Improving student-centered feedback through self-assessment.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Higher Education Pedagogy
• Student Assessment

Background:

• Traditionally, academic feedback is unidirectional from educators to students.
• This project explored bi-directional feedback through student self-assessment.
• The aim was to enhance student-centered feedback processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To integrate a self-assessment component into an assessment task.
• To improve student-centered feedback in a nursing program.
• To investigate the impact of self-assessment on student learning and academic feedback.

Main Methods:

• A two-phased, mixed-methods explanatory sequential design was employed.
• Quantitative data from self-assessed and academic-assessed marks were analyzed using SPSS.
• Qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured focus groups and analyzed thematically.

Main Results:

• Year One nursing students more accurately estimated their grades than Year Three students.
• Students sometimes underestimated grades, seeking validation or higher marks.
• Engagement with self-assessment improved work quality and made academic feedback more meaningful.

Conclusions:

• Self-assessment can enhance student work and feedback, but requires student trust.
• Year One students struggled with evidence utilization, unlike Year Three students.
• Some students attempted to manipulate the self-assessment process rather than engage genuinely.