Abstract

There is evidence that students want more useful feedback from their teachers (Krause et al., 2005). As well, staff are under more pressure with larger classes and demands to improve student retention rates reducing available time for extensive feedback to their students. Assessment serves four main functions: diagnostic, summative, formative and evaluative. Formative assessment is associated with developing students' overall employability and is considered by educationalists as the most effective means of enhancing self-directed learning (Gibbs & Simpson, 2004-2005; Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006; Yorke, 2001). This paper examines ways in which the type of feedback to students can be adjusted to increase student-centred learning. The guiding principles for giving constructive feedback are divided into pre-task and post-task activities, each with three loci: teacher, student self-assessment and peer assessment.