3. I received useful feedback on my progress

Overview

Based on student feedback and a series of conversations with ABP subject coordinators, BEL+T has produced a set of Tactics for Useful Feedback. The objective of this process was to identify the characteristics that students attribute to subjects with clear expectations to inform teaching practices. In addition to student commentary, the following guidance includes tactics used by subject coordinators as well as things to consider for their application. Access the PDF version here.

ABP student voices described “useful” feedback as:

Well-Planned - Frequent opportunities for students to engage with feedback – these are timed to relate well to assessment tasks and overall subject design.
Constructive and Supportive - Feedback tone and focus aim at supporting student learning, professional development and wellbeing.
Credible - Feedback draws on multiple credible perspectives and is relevant to the cohort’s diverse expectations for professional futures.

Well-Planned

Frequent opportunities for students to engage with feedback – these are timed to relate well to assessment tasks and overall subject design.

Tactic	Examples	Things to Consider
Scheduling regular synchronous feedback sessions for students, with teaching staff and/or between peers	Time is allocated in each tutorial for weekly feedback on student progress Prompts provided to suggest how students might apply feedback to forthcoming task(s) Series of small group feedback sessions with rotating membership Optional 'soft' deadlines for submissions, or mock exams, to offer ungraded feedback Rubrics are used to structure feedback sessions to help prompt self-reflection	Are feedback sessions supported by clear resources and expectations (for both students and tutors)? How frequently are catch-ups with the teaching team needed to share issues raised through feedback sessions across the cohort? Verbal communication in peer feedback may be challenging for students with English as as second language; extra resources may be needed Refer to the MSD Studio Culture Agreement for information about feedback expectations
Use platforms/modes that allow students to access feedback asynchronously	Canvas announcements summarise cohort-wide feedback, emphasing 'things to consider' Discussion boards used as a platform for small-group and/or cohort-wide peer feedback Recorded modes (e.g., screen-casting, audio or Zoom recordings with markups) used for faster turnaround time than written feedback (e.g., at urgent points like just prior to final submission)	Tutor workload and subject budget envelope when setting expectations for feedback mode/quantity, especially for larger student cohorts Notions of what is considered 'feedback' (e.g., verbal versus written) might differ between student cohorts and demand explicit signposting
Select feedback modes that encourage students to gauge their own comprehension	Weekly Canvas quizzes designed to allow multiple attempts, provide immediate feedback and prompt reflection Cohort-wide activities for peer marking and/or review of weekly quizzes Past and/or current student work used as references to frame cohort-wide feedback sessions	Frequency of formative feedback (e.g., weekly or fortnightly) that may most encourage development Keep in mind that students may perceive quizzes as assignments rather than as a mode of feedback Check in regularly with students to confirm how much and what kind of feedback is most useful to them (e.g., graphic versus written feedback)
Ensure feedback provision is received by students in a timely and equitable manner	Tutor-facing semester outline with feedback windows based on their workload Tutors provided with summary of cohort-wide feedback to inform upcoming small-group or individual feedback sessions Tutors provided with guidance to ensure equity across subject re: amount and appropriate mode(s) of feedback Pre-emptive strategy developed in the event of delays to feedback provision	Timing for feedback so that students can reasonably apply it to subsequent submissions Student diversity to allow sufficient time to interpret and apply formative feedback to final submissions Tutors preferences for feedback mode (e.g., annotations versus summary comments) and set equivalence to ensure equity across different approaches)

Related Student Quotations
- Getting weekly feedback as well as being able to see other students' works were the most helpful aspect of this subject.
- The opportunity to get shared feedback, go through work, and get curated individual feedback on progress was very helpful throughout the semester.
- I thought the assignment feedback structure was very helpful with the mandatory draft submissions and feedback sessions. I think this definitely helped me learn and improve rather than just learning through assessment.
- The quizzes were great for reinforcing my learning and encouraging me to keep up to date with my work.
- I think the Miro board was really good where the tutor could draw on it and I could go back and look at the feedback whenever I needed.
- The time allocation and assignments were spread out very thoughtfully, including fast response to student feedback which helped a lot with pressure on students.
- Timing for assignments could also be better, some of the turn arounds were super close and felt like there wasn't enough time to be able to complete the assignment and respond to feedback appropriately.
- I found that my tutor would give me feedback to improve my Module but I didn't have enough time to execute it.
- I think it would've been good if the quiz answers were released after each quiz or if they were discussed in class so that we could know that we are on the right track throughout the semester.
References

