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

I think back to the graphic that was shown regarding the student (and teacher) perspective of how much peer evaluation was going on at each middle and high school, and I wonder how reliable that data really is.  I wonder if we as teachers as well as students really thought about discussion and classroom participation as a form of formative feedback, a place where ideas are communicated and others have the opportunity to weigh in with feedback.  Self-correcting based on others' ideas and feedback happens ALL THE TIME, yet we scored that as quite low according to the graphic.  I think that all of our minds go to a concrete item to be entered in the gradebook when addressing this question and overlook that students are largely encouraged to participate in the process.  

As for opportunities to apply feedback to improve, I don't know of too many times where it is a one-and-done scenario.  There are sufficient opportunities to build upon a skillset and hopefully the expectations also provide an opportunity for growth.  I would hope that we maybe start with lower-level expectations and scaffold up to higher-order thinking/performance expectations as they refine their skills.

I have a habit of writing BOOM! on papers. It isn't feedback in the sense we are examining here, but they love seeing it.  I think I still struggle with the "actionable" aspect of feedback. There are times when I will write "See me" on the paper because I can't explain what it is they need to do on the paper itself. One- on-one feedback sessions are extremely beneficial.

I'm struggling a little bit with distinguishing how feedback should be actionable, but not advice. I think I understand the basic difference, but I'm unsure of how to provide that for students, especially on their writing. I think I've worked through it enough to realize that students need a reaction to their writing in relationship to the goal (and maybe the goals need to be a whole lot more specific than they have been) and then be provided with the time and opportunity to critically think about how to solve that issue on their own. Does it seem like I'm on the right track with that thinking? 

Students need to know what they need to do next. How, exactly, do they need to improve? We also need to ensure that we aren't giving feedback that seems like a judgement ("This essay was sloppy"). Instead, give feedback that is more observational and less opinionated. The feedback needs to be goal-related. The feedback should relate to students' individual or class learning goals.

We need to provide multiple opportunities for students to improve. One time isn't enough.

We also need students to create learning goals and articulate what they want to do on an individual level.

I think that we need to remind ourselves as teachers that we provide feedback based on the "evidence" of the work, as opposed to our own judgements about it.  I have been trying to use more questioning with my students to help provide more valuable feedback.  In a class discussion for example, after a learning section, once students share information, I could ask, or students could ask each other, "what do you think went well with this?"  "was they anything you were not sure about as you were doing this?"  If we can get them thinking about their own thinking, I think it helps them to really understand more of where they are in the learning, and what they need to do to improve.

When I think about how I can provide learners opportunities to apply feedback, one of the most critical elements that stands out is timely feedback.  Timeliness coupled with actionable are essential to students being able to apply what they are learning or working towards in order to achieve greater results.  To encourage student participation and ownership, it's important to provide some specific feedback but to also ask open ended questions regarding how the student views their performance and what areas that they can adjust in order to improve their performance.

As a math teacher, I think most of my feedback is based on actions.  When I look at student work I am looking for where in the process they are making errors.  

Using technology may make this part harder, as it will only be right or wrong.  I would encourage students to come and visit with me for personal one-on-one feedback.

Using self-assessments along with feedback I feel can be a good partnership to give students a second chance (and maybe even a third or more) to look at the feedback and improve.

REFLECT:

How can we provide the learners opportunities to apply feedback to improve performance?

I think the opportunities for retakes play right into this.  To be honest retakes are something that I have struggled with.  Although I can see the value and importance of them, I often find myself struggling with the real life application of them.  I constantly go back and forth with the idea.  I think if they are allowed there definitely need to be some parameters set or criteria to meet prior to retake opportunities. 

How can we encourage student participation and ownership of the feedback process?

I think we need to teach our students how to provide effective and meaningful feedback.  One of the thoughts I had while reading this article was to present a portion of the article to my students as we talked about what effective and meaningful feedback look like.  This may be a reference for them as we worked on peer feedback as well.

This is a tough one for me as I am famous for "Good Job" or "Well Done".  I did like the articles suggestion of using the mental colon.  This will allow me transition from empty feedback to valuable feedback.  I really liked this little crutch. 

To help learners apply feedback to improve performance, students need to get feedback that is presented in a positive way.  It should be accurate, factual, and complete.  THe feedback should reinforce what the student did right and then identify what they need to do in the future.  Avoid constant criticism.  Using formative assessments and positive, corrective feedback, along with multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate success can ultimately improve a students learning.  To help students take ownership of the feedback process, it is important to involve their peers and give each student time to self-reflect.

As I read these keys I think more and more of how I my classroom can become more of a coaching environment.  Where students practice, practice, practice and are given feedback to improve so that they may "compete" on the summative assessment.  I have often just written "Good Job" on students papers without being specific on what they did a good job on.  This will need to change.

Fortunately for me in teaching Algebra I the steps in solving problems are pretty concrete.  I require that students show work when solving problems, so I can evaluate their thought process.  I don't mark a whole problem wrong if the end result is wrong.  When I correct their work I identify where they went wrong in their steps.  If this is a repeated issue with a particular student I will then discuss 1:1 and let them know what is going wrong.

My struggle in math is trying to provide feedback for those who refuse to show work.  There are consequences in not showing work, not only short term, but long term when the skills get too tough.

After giving feedback I provide opportunities for students to correct and retake an assessment.

