Cattanach and Watkins, 2017)
“It's just so different and it's hard to settle in to such a different environment and still keep up with all the lectures and classes you have.”
“It's such a different structure to school so it's hard to know what's being asked of you.”
“I think the university could be more clear on what is required and expected of first year students.”

4. Project Aims Engage students in learning as soon as possible
Early opportunity to access University’s VLE
Individual feedback
Support student reflection
Maximise early support
Provide data for follow up work
Integrate a series of dedicated drop-in sessions

5. Feedback First Scheme All new UG, TPG and Erasmus students
500 word essay
Individual on-line feedback
On-line resources (pre and post submission)
Follow up support
Workshops Drop-in tutorials
Dedicated VLE site
Feedback First Scheme

6. Feedback Criteria

7. Feedback on-line

8. Data: Essay Performance
Of 820 students
501 completed the task 
319 did not participate
341 students accessed feedback (68%)
For the 501 texts
2% (11) obtained full “counts” (20/20)
8% (40) fell below a “pass” (8/20)

9. Data: Follow up Support and Services
60 students invited to work with SLS, 16 took the opportunity 
282 hits on the exemplar essay and 405 hits on on-line skills guide
46 students attended drop–in sessions
65 attended workshops on:
Understanding your essay question
Structure, introductions and conclusions
Persuasive paragraphs
Integrating  evidence to support an argument
Referencing
Editing and proof reading

10. Subsequent Student Performance
No obvious relationship between rubric count and student’s final module marks.
56% who failed one, or more modules in semester 1 had not submitted the initial essay.
Of those who did submit the essay:
93% who had ‘failed’ at the initial task (<8/20), passed their semester 1 modules
5% with top counts (18-20) failed one of more modules.
Clusters of module fails were noted around counts of 16 (22% of total with this count) and 12 (17% of total with this count).

11. Conclusions from data
The initial rubric count is not a proxy for success or failure - there are additional important influences.
Students who did not engage with the task were at higher risk of subsequent failure
The essay was effective in flagging areas for student development

12. Evaluation of feedback on work
Majority indicated that the feedback on their work was positive (67%) and helpful (63%)
Students said -
I felt more confident about my academic work %
It made me think more about my academic writing style %
I felt more motivated about my academic work %
It made me realise how writing at university is difference to that at school/college %
I valued this exercise because I am a mature student and it had been around 30 years since I'd written as essay. The feedback was very encouraging.’

13. Evaluation of Support Offered
Only a small minority responded to an invitation to consult with Student Learning Services.
Students who did attend indicated:
that they felt more confident/motivated
it helped them to manage their studies more effectively.
it made them recognise the different expectations at university.
‘I have felt very supported knowing I could approach Feedback First and attend student learning services if I needed. Appreciative of contact/ reminders of sessions. Thanks to all!’.

14. Evaluation of Drop-in Sessions and Workshops
I felt more confident about my academic work %
I think it changed how I approach my academic writing %
I felt more motivated about my academic work %
It made me realise how writing at university is different from school/college %
I felt I could start a difficult assignment %

15. Student recommendations
Making the task compulsory
Tailoring task to the discipline
Timeliness and detail of feedback
Compulsory face-to-face tutorial to discuss feedback
Seminar dedicated to the task
Better publicity and awareness-raising
An advanced scheme
More on-line resources
Language sessions for international students

16. Changes Differentiate task based upon discipline and level
Review timing
Review who gives feedback and level of feedback
Provide introductory and advanced workshops
Increase the volume and variety of on-line resources
Raise awareness of scheme
Pro-actively engage with students who do not complete the task
Review how support is offered to students
Consider the sustainability of using Teaching Assistants

17. Final Conclusions Scheme was successful in:
supporting students early in their writing experience,
building confidence and motivation
identifying academic expectations
Training of TAs
Scheme identified that:
We need to focus on students who don’t engage
On-line sources were particularly successful
Collaboration between central services and Faculty was positive
Changes to be made for next year

18. Any feedback or questions?