Boud, D. & Molloy, E. (2013). Rethinking models of feedback for learning: The challenge of design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 6, 698-712.
Carless, D., & Winstone, N. (2020). Teacher feedback literacy and its interplay with student feedback literacy. Teaching in Higher Education: Critical Perspectives.
Crolla, K., Hodgson, P., & Ho, A.W.Y. (2019). Peer critique in debate: A pedagogical tool for teaching architectural design studio. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 13(3), 8.
Hansen, G. (2020). Formative assessment as a collaborative act. Teachers’ intention and students’ experience: Two sides of the same coin, or?Studies in Educational Evaluation 66.
Ryan, T., Henderson, M., & Phillips, M. (2019). Feedback modes matter: Comparing student perceptions of digital and non-digital feedback modes in higher education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(3), 1507-23.

Constructive and Supportive

Feedback tone and focus intentionally aimed at supporting student learning, professional development and wellbeing.

Tactic	Examples	Things to Consider
Encouraging feedback that is focused on helping students identify how to improve, thereby supporting student agency	Tutors provided with examples of constructive feedback (e.g., with clear and specific language) Tutors encouraged to provide feedback that explicitly refers to marking criteria through examples Briefing of external review panel includes tips for constructive feedback relevant to subject context and moment in semester Review of sample feedback provided through Canvas used to monitor tone across teaching team and raise any potential concerns	Refer to the MSD Studio Culture Agreement for information about student concerns and staff/faculty responsibility; note avenues for students to raise concerns General statements in formative feedback (e.g., 'Well done!') may heighten expectations of final marks and/or discourage further development Be direct with students if they are at risk of failure, and provide sufficient time and direction for them to achieve a passing mark
Align feedback to reasonable expectations to ensure attainability	Follow-up meetings with individual students (e.g., after a design review) to discuss feedback and help them set/manage expectations Sample student work shared with cohort to demonstrate attainable expectations	Focussing feedback on the 'big picture' early in semester, then increasingly finer detail; summative feedback might then be framed against long-term/future career guidance
Encouraging consideration of how students are likely to affectively receive feedback in terms of language and non-verbal cues	Tutor meetings to establish expectations around supportive feedback, examples provided that demonstrate sincere, constructive tone and avoid ambiguous language, etc. Tutors encouraged to use 'empathy check' with students to inform their delivery of feedback Debrief sessions (e.g., peer-to-peer) that offer students dialogic opportunities to reframe feedback	Balance of supportive/challenging voices across all sources of feedback to promote academic progress and emotional resilience Consider cultural backgrounds of students and how this might impact feedback reception Encourage a culture of 'reading the room' to foster emotional intelligence amongst staff and students

Related Student Quotations

My tutor provided very clear and detailed comments, feedback and design inspiration references for the assignments which helped immensely in terms of understanding the assignment goals and developing our designs throughout the semester. Encouraging students with positive feedback while also giving justified critiques were very helpful for me at least, to feel more confident about my designs.
[My tutor] was great at guiding each student individually, her feedback was very constructive and clear. She was very positive, supportive and encouraging and patient with our ideas.
Assignment critique, particular towards the end of the subject, was mostly focused on what could've been done to develop the project further. While interesting, there wasn't a lot of criticism on what could've been improved in the work submitted– it would be nice if tutors could provide more insight into improving the current portfolio as well.
My tutor was extremely harsh with his feedback. After many tutorials, I felt discouraged and reluctant to work on the deliverables for the following week knowing that my work will just be faulted and critiqued immensely.
The level of feedback was often overwhelming, even though extremely clear. At times, this clouded the direction of the project because of its unattainability. It may be helpful in the future to provide a clear breakdown of the priority of the feedback.
Feedback should be structured to allow students to be engaged with the subject and actually allow us to take the feedback and improve our work, feedbacks such as "keep working on it" without any context whatsoever is irrelevant and not useful at all.
References

