Providing quality feedback : where to from here?

For students to progress, feedback is essential. Without feedback it is difficult for students to progress because they have little measure of their cognitive and skill development; in partnership with a facilitator or tutor it is easier. Within this partnership, however, some types of feedback are potentially more powerful than others. We argue that assessment tasks which provide a structure to encourage a feedback loop may provide the students and tutors with more opportunity for progression and performance at a higher level. For students to achieve the necessary cognitive and skill outcomes; they need to understand each of the steps they are taking along the way. If we can give students feedback that helps them reflect on their behaviour, they may progress more rapidly along this pathway and if we take our tutors with us on this journey then the learning outcomes we desire might be achieved.