Promoting Further Learning Capability 4

Archway of teaching and learning capabilities

What is promoting further learning?

Promoting further learning covers the strategies and techniques used to close the gap between the current state of learning and the current desired goal.

Promoting further Learning

“You can’t learn without feedback… It’s not teaching that causes learning.

It’s the attempts by the learner to perform that cause learning, dependent

upon the quality of the feedback and the opportunities to use it.”

Grant Wiggins

Promoting further Learning

“Providing appropriate support is a skilled act of teaching that must both leave students (and teachers) with responsibility and motivation for their learning and also help them to advance that learning. It is the heart of effective teaching and is a capability we never perfect.” (Absolum, 2006, p.120)

Ways of promoting further learning

•Feedback – (using prompts of reminder, scaffold and reminder)•Reinforcement•Explanation•Learning Conversations•Feedforward

These can be used in either oral or written form In a group, roaming or more in depth 1:1 conversation

Giving feedback

Take five minutes to brainstorm what you think effective feedback is

A Practical experience of giving ineffective and effective feedback

Activity

Giving effective feedbackLearning Intention

We are learning how to throw a ball accurately

Success CriteriaWe will hit the target (Product)We will have the right•Distance•Height•Force•Direction

Can you add or take away from

your brainstorm?

Students initiating feedback – How?Good feedback is… initiated by the learner.

Teacher and student should make the decision about thelevel 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?”

Students initiating feedback – How?•Students self assess themselves against the Learning Intention and Success Criteria and approach the teacher for feedback when necessary

•May need to have systems in place so students can express their need for feedback – whiteboard etc…

• “This is the bit I need help with”• “I’ve met these criteria, but not this one. I don’t know

how.”• “I’ve met my goal. I think. Can you check? We need to

choice a new goal.”

An exception to this

If you need to give feedback on something outside the criteria, make it clear to the student you are doing this and why.

e.g. I’ve noticed something in your work that isn’t part of the success criteria, but I think it will really help your learning. Is it ok if we look at that as well?

Shirley Clarke suggests

There are three types of feedback prompts you can use to ‘close the gap’, depending on the needs of the student

•Reminder•Scaffold•Example

Choosing the right feedback prompt

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

Reminder prompt

More suitable for your more able students or where students have just forgotten what to do and they just need a reminder and they will be away with their learning

e.g. Don’t forget that a pocket needs to be big enough to get your whole hand in.

Scaffold prompt

Most suitable for students who need more structured support

There are a variety of ways we can use scaffold prompts:

Question: Why don’t you try adding more lemon juice if the taste is not sharp enough?Directive: Boil it for longer to make the mixture thicker.Unfinished sentence: The sauce tasted like…

Example Prompt

Suitable for all students, especially where learning is new or for students who are struggling and need more support. Try giving two examples for the student to choose from

e.g. Try adding something to your design so that the tray can be carried easily- maybe some wooden handles or what about rope handles?

Choosing the right feedback prompt

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

Remember•Consider the needs of the student and what the most useful prompt (relevant to the SC) would be

•Consider the amount of feedback – not swamping with too much detail; not giving so little support that they don’t know how to improve

•Check in with the student about the support needed“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?

• Give students time to act on the feedback given

Other ways to promote further learning

Explanation: Is there a gap in understanding. So I need to explain something a little more.

Reinforcement: Where affirmation is given for any effort or success. Make it descriptive - Which criteria have they met?

Learning Conversation: Is there something bigger that we need to have a conversation about?

It’s also ok to tell them, rather than question, question.

Other ways to promote further learning

Feed forward: Students have met all the criteria and are ahead of other students in their learning. They need extension. So use resources that enable students to set new goals to achieve.• Exemplars • Other displays

Written feedback

The same principles (except it’s more difficult to check how feedback is received)

• Self/peer assessment against criteria• Student initiated: I need help with …• Feedback relevant to the criteria• Most suitable prompt for the student• Time to read the feedback and ask questions if

necessary• Time to act on feedback

Routines which may be needed

•Scaffolding students so they are able to initiate feedback conversations•Students informing teachers they are ready for feedback•Acting on feedback that has be given•Self and peer assessment routines

CHECKPOINT

•What were the key messages

for me?

•What action do I need to

take?