Chances are your lowest myExperience rating is for feedback while the second lowest is for assessments. Students crave feedback and assessments are the root of all evil. One solution is rapid, individualised feedback coupled with low-stakes assessment. In my course, myExperience evaluations for feedback are 5.7-5.9/6.0 and for assessments 5.6-5.8/6.0 (across the last four years). How do you turn these around? 

In redesigning my 3rd year zoology course, I was particularly mindful of incorporating ‘low-stakes’ assessment, to minimise anxiety and allow students to explore ideas and demonstrate their knowledge more freely. I coupled these assessments with personalised feedback (Flock & Garcia 2019). So, how exactly do you do this and not burnout before the end of term?

First, a core assessment in my course relates to a peer-discussion and reflective activity that has replaced the final exam. This Lecture Q&A Forum (see ‘TiP: Jumpstart your learning community through reflection and asynchronous peer-discussion’) functions as both a low-stakes assessment (each post accrues 2% towards a student’s final mark) and a facilitator of peer-feedback. So one strategy is to get the students to provide their own feedback. In which case, it’s critical you have active oversight as a means of quality verification. For example, I monitor the peer feedback and supplement it with my own to address any comprehension gaps. 

Second, an additional component accompanying my course’s lecture content (see 'TiP: Achieving 100% engagement through interactive video lectures’) is a series of video ‘Lectures From the Field’ (see 'TiP: Stop recording dull lectures in your office and go wild’). I continue the low-stakes assessment approach by having each episode accompanied by a multiple-choice quiz. I develop these quizzes in a way that allows students two attempts to obtain a total 10% towards their final mark. By allowing repeat attempts, students gain immediate feedback on why their initial answer was incorrect, with an opportunity to improve their mark through a second attempt on a related question. This combination of immediate feedback, self-assessment and low-stakes evaluation improves learning outcomes in a range of contexts (Inman & Myers 2018; Fiock & Garcia 2019).

Note: writing effective multiple choice questions and answers is hard. Piontek (2008) provides the best ‘how-to’ guide on the appropriate design of multiple choice questions, coupled with an evidenced-based justification. 

Finally, try conveying your feedback through personalized audio comments. You can do this if you use Turnitin as your assessment submission portal. You’ll find audio feedback is vastly quicker than writing out individual feedback. Moreover, your students can hear your tone and understand your evaluation of their work is meant to be encouraging, rather than critical. Providing audio feedback also helps students feel less isolated (Fiock & Garcia 2019), because hearing your voice provides a more personal connection with you as their educator than can be achieved through text. If you were to try just one approach, make it audio feedback. It saves you time and the students appreciate it.

References:

Fiock, H & Garcia, H 2019. How to give your students better feedback with technology. The Chronicle for Higher Education, published online 15/11/19.

Inman, J & Myers, S 2018. Now streaming: strategies that improve video lectures. IDEA Paper #68.

Piontek, M E 2008. Best practices for designing and grading exams. Occasional Paper Series, Center for Research on Learning and Teaching #24. <- It's awesome. Use it!