Claire Mills is a senior lecturer and course leader for the BSc in Sports Education and lectures at
undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy and is
currently a doctoral candidate. Claire’s research interests include body composition and childhood
obesity issues.
Nic Matthews is a senior lecturer in Sports Management, course leader for the MSc in Physical Activity
and Public Health and the institutional representative on the subject network, HLST. Nic’s previous
research interests have included EU and local government leisure and sports policy, issues of fair play
in sport and academic support for student progression.
Vol. 8, No. 1.
ISSN: 1473-8376
www.heacademy.ac.uk/johlste
PRACTICE PAPER
Review of tutor feedback during undergraduate
dissertations: A case study
Claire Mills (clairem@glos.ac.uk) and Nic Matthews (nmatthews@glos.ac.uk)
Faculty of Sport, Health and Social Care, University of Gloucestershire,
Oxstalls Campus, Gloucester, GL2 9HW, UK
DOI:10.3794/johlste.81.211
©Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education
Abstract
The aim of this study was to establish and evaluate a method of recording tutor feedback
given to students during the undergraduate dissertation tutorial process. The areas under
review included both the tutorials themselves and written comments provided on draft work.
Attention was paid to how effective these mechanisms were in supporting students through
the dissertation process. Twelve sports education undergraduate students were asked to
complete a dissertation feedback evaluation proforma after tutorials they attended between
September 2006 and April 2007. The form covered key aspects of the student-tutor
relationship, with specific reference being made to the strengths and weaknesses of tutorial
feedback and support. The findings of the evaluation identified key issues for practice within
the dissertation supervisory relationship. Furthermore, it was suggested by the students that
this was an exercise with inherent merits for them: encouraging reflection on the learning
process and helping them identify their responsibilities as independent learners. As a result,
some students engaged more with the tutorial system and gained more from the experience.
Keywords: dissertations; feedback; student; tutorials; undergraduate
Introduction
Contemporary higher education is characterised by increasing student numbers and
increasing diversity within that population. Consequently, academic staff face considerable
demands on their time as workloads increase in response to the new climate (Ujma, 2007).
The burdens placed on academic staff time have led to many feeling under more pressure
when providing feedback and marking students’ work. Yet providing informative, constructive
and realistic feedback to students is a crucial part of any learning experience (Castle,
Incledon, & Waring, 2008). Given these pressures, it is important to consider how to give
good quality feedback in a clear and consistent manner within a time-constrained setting
such as a face-to-face dissertation meeting.