The student experience Discussion
It is hoped that all academics consider themselves as reflective practitioners. If we consider reflection as being important in our practices then we should also ensure that students are encouraged to reflect on their work. The extensive use of essays in assessment of our students has in many ways produced a culture and expectation of this form of assessment for academic ability.
Any deviation from this expectation can cause a sense of insecurity and this may well have contributed to the intense reaction against the exercise we conducted. Thus, removing students from the comfort-zone of the traditional essay forces them to exercise independence and personal responsibility whereas many are waiting to be told what to do or are playing a game to keep lecturers happy (Sambell & McDowell, 1998). Another contributory factor is that many students entering higher education only have experience of repetition of ideas and rote learning and consequently lack many of the skills that essential if they are to become successful autonomous learners. Science students in particular are not given much formal opportunity to reflect on learning as much of the material covered in science programs is highly factual. As seen in this exercise, given the opportunity, science students can display a higher level of intellectual engagement with assignments than previously witnessed. However, this enhancement was not readily apparent to the students as shown by their poor attitudes to this reflective exercise.
The questionnaire data provided further insights into the attitudes of students to reflective feedback assignments. Although many were in favor of such exercises, they were of one mind that it was too late to give such an exercise in the final year and it should be introduced in the first year. It is true that reflection should be encouraged from the beginning of the course but the idea that reflection is not needed at the end of the course is absurd.
When some of the student representatives were quizzed on this attitude it emerged that they did indeed think that such activities were of little use at the end of the degree thereby confirming some of Jackson's earlier observations (Jackson, 1995). They did not seem to appreciate that such activities and the feedback from the activity could be applied to what they may do in their graduate life. These students seem to be unwilling to take advantage of assessment to improve their learning while at the same time having a very immature view about the nature and functions of assessment and subsequent feedback.
This attitude seems to reinforce the compartmentalization of learning experiences of students whose knowledge is context-related and cannot readily be applied outside the situation in which it was acquired. More lateral forms of learning need to be encouraged but are hampered by the modular approach to teaching which pervades both school and university education in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
The results of the questionnaire appear to dispel the impression that students pay little regard to written feedback on essays with the majority of students saying that they do read and act on feedback. However, this claim is not evidenced when marking scripts but clearly, the month-long period between the students submitting work and receiving feedback means that coursework prepared during this interval will not benefit from feedback given on work submitted a few weeks earlier. Although this might account for some short-term delay in applying feedback, it should still be cumulative and by the final year should not be a major factor.
From this simple exercise a number of important pedagogic lessons have been learned:
• As noted by Orsmond et al (2005) academic staff not only have to give feedback but must evaluate how effective their feedback has been.
• Students need to be given more opportunities to be involved in reflective exercises of this nature.
• That reflection should be encouraged from the start of the course.
• That reflection should not aim just to affect current leaning but be applicable more widely throughout the degree and that graduates should be encouraged to appreciate its value in postgraduate studies as well as the wider world of work.
