‘Still not scraping the bottom of the barrel’: ‘Rich points’, feedback, disadvantaged students, and solutions

Abstract

This article builds on research, previously published in this journal, which tracked student outcomes in a first year core course in an Australian university over the space of 6 years. That research found that a fundamental shift in educator attitude - away from problematising student disadvantage, to seeing student disadvantage as an opportunity - was essential in activating student motivation and autonomy. Success was measured by student retention, overall grade distributions, and positive student feedback. Viewing student deficits not as the problem, but rather as ‘rich points’, or opportunities for adaptation, is helping to facilitate student success. Indeed, this article asserts that an integral part of finding solutions is the ability to decode student feedback – both positive and negative – as an articulation of what disadvantaged students need most.