'I was really upset and it put me off': The emotional impact of assessment feedback on first-year undergraduate students

Holmes, Andrew G D

Abstract

Assessment feedback can have an emotional impact on students. This qualitative research contributes to the existing body of literature on students' emotional reactions to assessment feedback by investigating the negative responses to summative feedback experienced by first-year students at two UK universities. The majority of the learners interviewed indicated that their initial first-year feedback had a negative emotional impact and demotivated them. For some students, these negative emotions were very serious and led them to consider leaving university. Negative emotions were related to the written feedback provided, the grade received, and the student's expectations about both. Potential solutions to mitigate first-year students' negative emotional reactions to summative assessment feedback are provided.

Citation

Holmes, A. G. D. (2023). 'I was really upset and it put me off': The emotional impact of assessment feedback on first-year undergraduate students. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 11(2), 62-74. https://doi.org/10.56433/jpaap.v11i2.529

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jul 10, 2023
• Publication Date: Jul 10, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jul 11, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 11, 2023
• Journal: Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice
• Electronic ISSN: 2051-9788
• Publisher: Edinburgh Napier University
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 62-74
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.56433/jpaap.v11i2.529
• Keywords: Assessment; First-year students; Emotional reactions to assessment feedback; Pedagogy; First-year student experience; Summative assessment; Assessment literacy
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4331151