Embedding Authentic Feedback Literacy in Design Students: A New Model for Peer Assessment

Design-based subjects consistently perform poorly in relation to assessment and feedback in measures such as the National Student Survey (UK), which prompts educators to consider more effective ways of engaging design students in the assessment and feedback process. There is a growing field of research supporting the view that exercises can be designed to deliver authentic experiences and enhance student assessment and feedback literacy. Through a literature review of this emerging field, this study establishes a framework for designing a peer-assessment and feedback exercise aimed specifically at developing authentic feedback literacy in design students, through emulating real-world experiences of the design industry. A single explanatory case study is then used to test the effectiveness of this exercise on 30 design students. The conclusion develops an understanding of using peer-assessment and feedback to embed authentic feed-back literacy, and a set of recommendations for evolving the exercise design.