Types of Feedback Given by Studio Reviewers and Its Impact on Student Assessment

Proceedings of The 5th International Conference on Research in Education, Teaching and Learning

Year: 2022

DOI:

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Types of Feedback Given by Studio Reviewers and Its Impact on Student Assessment

Diane M. Bender

ABSTRACT: 

In design education, the studio is part of a system of professional education where students learn and understand their discipline. The culmination of studio is a final review, where students present their work before instructors and invited reviewers, known as jurors. These jurors are recognized experts who add a diversity of perspectives in providing feedback to students. This provides alternative points of view on both formative and summative assessment. This feedback can be provided in multiple formats, mainly a verbal critique of the work. To better understand feedback in a studio review, a survey was distributed to external jurors at a multi-disciplinary design school within the United States. Respondents (n=118) were asked about the feedback given to students in the studio review, being allowed to answer more than once. Verbal feedback was dominant (n=116), while written comments (n=44) and an overall assessment of performance, such as a suggested score or letter grade (n=32), were also noted. Some respondents were asked to select the top projects. When asked if their input has influence over a student’s final studio grade, the sample was equally divided (50% yes; 50% no). Quite a number of participants (n=63) also provided comments about their involvement with student assessment. While the focus of this study is the studio review, the findings are equally applicable to other disciplines. Suggestions will be provided on how to improve the feedback process, involve peers for formative assessment, and assist reviewers to provide more positive and targeted feedback.

keywords: critique, design, education, evaluation, juror.