Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-rngvg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-05T07:38:19.764Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Introduction: Rethinking Assessment and Feedback

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Nicola Smith  and
Helen Williams
Nicola Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, Edgbaston, B15 2TT, UK
Helen Williams
Affiliation:
School of Politics & International Relations, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There is now a rich pedagogical literature that attests to the absolute centrality of assessment and feedback in effective student learning at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. And yet – despite this consensus in the pedagogical literature over the crucial importance of assessment and feedback – they are not, it seems, fulfilling their purpose or potential for students or lecturers alike. This symposium starts from the premise that assessment and feedback matter, that they are not working at present and that we need to find ways to do them differently. The symposium brings together five original articles from contributors who all want to explore alternative ways of thinking about, and doing, assessment and/or feedback so that they work better both for our students and for us as their lecturers.

Keywords

pedagogyassessmentfeedbackdialogic learning

Information

Type
Symposium
Information
European Political Science , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 127 - 134
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 European Consortium for Political Research

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

Footnotes

*

Corresponding author.

References

Agrawal, A., Buckley-Irvine, N. and Clewlow, E. (2014) ‘Is the national student survey fit for purpose?’ The Guardian 12 August, available at: http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/aug/12/do-we-still-need-national-student-survey-university.Google Scholar
Bean, J.C. (2011) Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Beaumont, C., O’Doherty, M. and Shannon, L. (2011) ‘Reconceptualising assessment feedback: A key to improving student learning?’, Studies in Higher Education 36(6): 671-687 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at University: What the Student Does, Maidenhead: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Blair, A., Curtis, S., Goodwin, M. and Shields, S. (2013a) ‘What feedback do students want?’, Politics 33(1): 66-79 Google Scholar
Blair, A., Curtis, S. and McGinty, S. (2013b) ‘Is peer feedback an effective approach for creating dialogue in politics?’, European Political Science 12(1): 102-115 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clouder, L., Broughan, C., Jewell, S. and Steventon, G. (2013) Improving Student Engagement and Development through Assessment: Theory and Practice in Higher Education, London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grove, J. (2014) ‘National student survey 2014 results show record levels of satisfaction’. Times Higher Education 12 August.Google Scholar
Ishiyama, J. (2013) ‘Frequently used learning techniques and their impact: A critical review of existing journal literature in the United States’, European Political Science 12(1): 116-126 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laurillard, D. (2013) Rethinking University Teaching: A Conversational Framework for the Effective Use of Learning Technologies, London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, J. and De Luca, R. (2014) ‘Review of assessment feedback’, Studies in Higher Education 39(2): 378-393 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacNell, L., Driscoll, A. and Hunt, A.N. (2015) ‘What’s in a name: Exposing gender bias in student ratings of teaching’, Innovative Higher Education 40(4): 291-303 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moss-Racusin, C.A., Dovidio, J.F., Brescoll, V.L., Graham, M.J. and Handelsman, J. (2012) ‘Science faculty’s subtle gender biases favor male students’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(41): 16474-16479 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nicol, D. (2010) ‘From monologue to dialogue: Improving written feedback processes in mass higher education’, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 35(5): 501-517 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ratcliffe, R. (2013) ‘Students: We can’t get no satisfaction’. The Guardian 8 July, available at: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/jul/08/students-fees-consumer-power.Google Scholar