providing effective student feedback

PROVIDING EFFECTIVE

STUDENT FEEDBACK

For Graders, Teachers, and Tutors

INTRODUCTION

Effective feedback and the difference between feedback, advice, and evaluation.

INTRODUCTION

Effective feedback and the difference between feedback, advice, and evaluation.

You will be given a model for effectively praising student strengths while using an appropriate ratio of feedback to advice.

INTRODUCTION

Effective feedback and the difference between feedback, advice, and evaluation.

You will be given a model for effectively praising student strengths while using an appropriate ratio of feedback to advice. Often, too much advice and too little feedback

RESOURCES

Grant Wiggins, You Probably Misunderstand Feedback for Learning or Seven Keys to Effective Feedback

Laura Reynolds, 20 Ways To Provide Effective Feedback For Learning

Susan M. Brookhart, How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students

VOCABULARY

What is feedback?

VOCABULARY

What is feedback? Goal-oriented information re: something the student is doing or has done.

VOCABULARY

What is feedback? Goal-oriented information re: something the student is doing or has done.

VOCABULARY

What is feedback? Goal-oriented information re: something the student is doing or has done.

E.g., martial arts:

VOCABULARY

What is feedback? Goal-oriented information re: something the student is doing or has done.

E.g., martial arts: “A good fighting stance protects as many areas of your body at

once as possible You’re standing with your chin out in the air You need to hunch your shoulders and lower your chin.”

VOCABULARY

What is feedback? Goal-oriented information re: something the student is doing or has done.

E.g., martial arts: “A good fighting stance protects as many areas of your body at

once as possible You’re standing with your chin out in the air Your need to hunch your shoulders and lower your chin.”

Model Feedback Advice

VOCABULARY

What is feedback? Goal-oriented information re: something the student is doing or has done.

E.g., martial arts: “A good fighting stance protects as many areas of your body at

once as possible You’re standing with your chin out in the air Your need to hunch your shoulders and lower your chin.”

Model Feedback Advice “This is how X is done This is how you’re doing X This is what you need to do to perform X correctly.

VOCABULARY

What is advice? A recommendation for improving performance of a task.

VOCABULARY

What is advice? A recommendation for improving performance of a task.

Rule of thumb: Don’t provide advice without first giving feedback.

VOCABULARY

What is advice? A recommendation for improving performance of a task.

Rule of thumb: Don’t provide advice without first giving feedback. Often unwelcome or annoying. May seem “nagging” to the

student.

VOCABULARY What is advice? A recommendation for improving performance of a task. Rule of thumb: Don’t provide advice without first giving feedback. Often unwelcome or annoying. May seem “nagging” to the student.

• Better yet: praise students’ strengths, provide

feedback, then give advice.

VOCABULARY What is advice? A recommendation for improving performance of a task. Rule of thumb: Don’t provide advice without first giving feedback. Often unwelcome or annoying. May seem “nagging” to the student.

• Better yet: praise students’ strengths, provide

feedback, then give advice.− Note: advice isn’t always necessary. Don’t

underestimate a student’s ability to self-correct, given thorough and attentive feedback.

VOCABULARY What is evaluation?

VOCABULARY What is evaluation? The making of a value judgment; in grading, comes in the form of praise or criticism:

VOCABULARY What is evaluation? The making of a value judgment; in grading, comes in the form of praise or criticism: “Great job!” “Too vague.” “Very good!” “This does not seem like your own wording.” “You should give an example here.” “Very entertaining story!”

VOCABULARY What is evaluation? “There is little or no feedback here, i.e. actionable information about what occurred. As performers, we only know that someone is either pleased or not, or that someone places a high or low value on what we did. Praise (and sometimes, blame) may motivate us in the short term but neither can get us better. Over time, both praise and blame have a corrosive effect, in fact (as Dweck [2008] shows in her research on the attitudes of achievers): such performers often become too extrinsically motivated.”

