Enhancing learning and teaching through student feedback in medical and health sciences (Chandos learning and teaching series)

Here is the third volume in the Chandos Series on Learning and Teaching. The spotlight this time is on student feedback in higher education in the medical and health sciences field. It draws upon international perspectives, current trends and issues and the challenges among university providers to attract and retain students. Five case studies illustrate the various approaches adopted in seeking feedback. The international perspectives (Australia, Hong Kong, Colombo, Thailand and India) reveal important differences due to cultural factors which influence the kind of feedback sought and received. Although the merit of collecting feedback was first proposed in the 1920s, it wasn’t until the early 1990s that it gained momentum, when educational institutions started to develop sets of instruments to measure student feedback and use it as a means to review and improve previous processes. Indeed, feedback is an essential element of quality control that is widely applied at all levels of education. It is a two-way process ‘that encourages not only active provision, but also active reception’ (p. 45). The contributing authors describe the cycle by which information is extrapolated by means of assessments, questionnaires, focus groups, comments, consultations and exit interviews, which may later be incorporated into the curriculum. The quality of the data collection is based on a set of attributes built into the methodology. The authors emphasise that it must be timely, explicit, confidential, credible, dependable and trustworthy. Developing feedback instruments is highly context dependent. One size does not fit all. Several authors explain that in certain cultures it may be difficult to obtain honest student disclosure, where respect for elders and educators in general is the norm. Likewise, some teachers may not be amenable to receiving evaluation of their teaching practices. Therefore, the importance of introducing feedback as a concept geared towards quality control for all participants is imperative. Ultimately, feedback is about establishing efficient and reliable relationships among various partners who operate in a network of connections. It can be likened to the closing of a loop, but a loop that is forever in motion, constantly monitoring and scanning the environment. In higher education, feedback is meant to provide students with sufficient information on their performance in specific relevant activities, so it guides their future performance in similar activities. The philosophy behind this latest volume is one of a shift in culture of the learning environment to one in which students are actively encouraged to engage in the feedback process. For this reason, it is highly recommended for both students and researchers studying aspects of learning and teaching in the medical and health sciences field.