effective feedback

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Effective Feedback


You can use this presentation to:• update, review and/or reflect on the effectiveness

of feedback in your classroom/s• support an in-depth professional learning

programme in your school.

In this presentation you can:• clarify the purpose and value of effective

feedback to learners• identify strategies that improve the quality of

feedback to learners, through suggested readings and classroom activities.


Effective feedbackFor feedback to be effective for students, they need the following:

• an understanding of the desired goal • evidence about their present position in

relation to that goal• guidance on the way to close the gap between

the two


John Hattie: Visible Learning (2009)

“To be effective, feedback needs to be clear, purposeful, meaningful and compatible with students’ prior knowledge, and to provide logical connections.”

“If feedback is directed at the right level, it can assist students to comprehend, engage, or develop effective strategies to process the information intended to be learnt.”

“Thus, when feedback is combined with effective instruction in classrooms, it can be very powerful in enhancing learning.”


Effective feedback should…

• focus on what is being learnt (learning intention) and how students should go about it (success criteria)

• occur as the students are doing the learning• provide information on how and why the student

has or has not met the criteria• provide strategies to help the student to improve


A typology of feedback

In 1996 Pat Tunstall and Caroline Gipps developed a typology of teacher feedback by recording and classifying the feedback given by teachers to their students. They classified feedback as either:

evaluative – involving a value judgmentordescriptive – describing what the student said or did, and providing guidance for improvement


Evaluative feedbackEvaluative feedback involves a judgment by the teacher based on implicit or explicit norms.

Evaluative feedback may take the form of: Approval: “That’s a good essay.” “You’ve done well.”Disapproval: “That’s not good enough.”Reward: Gold starsPunishment: “Write it out again.”


Descriptive feedbackDescriptive feedback:•focuses on identified learning outcomes and makes specific reference to the student’s achievement.

•looks towards improvement.

An example of descriptive feedback:“That’s a good introduction because you have covered the main points we discussed at the beginning. Now … which points do you think you should expand on?”


An emphasis on evaluative feedback can affect how students feel about themselves.

It can make the good students feel better (and possibly complacent)

and the less able students feel worse (and the more

sure that they will never be able to succeed.)


What types of feedback do you give?

Most teacher feedback interactions observed by Tunstall and Gipps were at the evaluative end of the continuum.

Keep the typology in mind when giving feedback to students. Descriptive feedback is focused on improvement.

You could have a colleague spend time in your classroom and write down the types of feedback you give.


How we provide suggestions for improvement is critical in ‘closing the gap’ for students.

Improvement is more likely if we use the kind of feedback prompt that best meets the need of the student.


Types of descriptive feedback promptClarke (2003) suggests three types of prompts for providing feedback, dependent on the needs of the student: 1. Reminder prompt

2. Scaffold prompt

3. Example prompt

Remember, prompts need to be focused around the learning intention of the task.


• Reminder prompts:How could you make the description of the character more striking? Remember the rule about circles we talked about?

• Scaffold prompts:Why don’t you try using a simile to describe how he eats?What about the rule which says that the area of a circle is ∏r²?

• Example prompts:Why don’t you use a simile to describe your character? Try ‘He gulped down his food like a pelican’.Calculate using ∏r². Multiply 27 x 27 then …


Students as active participants in the learning

Feedback conversations are most effective when initiated by the learner.

Teacher and student should make the decision about the level of support which is needed.Not enough, and the student is still in the dark, and doesn’t know how to improve. Too much and the student doesn’t have to try.

Ask the student what support he/she needs:“Is that enough or do you need an example?”


Check the adequacy of the feedback

• “Do you know what to do next?”

• “Is that enough help?”

• “What will you do if you get stuck again?”


Written feedbackWhen feedback is given in writing, some students:• have difficulty understanding the points the teacher

is trying to make• are unable to read the teacher’s writing• can’t process the feedback and understand what to

do next.Asking a student to tell you what they think you are trying to say to them is the best way to check this out.


Marks versus commentsFindings from research showed that:

• Students given only marks made no gain from the first to the second lesson.

• Students given only comments scored on average 30% higher.

• Giving marks alongside comments cancelled the beneficial effects of the comments.

Research conclusion: If you are going to grade or mark a piece of work, you are wasting your time writing careful diagnostic comments.


Clarke (2001)Findings from Clarke's research:

Teachers give: • too many criteria making it very difficult for

specific feedback to be given

• too much information in their marking which students find overwhelming and difficult to take in.

Clarke suggests that:when giving written feedback, teachers highlight two or three successes in the student’s work and one area where some improvement is necessary.


Some practical strategies for effective formative feedback to try

out in the classroom(Adapted from Mike Gershon’s Assessment for Learning Tools)

http://www.slideshare.net/ash77/assessment-for-learning-activities1


Feedback for improvement

Comments on students’ work should act as guidance showing how the student can improve.

Develop this by asking students to write in the same way when peer assessing work.


Comment-only markingComment-only marking provides students with a focus for progression instead of a reward or punishment for their ego (as a grade does).

Comments should make it clear how the student can improve.

Plan activities and work with feedback in mind – let the design assist the process.


Self assessment

Reinforce the focus on redrafting and comment-only marking by insisting on seeing evidence of student self assessment on their work before you look at it. (You’ll have to allow time for this).


Feedback SandwichFeedback can be delivered in different ways. Two examples of feedback ‘sandwiches’ are –

1. Positive comment

Constructive criticism with explanation of how to improvePositive comment

2. Contextual statement – I liked….because….Now/Next time…Interactive statement e.g. a question based on the work


Allow students time to act on feedbackUse lesson time to redraft work.

This allows students time to focus on the feedback for improvement they have been given.

It also reinforces the value of the feedback and allows them to work at it in a supportive environment.


Feedback follow-up

- Create time in the lesson to talk to individual students.

- Have a written dialogue in the students’ book.

- Use a comment tracker or target sheet to formalise the dialogue in a workbook.


Learning JournalCreate a learning journal in which students can reflect on and review their learning. It could include plenary activities, a target setting chart, aims and goals etc.


Feedback… in summaryEffective feedback to learners:

• is best initiated by the learner• focuses on the learning intention of the task• occurs as the students are doing the learning• provides information on how and why the

student understands and misunderstands• provides strategies to help the student to

improve• assists the student to understand the goals of

the learning.


Feedback in your schoolList the ways in which teachers in your school provide feedback to students about their learning.

Which of the ways help students improve their learning?

Which ways are evaluative and which are descriptive? (Tunstall & Gipps research)

What is the role of students in the feedback process? How can this be enhanced?


References and readingsAbsolum, M. (2006). Clarity in the classroom. Auckland: Hodder Education

Clarke, S. (2001). Unlocking formative assessment: Practical strategies for enhancing pupils’ learning in the primary classroom. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Clarke, S. (2003). Enriching Feedback in the primary classroom. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning. London and New York: Routledge

Tunstall, P., & Gipps, C. (1996). Teacher feedback to young children in formative assessment: A typology. British Educational Research Journal, 22 (4).

Wiliam, D. (1999). Formative Assessment in Mathematics. The Mathematical Association. Equals. Summer Volume 5, Number 2.

effective feedback

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