I think when I am having students working, I would like to provide specific feedback that students can use.  Commenting things like, "nice," or "good work," is not what professionals would call actionable feedback.  The feedback needs to provide students with information they can use to take action on their work in order to make it better align with the end goal.  

I think if students feel like the feedback is useful to them, something they can directly apply to the work, they will take more ownership in the process.  

"I like how you do this......" , "I saw that you did this......", "do you have any questions and/or concerns about this.....", "what kind of information do you need to improve this....." etc.  Questions that tap into individual learning and performance along with confirmation of what has been correctly provides students with opportunities to apply and challenge the learning that has already taken place.  Allowing for reflection and collaboration time provides ownership toward student learning and growth.  

As a math teacher, most of the work is action. Students must show their work so that I can understand their thinking/process of getting their answer. If they get a particular problem wrong, I try to circle where their mistake is so they can reflect of what they needed to do differently. I would like to improve on getting students more involved in the process, rather than me just telling them where they went wrong and really have them looking for their errors.

I think having multiple opportunities for students to show mastery of a standard is important. This allows students to take feedback from an earlier assessment and apply it to show what they have learned. Many times in math students are making a simple mistake that leads them to an incorrect solution.  By pinpointing a specific mistake students can make necessary corrections to achieve mastery.

Student participation and ownership can be encouraged by having the students find and correct their own mistakes.  

I think that time is a huge factor is students being able to apply feedback.  So much of our class time is designed to meet a certain goal or learning target that finding the time for students to apply feedback is challenging, especially when not all students are getting the same feedback.  Some students may have feedback that takes them back to basic content knowledge while others are extending their learning. I think that for students that need feedback to meet a basic content expectation the time would look very different from a student who is working on extension of learning.  I am thinking tutoring time for formative assessment feedback with students that are not meeting basic content goals.  If most students are meeting content goals and the feedback suggests a different point of view or extension of learning I would say that differentiating the classroom a bit more might meet the needs of a wider variety of learners. 

After reading this aspect of feedback I now realize this is the area of feedback where I need the most work.  The feedback that I have provided often provides no specific details for student improvement.  Even when I have given praise on a paper, I have neglected to share with students what they are doing right.  If my intention is to improve learning and performance I need to be more specific about what my students are doing correctly and provide suggestions and opportunity for improvement.

I need to continue to work on providing specific examples of ways to improve and also to make sure that students have the time to make revisions and apply those examples as they are working...not at the end of a given assignment without providing the opportunity for correction.

We can encourage student and participation by making the opportunities relevant and providing time for reflection and growth.  Also, being consistent is critical!

I think having students practice good feedback themselves- and not just advice- will help encourage ownership of feedback that they get on their own work. I think creating a culture that carefully and clearly gives feedback will lead to students really valuing it. 

I am hoping in creating the Googleclassroom, that this will allow students the ability to really reflect on their performances in the labs.  We always have done non-formal assessments, had verbal conversations, but nothing that is really documenting their personal feedback.  

I am excited to try a variety of methods that can be used to gauge their personal views and allows them to really analyze what they have learned and where their progress has grown.

Giving students time and opportunities to make corrections as they work toward the learning targets.  Providing praise for what they are doing correctly and specific goal oriented feedback to make adjustments in order to achieve the target. Students also need clear concise direction of next steps.  Students participation and ownership in the feedback process comes when it's embedded within the culture of your classroom.    

Using checkpoints and allowing students to redo performances will provide kids with the opportunity to use feedback. The feedback must be specific enough to target a change in the learner's method or performance. Allow students to have a say in what you are providing feedback on and be sure to be specific and meaningful in your feedback in the area that is meaningful to them. 

I really want to start using the question, "Given the feedback, do you have some ideas about how to improve?" This is powerful to pose to students. It puts them in the driver seat and that they can be agents of change in their own education. 

I like the idea of google classroom/ threads/ discussion forums like this so that we can constantly comment and revisit the ideas in a physical form. Plus it can be used very constructively to continue/ give ongoing feedback on the ideas that can be explained and clear, as well as constantly revisited by students to check/ recheck. 

Students should always have time to use the feedback Just as the same in standards testing students should be able to grow and redo assignments, or change them. I believe portfolios are a great and effective way to do this, and the student is able to see their own growth. They then can see it themselves and take ownership for their work over the course of the year and be proud of growth! It's the process not the product.

Providing feedback with a follow up conference is key for students to follow through on their action steps.  Leaving it up to them to make the changes, with no follow through from the teacher, is not effective and most times the student with not make the follow through actions. 

Giving students timely feedback and curricular options that can be built on and reattempted give students opportunities to use the feedback they receive to gain understanding and learning.  

I find the feedback never works when students/athletes feel threatened by the learning situation.  When I build the rapport and I build the learning environment that feels "low pressure" I feel like I get good results.

It's important to give practice after the feedback.

Students can be involved in both creating rubrics or at least using them to analyze their own work and self assess.  Students should be able to have clear action goals so they can improve and correct work.  If my goal is for them to learn than shouldn't they be given time to adjust and improve their goal after receiving feedback. 

Being an English teacher of young writers, I struggle sometimes with providing feedback that doesn't shut them down. It is easy to give positive comments that aren't maybe as meaningful, but I try to give specific feedback on all papers that I correct which is a challenge. Feedback from peers is beneficial during the writing process.