Improving student satisfaction with feedback by engaging them in self-assessment and reflection

Student satisfaction with educational feedback is usually the lowest of all quality indicators. A novel procedure - the Task Evaluation and Reflection Instrument for Student Self-Assessment (TERISSA) has been under development at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) for the last eight years. This study explores the opinions of students and academics in relation to their perceptions and experiences of TERISSA while using it in their course activities. It considers the outcomes of TERISSA application by six RMIT educators in semester 2 of 2007 that was funded by the Learning and Teaching Investment (LTIF) grant. The study found that TERISSA helped RMIT educators in engaging their students in self-assessment and reflection and in achieving significant improvements in student satisfaction with educational feedback. It has also been found that a considerable number of students applying TERISSA were able to generate valuable educational feedback on their own learning by themselves. Nearly half of the surveyed students were determined to continue using TERISSA in their individual study. Moreover, educators involved in the study evaluated TERISSA as capable and effective in providing them with valid and timely information on student progress and their misconceptions.