- Grant Wiggins, You Probably Misunderstand Feedback for Learning  

VOCABULARY What is evaluation? “There is little or no feedback here, i.e. actionable information about what occurred. As performers, we only know that someone is either pleased or not, or that someone places a high or low value on what we did. Praise (and sometimes, blame) may motivate us in the short term but neither can get us better. Over time, both praise and blame have a corrosive effect, in fact (as Dweck [2008] shows in her research on the attitudes of achievers): such performers often become too extrinsically motivated.”

- Grant Wiggins, You Probably Misunderstand Feedback for Learning  

VOCABULARY What is evaluation?Actionable information: concrete, specific, and useful; offers neutral, goal-related facts.

VOCABULARY What is evaluation?Actionable information: concrete, specific, and useful; offers neutral, goal-related facts.

With too much praise, blame, or criticism, students can become approval-seeking, stunting their development as autonomous learners.

VOCABULARY What is evaluation?Actionable information: concrete, specific, and useful; offers neutral, goal-related facts.

With too much praise, blame, or criticism, students can become approval-seeking, stunting their development as autonomous learners.

Use evaluative language and advice sparingly and only with effective feedback.

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback?

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Well done! I can tell you put a lot of work into this essay. I really enjoyed it – you’re a natural writer.”

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Well done! I can tell you put a lot of work into this essay. I really enjoyed it – you’re a natural writer.” Good feedback?

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Well done! I can tell you put a lot of work into this essay. I really enjoyed it – you’re a natural writer.” Good feedback? NO. This isn’t feedback to begin with; it is praise – a form of evaluation.

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Although your thesis was well stated in your introductory paragraph, you need to work on developing that thesis with relevant details.”

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Although your thesis was well stated in your introductory paragraph, you need to work on developing that thesis with relevant details.”

Good feedback?

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Although your thesis was well stated in your introductory paragraph, you need to work on developing that thesis with relevant details.”

Good feedback? NO. Once again, this isn’t feedback at all. This is brief praise followed by advice.

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Although your thesis was well stated in your introductory paragraph, you need to work on developing that thesis with relevant details.”

Suggested revision: “Your thesis was stated clearly, well done! However, you provided details in paragraph 1 that were not relevant to or supportive of that thesis.”

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Your previous progress report indicates that you had a B- in U.S. History. This month, you’ve received an A+. Well done! You have obviously spent more time on your Social Studies this month, and it shows.”

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Your previous progress report indicates that you had a B- in U.S. History. This month, you’ve received an A+. Well done! You have obviously spent more time on your Social Studies this month, and it shows.”

Good feedback?

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Your previous progress report indicates that you had a B- in U.S. History. This month, you’ve received an A+. Well done! You have obviously spent more time on your Social Studies this month, and it shows.”

Good feedback? NO. Your turn: why not?

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “Your previous progress report indicates that you had a B- in U.S. History. This month, you’ve received an A+. Well done! You have obviously spent more time on your Social Studies this month, and it shows.”

Good feedback? NO. Your turn: why not?

• Key point: feedback must provide information

geared toward improved performance. Grades

are not informative in this sense.

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “In this essay, you presented a concise thesis statement and several lines of evidence to support it. Your argument committed a few minor fallacies (I have pointed them out) but, overall, it was well organized. Your conclusion summarized your main ideas nicely, clarifying their logical relationship to the thesis.”

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “In this essay, you presented a concise thesis statement and several lines of evidence to support it. Your argument committed a few minor fallacies (I have pointed them out) but, overall, it was well organized. Your conclusion summarized your main ideas nicely, clarifying their logical relationship to the thesis.”

Good feedback?

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “In this essay, you presented a concise thesis statement and several lines of evidence to support it. Your argument committed a few minor fallacies (I have pointed them out) but, overall, it was well organized. Your conclusion summarized your main ideas nicely, clarifying their logical relationship to the thesis.”

Good feedback? ALMOST. Effective feedback is made for the express purpose of eliciting some future result. While the commentary is informative, it lacks any reference to future expectations. While students are expected to satisfy present performance standards, feedback should invoke future expectations.

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “In this essay, you presented a concise thesis statement and several lines of evidence to support it. Your argument committed a few minor fallacies (I have pointed them out) but, overall, it was well organized. Your conclusion summarized your main ideas nicely, clarifying their logical relationship to the thesis.”

