Contextual Background
In this blog, I focus on formative feedback I gave in crits for first-year computer science students on the Human-Computer Interaction module. The students were asked to design a system which sparks people to reflect on decolonisation. In weekly crits, each group of students presented at the front with all other groups watching, and I provided written feedback for each presentation, sent out to students by e-mail at the end of the crit. They directly respond to quotes from this feedback in the next crit presentation.
Evaluation
Based on the guidance discussed in the workshop, particularly the Arts SU guide for crits (Arts Students’ Union, 2024), an issue with my approach is that it emphasises my own thoughts as key assessment criteria. Many students might perform learning and simply agree to my suggestions, as opposed to developing critical thinking skills. Instead of “championing multiple ways of knowing” (Arts Students’ Union, 2024), the power-imbalance of myself as an expert in crits might lead to students “internalis[ing] the objective knowledge, routines, techniques and attitudes of the expert” (Rose, 1996, quoted in Barrow, 2005, pg. 260) as opposed to using the feedback as a structure to “negotiate with” (quote from Design Student Nicholas in Barrow, 2006, pg. 369).
Moving Forwards
An implication from this issue is that students need to be encouraged to exercise their own critical thinking skills – to reflect upon, and perhaps even argue, with my expert feedback.
One idea from the group discussion in class I will try is for myself as a lecturer to play a more passive, almost invisible role, with the students leading the writing and giving of feedback. Through doing, the students then start to build critical thinking skills and develop the craft skill of giving and receiving feedback – ‘reflecting-in-action’ on tacit knowledge built (Schön, 1983) whilst writing the critiques. By being able to steer their own design explorations towards their personal interests students might also “engag[e] in activities which… tell them something about themselves” (Mann, 2001, quoted in Barrow, 2006, pg. 358) and, in following their own interests, might be more intrinsically motivated (Pucher et al., 2003) to engage in critical thinking on their design process.
A challenge here – particularly, I think for first-year students – is that they might not yet developed the necessary design knowledge to be able to offer critiques on expert knowledge which they haven’t been exposed to. They might also not have the necessary vocabulary to be able to frame and offer constructive criticism. Going forward, I will make my own expert feedback more differentiated (Eikeland and Ohna, 2022) by asking what student’s would find most useful in terms of feedback in advance of sessions. I can push them to then think critically about their own intrinsic motivations in relation to new ideas they may not have heard of – both exciting their intrinsic motivators whilst offering new opportunities for critical thought. I plan to adopt a more gradual approach across the crit iterations might also – from myself giving feedback in early iterations as an example for students to mimic themselves in later sessions – to strike a balance between student-led learning and the building of essential domain knowledge.
References
Arts Students’ Union (2024) ‘Crits and Inclusive Learning at UAL’. Available at: https://www.arts-su.com/news/article/6013/Crits-and-Inclusive-Learning-at-UAL/.
Barrow, M. (2006) ‘Assessment and student transformation: linking character and intellect’, Studies in Higher Education, 31(3), pp. 357–372. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600680869.
Eikeland, I. and Ohna, S.E. (2022) ‘Differentiation in education: a configurative review’, Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 8(3), pp. 157–170. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/20020317.2022.2039351.
Mann, S. (2001) ‘Alternative perspectives on the student experience: alienation and engagement’, Studies in Higher Education, 26(1), pp. 7–19.
Pucher, R.K. et al. (2003) ‘Intrinsic motivation of students in project based learning’, Transactions of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers, 94(3), pp. 6–9.
Rose, N. (1996) Inventing ourselves: psychology, power and personhood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schön, D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. London: Basic Books Inc.