Given its central role in student learning AFL should be seen as an integral part of the learning, teaching and assessment strategy of our programmes. Simply trying to bolt it on after modules have already been designed can be counter-productive on a number of pedagogic and practical levels. Indeed, bolting-on can lead to confusion for the student and extra work for the tutor, neither of which help the student learning experience. AFL activities therefore, like learning outcomes or assessment strategies, should be placed at the heart of programme and module design. As such, we need to embed AFL activities and feedback strategies into the design of modules in two ways.
- Programme teams should agree strategies for embedding AFL activities as part of the overall design of the learning, teaching and assessment strategy. AFL activities and feedback benefit the student most when they are part of the working culture of a programme rather than merely the responsibility of individual tutors.
- Provide students with information about the role of feedback in their learning and how to use it productively by developing an assessment literacy approach (Price et al 2012). This means ensuring that there are appropriate places in a programme where students actively engage with assessment criteria, developing moments for actively engaging with what quality work looks like and actively engaging with what to do with their feedback.