STEP 2: Seven Keys to Effective Feedback (Summer 2016)

I have found the best way to provide tangible feedback is to have a student elaborate on their thinking.  "Say more" is commonly missed, which should be followed through with "_____, what do you think?"  Feedback can be a discussion rather than a random mark on a piece of paper - and I think many times students don't recognize that discussion/comments throughout class are actually very powerful forms of formative feedback.  I tend to think of Socratic sessions when I think of feedback at its best, where there is a full-class analysis of thinking.  This probes into individual thinking as well as exposes varying avenues of thought.

I think it is important to focus feedback on the end goal. My FRQ feedback responses are typically two things they need to address as they move forward. By limiting the feedback, they can focus on the most important things first. On MDE papers they receive additional feedback because those essays have more time attached to processing and revising.

In the PE realm we teach via cues for skill work and even through fitness.   Creating clear, concise cues help students understand the process of a skill in PE.  Keeping the vocabulary consistent throughout the unit is very helpful for students as well. 

In PE class I often have students talk another student through the skill or task at hand.  A simple exit ticket could help you understand where your students are at as well. 

THrough this past year's guidance lessons, it seems that one of the best ways to provide feedback is to have the students working hands on with the topic, while also individualizing the topic. As we went through graduations requirements, we showed a PowerPoint but then also handed each student their personal working transcript and let them fill in on a different worksheet which classes they had taken that had met certain requirements. As the student worked we provided feedback to the placements of their classes on the worksheets, this also allowed for them to be able to reflect on what they had already accomplished but also showed them how much more they needed to complete. 

I think it is important that your feedback to the student is clear and you can make sure that the student understands your feedback and what it means.  Make sure as a teacher that we are not so busy teaching the content that we my not see that the students aren't listening or aren't understanding what you teach.  Feedback is an excellent way to do a non-graded check that is helpful, this will also develop relationships with students which could lead to more effort.   Watching a videotape of you teaching helps check if your feedback is tangible and transparent.

I think that it is important to give clear feedback to our students.  In order to check if they understand the feedback, I can have a mini conference with them after they have had time to process the feedback.  I can ask them what they plan to do with that information in order to move forward. 

In 4th grade I had teacher that always wrote "Incomplete Sentence" on my responses that I was giving in reading class.  As a 4th grader, I didn't know what she was talking about.  Her feedback was to the point but it was not helping me.

I try to think of this when I am giving feedback.  I try to check with my students to see if they understand the comments that I make on their papers.

I have really tried to stay away from the "good job" and "way to go" comments.  I try to make comments that now are personal to that person, in kid friendly language.  Sometimes it is really hard to not just say "good job" still.

I think for me in reading strategies, this feedback with be done through individual conferencing. This discussion-type feedback will allow me to listen to the student and make decisions from there.

It is often easy to tell students "good job" etc., but if we want a student's learning to move forward, we need to give students feedback that is meaningful and useful.  I try very hard to make sure my students are getting feedback that will help them move their learning forward.  This involves moving from student to student or group to group asking them questions about what they are working on.  What did you do well here? What specific things do you need to focus on as you continue to learn about ___?  Getting immediate and specific feedback will be more beneficial to the students and help them in the learning process.  

I think one of the best ways is periodically throughout the year to spend some time with each student, maybe during work time, to check in with the student.  The quick conversation that you can have with a student before, after, or during class is an easy way to give feedback and see if the student understands what you are staying.  It may be important for students to give you feedback on your feedback.

50 minutes a day is not a lot of time to provide proper feedback to each student in addition to trying to get through the standards that need to be taught.  I often find myself giving feedback to the students who continually ask for it during practice time.  These are the students do love that feedback.  

Tere are other students who do not handle feedback well.  They are the fixed mindset students who do not really care to hear it.  How do we help them?

I think using peers in the correct way, can help students receive tangible feedback.  If student A shares work with a group of peers, he/she should make it know what the goal of the work was.  By providing the peers with the end goal, they can give more transparent feedback as to whether or not student A met his/her intended goal.  I too can try to do this with my students.  I can first ask them what they were trying to achieve and then give them feedback related to that goal. 

measurable objectives can help guide us in knowing whether or not students are understanding the concepts being taught in addition to daily feedback opportunities such as engaged learning, question/answer, application of concept and share outs.  The level of engagement demonstrated by group of students, along with questions and "presence" affirm to me whether or not students are understanding and learning from concepts/materials being taught.  

