From ungrading to unlearning poor habits: local strategies to recentre student learning around dialogic feedback

Research dating as far back as the 1930s (Crooks, 1933) has shown that the focus on marks often happens at the expense of meaningful engagement with learning. This paper builds on this premise and newer research that demonstrates that marks epitomise assessment of learning rather than for learning and get in the way of learner-oriented learning (Kohn, 1999, 2013; Stommel 2023). I explore how recentring student learning around dialogic feedback (Winstone & Carless, 2019) can play an instrumental role in moving away from too mark-centric an approach while adhering to institutional requirements which may not grant as much leeway as a full renouncement of marks. This paper describes how such a strategy was implemented within a beginner language module at the Centre for Foreign Language Study at Durham University. The cohort in question is one of non-specialist language learners who thus particularly benefit from robust scaffolding to support acquisition of language-specific learning mechanisms. More specifically, this paper examines how a focus on dialogic feedback enables learners to meaningfully engage with the content of the course as reflexive learners; to focus on process rather than end product; to encourage ownership and agency within one’s learning experience; to increase engagement with challenge and higher thinking skills; and to foster dialogue between learner and teacher.