ARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGY AND ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS’ FEEDBACK LITERACY: A CASE STUDY

High-quality feedback plays a major role among the determinants of students’ achievement and satisfaction in higher education; nevertheless, only a minority of students engage with it. Therefore, in the last decade, much emphasis has been placed on building students’ feedback literacy (SFL) as a key to unlocking students’ engagement and satisfaction with it.
This study used Carless and Boud four main features of SFL as a theoretical framework to investigate the engagement with feedback of Architectural Technology (AT) students, aiming to facilitate students’ uptake of feedback in studio-based modules. For this purpose, the research utilized a case study approach, using AT undergraduate students at the University of Brighton (UoB) as witness population; the data obtained from this population were compared to those gained from a small sample of Architecture students at the same university. Due to the limited sample size, prevalently qualitative approach was used for the analysis of results; the cross-comparison with the Architecture course and the use of multiple units of analysis facilitated the triangulation of findings, which enhanced the validity and reliability of the results generated.
This study contributes an insight into the Architectural Technology students’ experiences with feedback in studio-based modules and proposes some recommendations to overcome the barriers to students’ engagement with it.