Can we meet their expectations? Experiences and perceptions of feedback in first year undergraduate students

In this paper we will present the findings of a research project funded by the HEA Psychology Network. The research aimed to explore the use of 'reality television' in teaching research ethics to Psychology undergraduates. The research was conduced over two sessions, one week apart. 15 second year students were recruited to the study and 12 students returned to take part in the second session. In week 1 the students were shown an extract of an episode of Big Brother (Channel 4). They were then asked to discuss in small groups the ethical issues they felt it raised. In week 2 they were given a research brief which was designed to raise similar ethical issues to the Big Brother extract. The students were asked to discuss the ethical issues it raised and to suggest ideas for the design. The students were subsequently asked to submit a research proposal in response to the research brief, focusing on the ethical issues, and the proposals were double blind marked along with a sample of proposals written by students from the previous year. The students gave both oral and written feedback on their experience of taking part in the study. Feedback was generally very positive, and proposal marks for the students taking part were higher than those of previous students. The findings suggest that students found this an engaging and stimulating method of teaching and that they were able to apply their learning in a research methods context. This paper will report on both the student experience and on the learning process as revealed through analysis of the group discussions.