A presentation from the E-Learning in Health Conference 2011.
Much is written about the process of giving feedback but there is little work on how learners can be helped to translate feedback into action and feed-forward to subsequent assessments. This presentation reports on a study that aims to build on past research about feedback and the feed-forward principle. The aim of the research was to evaluate how students on a mentorship in healthcare module used the individualised audio and written feedback they received through the University's virtual learning environment (VLE) in developing their summative assessments. The students received feedback from their tutors in audio MP3 files using Audacity. Research data was gathered using questionnaires for students one-to-one interviews with students and focus groups with the teaching team to understand learners' and teachers' experiences of giving and receiving audio and written feedback.
The presentation shares the research results and uses them to trigger a discussion about whether audio feedback delivered via MP3 files in the virtual learning environment can be effectively used to enhance learner ability to feed-forward and use feedback. We have used the results to develop a toolkit for lecturers on how to give constructive audio feedback.
