Training Sessional Academic Staff to Provide Quality Feedback on University Students' Assessment: Lessons From a Faculty of Law Learning and Teaching Project

Abstract

The quality of feedback provided to university students has long been recognised as the most important predictor of student learning and satisfaction. However, providing quality feedback to students is challenging in the current context, in which universities increasingly rely on casualised and inexperienced academic staff to assess undergraduate work. Ensuring that these staff are suitably equipped to provide quality feedback to students is vital if student learning and satisfaction goals are to be met. This article reports on a learning and teaching project undertaken in the School of Justice (Faculty of Law) at Queensland University of Technology that sought to address this issue. The project involved delivering an evidence-based training workshop to all casual academic staff in the School, on how to provide quality constructive feedback to students. Results from online surveys of sessional staff (N = 9) and a sample of undergraduate students (N = 141) are presented in this article. Findings suggest that on the whole, staff felt better equipped to provide constructive feedback to students following the workshop, and students perceived an improvement in the feedback they received. We conclude that such training can create a modest improvement in the provision of feedback to students.

Keywords:

• sessional academics
• adjunct faculty
• contractual faculty
• constructive feedback
• university students
• academic staff training

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to recognise the important contribution made by all staff and students who took part in the research. The research assistance of Natasha Papazian is also gratefully acknowledged.

Funding

The authors are grateful for the funding support of a Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Law -Learning and Teaching grant.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kelly Richards

Kelly Richards is a Senior Lecturer at Queensland University of Technology, Faculty of Law, School of Justice, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Tamara Bell

Tamara Bell is A/Indigenous Justice Officer at Brisbane Magistrates Court, Queensland Court Services, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Angela Dwyer

Angela Dwyer is Associate Professor at University of Tasmania, Faculty of Arts, School of Social Sciences, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.