In search of learning-focused feedback practices: a linguistic analysis of higher education feedback policy
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2023-01-01
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Feedback can have one of the biggest positive influences on higher education learners. Despite this, teachers and students consistently report being dissatisfied with feedback. In response, there has been a theoretical shift in how feedback is conceptualised and discussed within the research literature. Older transmission-focused models have evolved into more learning-focused approaches. However, the extent to which higher education feedback policy, and subsequent practice, embrace such current thinking is unclear. This research adopted a corpus linguistics approach to analyse how the term ‘feedback’ was used within 50 UK higher education institutions’ feedback policy texts. Sketch Engine was used to analyse ‘feedback’ collocation frequencies. To investigate differences between research-intensive (Russell Group) and more teaching-focused (non-Russell Group) universities, separate corpora were also compiled and compared. Quantitative results showed that the most frequent feedback collocations related to outdated transmission-focused feedback practices. However, qualitative deductive thematic analysis found that many feedback policies did present learning-focused feedback practices despite using transmission-focused language. Feedback appears to mean different things to different higher education institutions which could lead to confusion for teachers and students. The research concludes by presenting key practical implications for practitioners involved in feedback policy design and enactment to improve practice.
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Davies, JA (2023). In search of learning-focused feedback practices: a linguistic analysis of higher education feedback policy. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 48(8). pp. 1208–1222. 10.1080/02602938.2023.2180617 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/31506.
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Joseph Arthur Davies
Joseph Davies is Senior Lecturer of English Language and Assistant Director for Graduate English for Academic Purposes at Duke Kunshan University's Language and Culture Center. Joseph's current research interests are in higher education assessment, focusing on feedback, specifically second language student feedback literacy, teacher feedback literacy, and feedback culture within Sino-foreign higher education contexts. His research has been published in academic journals such as Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Joseph is also a founding core lab member of Duke Kunshan University's Institute for Global Higher Education (IGHE) pedagogical research and practice lab. He holds a First Class B.Sc. (honors) in forensic science and an M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages with Applied Linguistics. He also holds a University of Cambridge DELTA qualification and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Joseph has over 15 years' experience designing, managing and teaching academic and professional English-language and teacher training courses throughout China and in the UK. Joseph has lectured at New York University Shanghai and previously served as business development lead for one of the UK's largest universities, establishing, maintaining, and enhancing academic partnerships throughout China.
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