The influence of student gender on the assessment of undergraduate student work

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived student gender on the feedback given to undergraduate student work. Participants (n = 12) were lecturers in higher education and were required to mark two undergraduate student essays. The first student essay that all participants marked was the control essay. Participants were informed that the control essay was written by Samuel Jones (a male student). Participants then marked the target essay. Although participants marked the same essay, half of the participants (n = 6) were informed that the student essay was written by Natasha Brown (a female student), while the remaining participants were informed that it was written by James Smith (a male student). In-text and end-of-text feedback were qualitatively analysed on six dimensions: academic style of writing; criticality; structure, fluency and cohesion; sources used; understanding/knowledge of the subject; and other. Analysis of feedback for both the control and target essay revealed no discernible differences in the number of comments (strengths of the essay, areas for improvement) made and the content and presentation of these comments between the two groups. Pedagogical implications pertaining to the potential impact of anonymous marking on feedback processes are discussed.

The impact of anonymous marking on students’ perceptions of fairness, feedback and relationships with lecturers

“…Pitt (2017) has argued that for lower achieving students, feedback is a troublesome area, particularly when it is given at the end of the assessment process with no opportunity to act upon it. Therefore, feedback which is generic, emotionally neutral and not personalised to a particular student's needs may not have the desired effect of promoting future use (Birch et al, 2016;Pitt & Norton, 2016). This outcome runs counter to an increasing focus within the literature on student engagement with and implementation of feedback (e.g.…”

“…Arguably, this may reinforce a more monologic feedback paradigm whereby students are merely passive recipients of feedback rather than active engagers with feedback dialogue (Winstone & Pitt, 2017). Such potential negative implications for the student learning experience need to be considered when adopting or reviewing the use of anonymous marking (Birch, Batten and Batey, 2016). This is particularly the case if we are to promote learning through authentic assessment which is transferable to employment after completing higher education.…”

“…In this regard, Orsmond, Merry and Reiling (2005) reported that if drafts of a student's work have been assessed formatively, the anonymous marking process for the summatively assessed submission is perceived to be undermined. Third, research has consistently reported that students prefer personalised, prompt, encouraging feedback that promotes self-regulation and supports future development (Hattie and Timperley, 2007; Handley, Price & Miller, et al, 2008;Tuck, 2012;Birch et al, 2016;Winstone, Nash, Rowntree & Menezes, 2016). However, students are able to recognise the rather depersonalised nature of feedback on anonymously marked work and thus respond more negatively to such feedback (Whitelegg, 2002;Crook, Gross, and Dymott, 2006).…”

“…Implicit within the framework surrounding anonymously marked work is an onus upon students to come and discuss the feedback with the marker. It is here that potentially lecturers may be able to mitigate the effects of depersonalised feedback (Whitelegg, 2002, Birch et al, 2016. However, such a practice would arguably serve to increase workload and create a pressure situation for students who struggle with one-to-one situations following a poor outcome (Owen et al, 2010;Pitt, 2017).…”

“…If evidence were to suggest that knowing the gender or ethnicity of a student led a marker to provide different feedback, either in terms of quantity, quality or focus, then this might support calls for anonymous marking practices. To this end, Birch, et al (2016) investigated the effect that perceived student gender had on the nature of feedback comments given to the student. They found there were no gender differences in the content or number of comments made on the students' work.…”