Constructive Assessment

I’m currently writing an essay which will make up 40% of my grade on Japan in the World. We were given a predefined list of titles to choose from, and I was pleased to find that one of them set me up perfectly for writing a 2000-word critique of the main analytical approach taken by the module.

It’s occurred to me that this is actually a form of module feedback. More importantly, it’s one that demands input from the student which is constructive, if they’re to argue their point well and receive a good mark! I’m sure that the essay component was not intended to perform this function, but it’s an interesting way to deal with the problem of eliciting constructive feedback. I’m sure with the intention in mind the idea could be transferred to many other social science modules.

That is, of course, if module leaders can suffer the insult of having their analysis and interpretations meticulously disagreed with by those students that do so. Personally, I’m only chancing my arm because the lecturer who designed the module last year won’t be marking this year’s essays

Have you had experience with modules which manage to obtain feedback through their assessment? Share your thoughts!