So what’s missing here?

GOOD V. BAD FEEDBACK

Which of the following are NOT examples of good feedback? “In this essay, you presented a concise thesis statement and several lines of evidence to support it. Your argument committed a few minor fallacies (I have pointed them out) but, overall, it was well organized. Your conclusion summarized your main ideas nicely, clarifying their logical relationship to the thesis.”

So what’s missing here? An explanation of what the student can do better, not just what they already do well.

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students?

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate.

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate. Types of feedback: (1) feedback about the task

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate. Types of feedback: (1) feedback about the task (2) feedback about the processing of the task

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate. Types of feedback: (1) feedback about the task (2) feedback about the processing of the task (3) feedback about self-regulation

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate. Types of feedback: (1) feedback about the task (2) feedback about the processing of the task (3) feedback about self-regulation (4) feedback about the student as a person

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate. Types of feedback: (1) feedback about the task (2) feedback about the processing of the task (3) feedback about self-regulation (4) feedback about the student as a person

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate.

• While you can’t be there to motivate, regulate, strategize with or provide any kind of real-time feedback to students, you can make their process of self-directed learning easier.

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate.

• How?

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate.

• How?• Assigned Students

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate.

• How?• Assigned Students • Notebook to monitor student progress

HOMEWORK PROGRAM

What important challenge do you face as providers of feedback for Homework Program students? Answer: your feedback is not immediate.

• How?• Assigned Students • Notebook to monitor student progress• Grading rubrics

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be:

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative

Make an effort to explain what the student is doing well and what they are doing not-so-well. Only provide information relevant to the learning-objectives of the assignment

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific

DON’T try to critique everything all at once. Hone in on a particular skill, set of skills or specific knowledge.

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific

DON’T try to critique everything all at once. Hone in on a particular skill, set of skills or specific knowledge.

Rubrics! (for students, teachers, and graders)

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative

Questions to ask yourself: “What should the student already know how to do?”

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative

Questions to ask yourself: “What should the student already know how to do?”

“What should the student be able to do next?”

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative

Questions to ask yourself: “What should the student already know how to do?”

“What should the student be able to do next?” “What information can I provide the student so that they do better?”

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative

Questions to ask yourself: “What should the student already know how to do?”

“What should the student be able to do next?” “What information can I provide the student so that they do better?”

Student is therefore given the opportunity to adjust their performance to better accomplish long term objectives

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative (5) Visible BEFORE the grade

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative (5) Visible BEFORE the grade

Feedback should be written on the cover page/front of student work; mark the grade in the very back.

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative (5) Visible BEFORE the grade

Feedback should be written on the cover page/front of student work; mark the grade in the very back.

Comment sheets?

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative (5) Visible BEFORE the grade (6) Comprehensible to the student

CHARACTERISTICS OF…

GOOD feedback should be: (1) Informative (2) Timely (3) Skill-specific (4) Formative (5) Visible BEFORE the grade (6) Comprehensible to the student

Be aware of your audience

A GENERAL MODEL OF GOOD FEEDBACK

Try:

praise student strengths description of how to do X correctly description of how student does X advice for doing X

What kind of feedback might you give for the first part of this essay?

I can tell you’ve certainly done your homework, Sam. Well done!

Remember that the MAIN IDEA of an essay should be stated in its Introduction, or the opening paragraph. At the end of paragraph two, you say your essay is about whether or not the U.S. should get involved in the Crimean Crisis. However, you did not introduce this as your thesis statement at the beginning of the essay. Instead, you provided a little historical background and raised the question of whether Crimea’s annexation by Russia was legitimate.

Remember that the MAIN IDEA of an essay should be stated in its Introduction, or the opening paragraph. At the end of paragraph two, you say your essay is about whether or not the U.S. should get involved in the Crimean Crisis. However, you did not introduce this as your thesis statement at the beginning of the essay. Instead, you provided a little historical background and raised the question of whether Crimea’s annexation by Russia was legitimate.

Your second paragraph would make a better introductory paragraph than your first one! Consider flipping them around.