Feedback can occur as a powerful stream of potentially useful information. But that flow is often both unidirectional and ‘unfinished’. The School of Biological Sciences at University of Aberdeen adopted Bluepulse 2 because we were interested in closing the feedback loop. We recognise that, for many students, this can often only be fully achieved by facilitating confidential feedback. In this presentation, we report our recent 1-year trial of Bluepulse 2. While we encountered some difficulties along the way, such as with low uptake among some colleagues and students, the overall experience was very promising, and we are now continuing with Bluepulse. We recognise the importance of ‘dynamic feedback’, in which students and staff respond to each other in a constructive, ongoing, iterative ‘conversation’. The prize is an enhanced learning environment.

Presenter: Martin Barker, PhD, Senior Lecturer, The School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen