Assessment and feedback
As written in the UAL staff guidelines to assessment (22-23), formative assessment is explained as “an assessment for learning. It is a process of evaluating learning through work-in-progress to provide feedback to assist students in developing their learning further.” As a technician, I am mostly involved with formative assessments and feedback daily. My role is to teach new skills and provide guidance and advice on practical outcomes through technical workshops and supervised studio. Giving continual feedback on student’s individual projects throughout the technical workshops or units is vital to helping them improve practical skills as they progress. Mistakes are made during this time which is part of the learning process with garment construction and how it is dealt with can make a difference on the student’s confidence and create a positive or negative learning environment.
The need for formative assessment is to identify issues in the learning process and intervene in real-time before students fall behind their peers and become demotivated. This can be challenging when working with all students but especially first year undergraduate students, who may have little or no experience of sewing when joining the course. It takes time, practice, and patience to sew a straight line, let alone construct garments. Some students have the expectation that they can learn this quickly and become frustrated when this expectation is not met. It is important that during this time that I deliver honest feedback with appropriate advice on how to improve, focusing on positives to keep motivation high and feeding forward. As they state, Biggs and Tang (2011 p64) “Arguably the most powerful enhancement to learning is feedback during learning”. This can be challenging when a student may need to repeat the action 5-10 times in order to get it right, but compassion and understanding can help keep the student compelled to continue and not give up. “Errors are important learning opportunities, but feedback is essential if students are to learn from error” Biggs and Tang (2011). The tone of voice, inclusive language and a solution when a student has made a mistake can make a difference on how the student proceeds. Formative assessment gives me the opportunity to see how students are progressing with their skill level and encourage those who may need more support and practice to attend open access and independent study if required.
Some students may prefer a harder line as they progress and understanding each student and how they respond to advice and feedback is vital to deliver a tailored approach in each case. Being perceptive about their preferred methods of feedback delivery is required to get the best out of that student and build trust. It is also important to allow students to experiment and make mistakes rather than give them the answer to allow them to develop independence and problem-solving skills as they progress. This is something that is well received by students and documented in technical workshop feedback forms and the NSS free text comments.
The biggest challenge is I have faced is giving students enough one to one time for formative assessments. Due to cohort size and more complex learning differences, it can be difficult to give each student the feedback they require in the time available. I have adopted peer to peer feedback through technical workshops which has worked well. However, this can be difficult to achieve in supervised studio when students have very different constructions and may be working in different spaces entirely. I have made use of the Scheduler on Moodle for students to book time slots during supervised studio for 3rd year students. Asking students to book earlier slots if they need immediate help and later slots if they have work they can continue with, to ensure students have an equal amount of one to one time. Many students still prefer to work at home and offering slots online ensures fairness. Moving forward, a look at the staff to student ratio, or additional supervised studio sessions would allow for more time especially to those who made need it more “those whom you think may be headed for a 2.2 or 3rd class degree: research evidence suggests that your time is most effectively spent with them.” UAL (2023). Timetabled peer assessments would also be a worthwhile addition.
References
UAL (2022-23) Staff guidance to assessment. Available at: https://artslondon.sharepoint.com/sites/CanvasContent/Documents/London%20College%20of%20Fashion/L&T%20Hub/LCF%20Staff%20Guide%20to%20Assessment%2022_23%20.pdf Accessed (12/03/23)
Biggs, J. and Tang, C., 2011. EBOOK: Teaching for Quality Learning at University. McGraw-hill education (UK). Accessed (12/03/23)
UAL (2023) Eliminating Inequality in formative assessment. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/190153/AEM-Eliminating-Inequality-Formative-Assessment-PDF-288KB.pdf Accessed (12/03/23)