Abstract:

Higher Education has experienced many developments in approaches to teaching and assessment in recent times. Adopting a quantitative approach, this research explored the delivery of immediate feedback using an APP with first year undergraduate students undertaking a practical skills-based module. The study examined the students’ understanding of feedback, student self-monitoring and resulting levels of engagement and performance in the associated module.

Higher Education has seen many changes in learning and assessment approaches over the years. Technology is a key feature of these changes and is now an integral part of learning and assessment strategies. The objective of this study is to explore the effectiveness of delivering immediate feedback using an App and the resulting impact on students’ learning in a practical skills-based module. Surveys with a cohort of first year undergraduate students from one Department studying a module on a Programme in one Higher Education Institution were conducted.

The findings show that students understand feedback in its different forms and expect a high level of feedback upon submission of work. Approaches need to be developed to ensure students are receiving timely, concise feedback, particularly in practical modules where learning by reinforcement underpins the learning process.

Large student cohorts often inhibit the delivery of individual feedback, this can be overcome with the use of an APP that allows the student to submit work and in return receive concise individual feedback. Where a task was not completed correctly, the APP generates feedback conveying this to the student, but also provides indicators as to how to correctly complete the task and resolve any errors made. The APP also awards a mark for each task that has been completed correctly, enabling the students to preview their overall marks for the complete activity. The APP gives the student an opportunity to improve the overall mark by utilizing the feedback to correct any problems with individual tasks in the activity prior to submission for final marking by their lecturer. As a result, the learning process is not disrupted whilst the student awaits feedback from the lecturer but enhanced further by innovative technology.

Higher Education has moved towards a learning experience that promotes a more active learning approach. Immediate feedback enables learners to understand their mistakes and promotes a culture of self-awareness, learner responsibility and self-monitoring which in turn contributes to a more meaningful learning experience for the student.

Keywords:

Technology, Education, APP, Feedback, Self-Monitoring.