Are you used to giving feedback on your studies? Why give feedback and how does the system work? And what would it feel like to get feedback in the middle of the course yourself, so that you could improve your own performance? Giving course feedback has been taken up for development at Laurea this year. In Hyvinkää’s business P2P-studies, a highly refined feedback culture is commonplace. Here is Minttu’s experience of the feedback system of her studies:
“In Laurea’s project learning or P2P studies, giving feedback works very well from the student’s point of view. At the beginning of the project, issues related to the project and evaluation are discussed with the teacher.
The mid-term evaluation starts with each team member visiting the Pakki system filling in the mid-term evaluation form. The form is the same for every project and asks about the progress of the project as well as the team spirit and the success of the guidance. In addition to the form, each team member considers and records things about their own work on the project according to Laurea’s evaluation methods before the mid-term evaluation meeting.
During the mid-term evaluation, each member of the project team will have the opportunity to tell about, for example, their own role in the implementation of the project, the development of their own skills and the team spirit. After this, the other members of the team give feedback to each other. What really counts here is to give constructive feedback that allows everyone to develop their own activities and skills. Lastly, the project supervisor gives their own feedback. Once each member of the team has had a chance to talk about their own role, as well as receive feedback, a mid-term evaluation form, completed anonymously, will be reviewed. Here, students have the opportunity to refine their answers or give additional comments if they wish. Thanks to the mid-term evaluation, students have the opportunity to influence the ongoing project, and together with the supervisor, for example, some procedures can be changed during the project, if necessary.
The final assessment goes from the student’s point of view in the same way as the mid-term assessment. Once again, everyone gets s turn to talk about their experience and performance in the project and its progress. An important role in the final evaluation is played by the areas for improvement identified in the mid-term evaluation. It shows how each has developed their own activities since the previous evaluation. At the same time, the entire life cycle of the project is reviewed so that the case in question or projects to come can be further developed in the future.
Project studies focus on giving feedback and its importance is constantly emphasized. It is important for students that they are listened to in the development of projects and that they get a sense that their opinions are valued. It this mind Laurea’s P2P studies have been extremely successful.
Minttu Uurinmäki, P2P-student in Hyvinkää Business Administration