With my online students I try very hard to provide feedback on each submitted assignment in the "feedback comments" section of the Moodle lesson. I've discovered I really need to make a concerted effort to get students to even look at those comments! I've tried directing the students to a comment which is actually an assignment (e.g., Let me know that you read this comment by....). I've posed questions in the comment (e.g., What happened when....?). So, a difficulty of mine is that the students don't find the comments or perhaps, in some instances, don't care enough to read what the comments are. 

This part of the article was so interesting! I think that I may tend to give subjective feedback that is evaluative in nature more frequently than specific useful feedback to improve performance. I need to work on this!

We can provide clear, objective feedback by giving concrete ideas/comments as well as checking for understanding with each student through one on one discussions.

I think if we give feedback in small amounts and ask students about their next steps we can start to get a handle on how well they are grasping the information shared. 

A way we can make sure our students are understanding the feedback is simply by having a conversation with them!!  I know we all have a lot of students, but having a quick check in with a small group as they process the feedback that was just returned.... hits it right on.  

Feedback has to be clear and shouldn't be in language that they don't use themself in the daily classroom.

For assignments, I provide students with the criteria by which I'll be assessing them. Before they turn in their work, we usually have run-throughs and I give them things to consider from the criteria (rubric, checklist, etc.) that they might need to spend a little more time on. Backward design mixed with criteria that is given to them in the beginning keeps my feedback objective, and consistent. By breaking up what I'm assessing (specific standards), students feel a little more confident in understanding what they are being asked to do. By providing more than one opportunity for students to show what they know, I get a clear picture of where they are at in their learning, and if they are taking what teachers/peers are saying to heart.

1. Having primarily lab-based classes, our feedback is most often this form.  We can instantly share what they are doing well and give suggestions on what can be improved on.

One aspect I hope to improve on is the "Focus of the Day."  I want to be more specific for students to have a more concrete understanding of what the defined goal is for that particular lab.  In doing this, I will be able to create questions, fist of five, etc. at the end of the period for that more clear feedback format.

2. While the nature of our courses have always allowed us to know majority of our students abilities, having the check-in points will give us more concrete evidence as to where and what information the students have acquired.

Again, the feedback that is provided in my lab-based classes is objective, clear feedback as they perform a technique or skill.  Myself or another student who has demonstrated proficiency can praise or provide effective feedback to others.  We know if the students understand the feedback by their ability to apply the skill/technique correctly as well.    

I think the best way to give feedback is to focus on the product.  What was the goal of the lab?  Were any procedures not followed in the manner they were intended as per the recipe? Describe the final results of the lab.

Really, through teacher feedback and student self-reflection, the student should be able to identify why the product turned out, or didn't, and where the potential misstep could have occurred. 

One way to be more objective with feedback is to make learning targets, rubrics, and/or proficiency scales for use in the classroom. Such scales will allow the person giving feedback to look for specific criteria that match the scales without assessing or diverting from the task at hand. Students will then need the opportunity to adjust and then perform based on the feedback and show their learning. 

Feedback is best clarified by the terms we use and the examplars - and then consistency with these. Objectivity is harder but can be also be done with clear terms and examplars. But I think for it really to be tangible for students, they need to know 1) why the learning goal matters and 2) why this is the criterion for it.

Our feedback is a waste of both our time and student time if we don't ensure that they understand it. I really like Serravallo's conference process in which you 1) give the feedback, 2) model a strategy, 3) the student attempts it right then and there in the conference, 4) then provide feedback on that attempt. We shouldn't just provide the feedback and walk away.

Objective and clear feedback is something that everyone should get, and sometimes students don't get this opportunity due to effort and time. Feedback sessions could be done with the student as you and them reflect TOGETHER on their work or progress on a skill. This allows the student to take ownership and understand you are taking the time and effort to help them. By just having discussions with students we are able to know if they are understanding their feedback. Communication is a powerful tool.

Providing clear feedback with teacher examples or specifics on how to improve on something is much more beneficial than just saying what they need to do - you need to show them and then watch them to see if they truly understand what it is that you are trying to express to them.

I feel like as a specialists working with the population I do there has to be a connection to their personal life/ experiences. This creates more tangible/ transparent feedback and you can be sure it is understood. 

I think rubrics and proficiency scales again offer the transparent and tangible feedback that students need.  The scales provide students with an understanding of where they have come from and where they are going.  Rubrics written on those scales allow students further actionable steps to make gains in learning.