Developing sustainable feedback practices

TLDR

Feedback is central to student learning, yet modularised higher‑education contexts make effective handling increasingly difficult. The article argues for sustainable feedback as a way to reconceptualise feedback processes. Data come from the Student Assessment and Feedback Enhancement project, using in‑depth semi‑structured interviews with a purposive sample of award‑winning teachers. Findings identify practices aligned with a sustainable feedback framework, emphasise student self‑regulation, and outline opportunities and challenges for staff and student uptake.

Abstract

Feedback is central to the development of student learning, but within the constraints of modularized learning in higher education it is increasingly difficult to handle effectively. This article makes a case for sustainable feedback as a contribution to the reconceptualization of feedback processes. The data derive from the Student Assessment and Feedback Enhancement project, involving in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with a purposive sample of award‐winning teachers. The findings focus on those reported practices consistent with a framework for sustainable feedback, and particularly highlight the importance of student self‐regulation. The article concludes by setting out some possibilities and challenges for staff and student uptake of sustainable feedback.