The management of assignments is one of the most challenging aspects of managing learning in distance education. Both teachers and learners should understand assignments as a teaching and learning strategy, not just as an assessment tool, as highlighted in Unit Two. If assessment is to meet the overall teaching and learning purpose, students need to be given enough time to do the assignments, and to give and receive feedback in order to learn from the process. Think back to Unit Two where you explored three forms of assessment: assessment of learning, assessment for learning and assessment as learning. A good teacher will ensure that assignments for open school learners serve these three purposes.

One of the most important aspects of assessment in distance learning is giving and receiving feedback on assessment. Feedback plays a critical role in student development, motivation, and satisfaction. In the next activity you will explore ways in which you can provide feedback to students.

Learning activity 4

1. Think about the types of assessment from Unit 2.
2. Copy Table 10 and tick the type/s of feedback relevant to each type of assessment. You can tick more than one. Then go to question 3. Do not complete the last column yet.

Table 10: Types of feedback relevant to each type of assessment

3. Now, go back to Table 8 in learning activity 3.

a. In your context, identify the types of learner support service that you can use to provide assessment feedback to students.

b. Write in the relevant learner support services next to each assessment type in the last column. You may write more than one learner support service for each assessment type. You may also write down additional support services that your institution provides that are not in Table 8.

Reflection

Here is an example of what your table may look like, but remember it will be different in each context:

Table 11: Example of what your table may look like

All of the learner support services your institution provides are part of a system. Feedback on assignments needs to form an integral part of that system. For example, once students have completed and submitted assignments they are sent to the institution for marking. There needs to be a well–designed system for receiving, recording and distributing assignments to markers. Once received, facilitators/teachers mark the assignments using a carefully designed rubric. Meaningful feedback should be given, which learners can use to improve – assessment for learning and teaching. The marked assignments should be recorded before they are dispatched back to learners so that marks can eventually be integrated in the term or year grade – assessment of learning.

It may feel as if giving regular feedback will be a daunting task. There are ways to reduce the workload associated with regular feedback such as using tools that can provide automated feedback, engaging students in peer-feedback, and providing feedback to the entire class instead of individual students.

When providing feedback, consider the following elements:

• Content of feedback: Include explicit information about what aspects of students’ knowledge or performance did not meet the success criteria. Inform how they can adjust their current knowledge or performance to reach the desired goal.
• Amount of feedback: Avoid overwhelming students with too many comments and prioritize feedback to important matters so students can understand where they should focus their future efforts.
• Timing of feedback: Choose appropriate timing of feedback (how soon and how often; immediate vs. delayed) based on the learning goals, activity/assessment types and difficult levels, and learner needs. Feedback is most effective when delivered as quickly as possible.
• Revision opportunities: Provide opportunities for students to reflect and use feedback. Students should have opportunities to incorporate feedback into subsequent assignments or their final product.

(Adapted from Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett & Normal, 2010 and Shute, 2008.)

You can read more about feedback in the UBC module for Designing Online Assessment and ideas for communicating feedback online