Improving the effectiveness of feedback by use of assessed reflections and withholding of grades

Abstract

We wished to improve levels of student engagement with feedback within the context of our postgraduate masters-level programme, and therefore evaluated the use of two interventions: assessed reflections on feedback and grade-withholding. In questionnaires students reported more engagement with feedback after the interventions, with 77% in favour of using reflections, though only 57% favoured grade-withholding, with feelings of frustration and anxiety about the grade cited as factors. Overall class grades improved over the two years in which reflections were used, with the greatest gains made by students generating the most insightful reflections. Additional gains in the second year of intervention may have been attributable to improved implementation or the introduction of grade-withholding, or a combination of both. Overall we demonstrated clear improvement in feedback utilisation and achievement associated with our interventions.

Keywords:

• feedback
• feed-forward
• grade-withholding
• reflection

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the students for participating in the study, the anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions and Ms Caitlin Welsh for transcribing the focus group discussion.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.