Education guide 'Eindhoven designs' - Technische Universiteit ...

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within the learning activity; identify areas
for which to acquire new knowledge
or skills; enhance the quality of their
deliverables; and achieve the goals they
set for their competency development.
This feedback also enhances the
meaningfulness of the learning activity:
it supports students’ reflection in and
on action, and creates a link between
what students have achieved so far and
what they still want or need to learn and
achieve within the learning activity. This
meaningfulness is optimal if the feedback
is specific and timely, so if it directly
follows the behaviour. For this purpose
verbal feedback is most effective, in
a dialogue and discussion with the
student. Giving feedback consists of
two steps: first the feedback-giver
gives a factual, objective description
of what he/she observes: this is like
providing the student with a mirror.
Then an interpretation or evaluation
of this observation follows: what does
this mean? It is this interpretative
part that needs a dialogue between
the feedback-giver and the student
together. In this dialogue the feedbackgiver
can check whether the feedback
has ‘landed’ and the student can ask
for clarification. Mutual agreement is a
requirement for acceptance and action
on the part of the student. Discussions
support students’ understanding of,
amongst others, the competency areas
and sharpen their critical thinking.
Dialogues as well as discussions provide
students with an external perspective,
which is complementary to the internal
perspective of their own reflections.
At the conclusion of a learning activity,
after they have presented or handed
in their deliverables, students receive
written or ‘final’ feedback. Here the
same two-step principle of ‘factual
observation first and evaluation next’
applies. The purpose of this written
feedback is to facilitate, support and
enhance students’ learning across
learning activities. It is intended to help
students determine what they have
achieved in the learning activity as a
whole, how they can expand and enhance
their learning in other learning activities
within the same semester (transfer) and
how these achievements contribute to
their overall competence of designing.
In the latter sense, written feedback
provides them with input for reflections
in their showcase. This written feedback
also serves as evidence for the students’
showcase and, as such, is input for the
assessor.