The Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) at LCC Design School is a year-long experiential unit that enables students to curate their own curriculum through placements, live projects, video reflections, freelance work, and self-initiated projects. A key challenge in assessing learning and exchanging feedback within this open and decentralised structure is ensuring consistency and depth of reflection across diverse professional experiences. Students often struggle to connect formative feedback with summative assessment, particularly when working independently or across multiple contexts.
Current strategies include formative reviews, one-to-one tutorials, and reflective blogging. These are designed to support students’ critical engagement with their experiences. However, feedback is often perceived as fragmented or retrospective, and students may not fully understand how to integrate it into their academic reflective report or presentation. While the Community of Practice sessions offer peer dialogue, the lack of structured reflection tools and consistent feedback mechanisms can limit students’ ability to self-assess and track development.
To address these challenges, I’ve embedded principles from Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick’s (2006) Seven Principles of Good Feedback Practice, which advocate for feedback that supports self-regulated learning. Key strategies include:
- Clarifying expectations: Introducing example reflective reports and SIP evaluations early in the year helps students understand assessment criteria and standards (University of the Arts London, 2024).
- Encouraging self-assessment: Monthly self-evaluation prompts aligned with DPS learning outcomes (e.g. LO1–LO4) encourage students to reflect on their progress and identify areas for improvement. We will address this in 121 tutorials.
- Facilitating dialogue: Tutorials have shifted toward co-constructive conversations, where students interpret feedback collaboratively and set personal goals.
- Closing the feedback loop: Action plans developed after formative reviews enable students to revisit feedback and track their responses over time.
Drawing on Broadfoot’s (Broadfoot, 1996) sociological analysis, I’ve reflected on the social purposes of assessment—particularly its role in legitimising learning and shaping identity within professional contexts. Broadfoot argues that assessment is not merely a technical process but a social act that reflects and reinforces societal values. This insight has prompted me to frame feedback as a tool for empowerment, helping students articulate their values and position themselves within the design industry.
(Barrow, 2006) deepens this perspective by framing assessment as a Foucauldian technology of the self—a mechanism through which students construct their identities through reflection, disclosure, and iterative critique. In the DPS context, the reflective blog, SIP, and final report become confessional tools that invite students to narrate their development and position themselves within disciplinary norms. This aligns with the DPS philosophy of fostering critical professional practice and design discourse, as exemplified by the @DPS LCC New Agency’s emphasis on student-led inquiry and disruption of conventional design narratives.
The DPS WOW blog further supports this ethos by providing a public-facing platform for students to share critical reflections and engage in academic discourse. It encourages students to write reflexively about their experiences, challenges, and learning, reinforcing the idea that feedback and assessment are ongoing, dialogic processes.
Inspired by the DPS course ethos, especially its emphasis on reflection, agility, and self-direction, I’ve encouraged students to focus on aspects of their learning they can actively shape, such as their engagement with feedback and their SIP development. This echoes Covey’s (1989) concept of circles of influence and control, helping students navigate uncertainty with purpose.
Moving forward, I plan to introduce peer feedback sessions especially in live projects, like the Valuable 500 one I brief, using structured prompts based on Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick’s principles. This will help students develop evaluative judgement and engage with diverse perspectives. I also aim to explore digital platforms (e.g. Padlet or Miro) to support visual reflection and feedback mapping, making the process more accessible and engaging, as I’ve learned I my PG Cert.
This reflection has reinforced the importance of feedback as a dialogic, developmental process. By embedding structured reflection and promoting student agency, through the series of CofP New Agency talks and on the @DPS LCC New Agency blog, I hope to cultivate a feedback culture that supports deeper learning and professional growth—fully aligned with the DPS unit’s holistic assessment model and its commitment to responsible, inclusive design practice.
Bibliography
Barrow, M., 2006. Assessment and student transformation: Linking character and intellect. Studies in Higher Education, 31(3), pp.357–372. Broadfoot, P., 1996. Education, Assessment and Society: A Sociological Analysis. Buckingham: Open University Press. Covey, S.R., 1989. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York: Free Press. Nicol, D. and Macfarlane-Dick, D., 2006. Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), pp.199–218. University of the Arts London, 2024. Diploma in Professional Studies Design School Unit Assignment Brief 2024–25. London College of Communication. @DPCLCC, 2024. New Agency: Student-led Design Inquiry and Disruption. [Instagram]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/dpclcc [Accessed 31 July 2025]. University of the Arts London, 2025. DPS WOW Blog: Ways of Working. [Blog]. Available at: https://dpswow.myblog.arts.ac.uk [Accessed 31 July 2025].
Learning outcomes resources
UAL teaching and learning resources:
https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/teaching-and-learning-exchange/resources
Designing Learning guides:
https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/teaching-and-learning-exchange/resources/designing-teaching
Teaching and Learning Resources
Explore practical guidance on curriculum design, teaching practices and inclusive assessment and feedback.
Crafting Learning Outcomes https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0027/190395/Course-Designer-4-Crafting-Learning-Outcomes-PDF-255KB.pdf
UAL Creative Teaching and learning journal https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark
Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education (Journal) – Intellect
The Journal of Higher Education – Taylor and Francis
Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education https://journal.aldinhe.ac.uk/index.php/jldhe
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