Can you tell us about your research and any other research you’re contributing to?
Audio-Visual Feedback in Vocational Assessment: Solving Problems or Creating New Ones?
This study builds upon preliminary findings from an ETF sponsored MA short course which concluded that audio-visual (AV) feedback possesses many benefits to those who receive it. In particular a more personalised and detailed dialogue was valued by students. This lends support to the work of Hope, 2011; Ice et al, 2019; Merry and Orsmond, 2008; O’Malley, 2011 where they point to the potential of AV feedback to encourage constructive and meaningful dialogue with less scope for ambiguity. What is puzzling however is that despite the above, the original study found that the use of AV feedback had minimal impact on student engagement.
This thesis explores why this might be the case as well as potential enabling and inhibiting factors and impacts upon both students and teachers in the use of AV feedback in assessment. The work of Clarke (2001) and Wiliam (2012) is helpful here as they point to the pitfalls of providing assessment feedback without ensuring that students are given the opportunity to act upon it effectively. To fail to do so they argue is to relegate formative assessment to a time consuming, empty and ritualistic tutor monologue. Both contend that it is what students do with feedback and how they respond to it that is important in the process, with a more cognitive rather than emotional response increasing student effort and aspiration.
With the proposed benefits of AV feedback widely promoted, the use and success of AV methods of feedback is not yet well understood. This raises the question of the extent to which the use of AV feedback in the use of formative assessment in further adult and vocational educational contexts is helping to address the enduring educational issues associated with assessment theory and practice or simply creating new ones by overlooking its pedagogical purpose
Is there anything else you would like to share about your work that you think would be helpful to the group.
Current FE practitioner at HSDC where I work as a Teaching and Learning Coach and manage and teach on the University of Portsmouth PGCE degree we run as a partner college. Background in Sport and Health Science which I also teach across various vocational programmes and access to HE offered at the college.