Ajjawi, R. and Boud, D. (2018). Examining the nature and effects of feedback dialogue. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(7), 1106–19.
Carless, D. and Boud, D. (2018). The development of student feedback literacy: Enabling uptake of feedback, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(8), 1315-25.
Henderson, M., Ryan, T., Boud, D., Dawson, P., Phillips, M., Molloy, E. & Mahoney, P. (2019). The usefulness of feedback. Active Learning in Higher Education. Advance online publication.
Rust, C. & Boud, D. (2015). Engaged feedback: Students’ role in feedback. [video] Teaching Development, University of Wollongong.
Webster, H. (2007). The analytics of power: Re‐presenting the design jury.Journal of Architectural Education, 60(3), pp.21-27.

Credible

Feedback draws on multiple credible perspectives and is relevant to cohort’s diverse professional futures.

Tactic	Examples	Things to Consider
Moderate feedback to ensure its relevance to learning and development	Peer feedback sessions are prefaced by modeling/role-playing activities List of feedback 'dos and dont's' (e.g., ways to ensure breadth/relevance of feedback) provided to teaching team	Flag feedback 'dos and dont's' to students to support peer feedback sessions Training tutors about when/how to 'step in' and redirect harsh feedback from panel members or colelagues, and how to guide appropriate feedback practice for guests/students 'Reading the room' during peer or guest feedback sessions can be more difficult online
Encourage authentic feedback, rooted in ‘real world’ and/or industry contexts	Industry/community partners invited to participate in design of feedback procedures (e.g., by reviewing language in marking rubric) Events organised around formative feedback from practitioners (e.g., student PechaKucha presentations or mock interviews) Selection of guests reflects diversity of student cohort and their potential futures	Industry perspectives from tutors may need to be explicitly highlighted to students to establish credibility Encourage guests to align formative feedback with subject expectations to avoid mixed messages for students, and articulate this connection where necessary
Facilitate ‘triangulated’ feedback by inviting feedback from multiple sources (student-led, interdisciplinary guests, other academics, etc.)	Peer feedback opportunities designed early in assessment task to diversify feedback and broaden student horizons Past students invited to share their challenges, inspirational insights and assessment-related tips as a 'survival video' posted on the Canvas site Commentary provided to students on any major discrepancies between sources of feedback and how they might respond to this	Explaining feedback and marking procedures to students, especially how/when multiple staff are involved (i.e., how feedback informs marking) The most appropriate digital platform(s0 for managing multiple sources of feedback (e.g., a Miro board, Speedgrader, etc.)

Related Student Quotations
- The crits are key because we can receive feedback from different perspectives and it really helps us to improve our thinking and design approaches in future projects.
- Receiving feedback from other senior academics within the faculty on our presentations was great.
- The teaching team always assist us, and the feedback from them are really helpful not only for the project, but also for the future career.
- Group feedback. The breakout rooms were a great opportunity to receive new feedback and ideas from classmates.
- Introducing the cross–pollination session was helpful to see more projects and hear another tutor's feedback.
- Many inputs from different backgrounds (tutor, practicing architects, engineers, ESD consultants, etc).
References

Dawson, P., Carless, D., & Lee, P.P.W. (2020). Authentic feedback: supporting learners to engage in disciplinary feedback practices. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 46(2), 286-96.
Yeigh, M.J. (2022). Teaching Students to Use Feedback: A Step Toward Deeper Learning. Ed (d)
Henderson, M., Ryan, T., Boud, D., Dawson, P., Phillips, M., Molloy, E. & Mahoney, P. (2019). The usefulness of feedback. Active Learning in Higher Education, 22(3), 229-43.
Yeigh, M.J. (2022). Teaching students to use feedback: A step toward deeper learning. Faculty Focus.
Rust, C. & Boud, D. (2015). Providing effective feedback: What is feedback? [video] Teaching Development, University of Wollongong.