We want to know how students make use of feedback to support their overall learning experience at Sheffield Hallam – how they engage with feedback, store and recall feedback for use in future learning and future assignments, and how technology can help students use feedback more effectively. We want to hear from students about their individual processes and strategies!

The objective of this project is to use this deep understanding to develop a technical intervention to enhance and engage students with feedback. This will lead to institutional change in how students’ use of feedback is facilitated, towards encouraging continuous formative learner engagement with, and enhancement of, feedback through appropriate technologies.

If you are a SHU student and you are interested in this research project, please read the information below about what’s involved and your eligibility to participate. If you are a member of staff, you might like to notify your undergraduate students about the study.

What’s involved?
Students wishing to participate will need to complete this expression of interest (by noon on Friday 2 December 2011) and then, if selected, starting 12 December 2011 until 13 April 2012 will be asked to post a Tweet each time they receive, make use of or refer to feedback in future learning and future assessments. In addition, participants will be asked to keep a weekly diary reflecting on all aspects of feedback over the same period of time. Participants will need to attend a short briefing session (during the week beginning 5 December 2011), commit around 20 minutes each week to keep the diary and participate in an end of study interview (on or after 16 April 2012). On completion of the study, and subject to review of participation, participants will receive a £50 Amazon voucher (or suitable alternative) and entered into a prize draw to win an iPad 2 (16GB wifi version) (or suitable alternative).

Who can participate?
To take part, students must:

• be enrolled as full-time, on-campus, undergraduates at Sheffield Hallam (i.e. studying at levels 3, 4, 5, or 6)
• have at least four of your modules supported by Blackboard sites
• own a mobile phone capable of posting to Twitter
• be willing to Tweet each instance of receiving and making use of feedback, and to commit around 20 minutes each week to keeping a diary, for the duration of the study
• attend a short pre-study briefing session
• participate in the hour-long end-of-study interview

This is a limited study, with only 30 places available. Selection to participate will be based on student responses to the expression of interest as we want to ensure a spread of participation across Faculties and levels of study. To register an interest, please complete this expression of interest by noon on Friday 2 December 2011. We will then contact those people selected to participate in the full study with further information.

All data will be treated with strictest confidence. If you have any questions, please email Stuart Hepplestone (S.J.Hepplestone@shu.ac.uk).