Feedback is not perceived as exciting to the same extent as many other aspects of teaching (such as organizing an excursion or designing an assessment task). In formal assessment tasks, teachers often dislike writing it, and students frequently fail to read it properly. It seems as if everyone is focused only on the mark or grade, their ranking against others. This is a disappointing state though as feedback has been ranked as one of the top ten influences on student achievement (Hattie 2009). It is also one of the most variable influences suggesting that all feedback is not equal. Why isn’t there more consistency produced by feedback? Why aren’t we doing it well?
Luckily for us there has been some interesting research conducted in this area in recent years. Unfortunately most teachers and schools are just too busy to read it though! If you haven’t had time to finish last term’s cup of coffee then this list is for you. It is a summary of how to save your feedback from failure.
Step 1 : Provide explanation feedback not correctional feedback
For example if correcting a written text of a student who had forgotten to indent at the beginning of a paragraph; “You didn’t indent one box.” , would be an example of correctional feedback. “You needed to indent one box as that would indicate to the reader that it is the start of a new paragraph.”, would be an example of explanation feedback. The student may not make the connection between the correction and the fact it is needed as it is the start of a new paragraph without such detail, and hence may not be able to repeat the indent in future contexts.
Step 2 : Tell them what they did well, not just what they did wrong
Many teachers give excellent explicit feedback about what is incorrect but gloss over or leave out what was well done. For example “great use of punctuation” tells them very little. “I was impressed to see that you remembered that the full stop shares the box with the letter if it appears at the end of a row. Well done.”, is far more explicit and useful to the student.
Step 3 : Avoid negative phrase like “you should” and “wrong”
“You have written the dash in シドニー the wrong way. You should write the dash horizontally when writing a text horizontally.”, is an example of feedback that is unlikely to motivate a student. Instead try phrases like :
“I was really impressed to see you stretch yourself to include the new kanji from chapter 2 of Jblog 2. Take a look at the kanji index on page 125 of Jblog 2 and see if you can find the reason I have highlighted this kanji.”
Step 4 : Provide objective feedback not subjective feedback
Students don’t need to hear “You are awesome at kanji”. That encourages a fixed mindset and will ultimately lead to them playing it safe to avoid making a mistake and disappointing you. Instead try honest but subjective phrases about their effort and persistence, and explain why it was impressive. Eg “You used some great conjunctions in your letter to link ideas and actions such as でも、ですから and そして. This makes your text more interesting for the reader.”
Step 5 : Stop the teacher monopoly on feedback
Feedback is not supposed to be about you justifying the grade you gave a student. It is an important opportunity for the student to improve and learn. Try to embed more peer feedback and self-analysis components in your next assessment.
The examples in this text are taken from The Stage 5 Formative Assessment Writing Resource. This resource is available for purchase for $70 from Manten resources and includes professional development readings and a ready-made assessment task to get you started. More information is available at this link : https://www.mantenresources.com.au/teachers/blog/new-growth-mindset-formative-assessment-resource/
Further reading:
You may also be interested in our post on growth mindset at https://www.mantenresources.com.au/teachers/blog/growth-mindset-more-than-just-a-poster-on-the-wall/
Reference :
Hattie, J., & Ebooks Corporation. (2009). Visible learning : A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement / John A.C. Hattie. London ; New York: Routledge.
