AfL - Effective Feedback

Providing Students with Effective Feedback

What is Feedback? “Feedback is an objective description of a student’s performance intended to guide future performance. Unlike evaluation, which judges performance, feedback is the process of helping our students assess their performance, identify areas where they are right on target and provide them tips on what they can do in the future to improve in areas that need correcting.”~ W. Fred Miser

What is Feedback?“Research has shown that effective feedback is not a discrete practice, but an integral part of an instructional dialogue between teacher and student, (or between students, or between the student and him/herself).”From “Providing Students with Effective Feedback”

What is Feedback?“Feedback is not about praise or blame, approval or disapproval. That’s what evaluation is – placing value. Feedback is value-neutral. It describes what you did and did not do.”~ Grant Wiggins

What is Feedback?“Effective feedback, however, shows where we are in relationship to the objectives and what we need to do to get there. “It helps our students see the assignments and tasks we give them as opportunities to learn and grow rather than as assaults on their self-concept. “And, effective feedback allows us to tap into a powerful means of not only helping students learn, but helping them get better at learning.”~ Robyn R. Jackson

What is Feedback?“Effective feedback not only tells students how they performed, but how to improve the next time they engage the task. Effective feedback is provided in such a timely manner that the next opportunity to perform the task is measured in seconds, not weeks or months.”~ Douglas Reeves, p. 227

Feedback FocusAcademicBehavioural

Primary Purposes of FeedbackTo keep students on course so they arrive successfully at their predetermined destination.~ W. Fred Miser“It is one thing to collect feedback about students’ progress, but if you simply collect this feedback and never use it to adjust your instruction, then you are collecting it in vain. The data you receive from grading your assignments and assessments will give you feedback about the effectiveness of your own instruction.”~ Robyn R. Jackson

What Does the Research Say?“Academic feedback is more strongly and consistently related to achievement than any other teaching behavior….This relationship is consistent regardless of grade, socioeconomic status, race, or school setting….When feedback and corrective procedures are used, most students can attain the same level of achievement as the top 20% of students.”~ Bellon, Bellon & Blank

What Does the Research Say?“Feedback seems to work well in so many situations that it led researcher John Hattie (1992) to make the following comment after analyzing almost 8,000 studies: ‘The most powerful single modification that enhances achievement is feedback. The simplest prescription for improving education must be dollops of feedback.’”~ Robert Marzano

What Does the Research Say?“In a major review of the research on assessment, Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam (1998) notedThe research reported here shows conclusively that formative assessment does improve learning. The gains in achievement appear to be quite considerable, and as noted earlier, amongst the largest ever reported for educational interventions. As an illustration of just how big these gain are, an effect size of 0.7, if it could be achieved on a nationwide scale, would be equivalent to raising the mathematics achievement score of an ‘average’ country like England, New Zealand or the United States into the ‘top five’ after thee Pacific rim countries of Singapore, Korea, Japan and Hong Kong.”~ What Works in Schools, p. 38

Power of Accurate Feedback Immediate impact on resultsLower failuresBetter attendanceFewer suspensionsFailure here undermines EVERY OTHER EFFORT in curriculum, assessment, and teaching~ Douglas Reeves, Asilomar Conference 2009 Powerpoint

Characteristics of FeedbackTimely“The more delay that occurs in giving feedback, the less improvement there is in achievement.” (Marzano(1), p. 97)As often as possible, for all major assignmentsConstructive/CorrectiveWhat students are doing that is correctWhat students are doing that is not correctChoose areas of feedback based on those that relate to major learning goals and essential elements of the assignmentShould be encouraging and help students realize that effort on their part results in more learning (Marzano(2), p. 105)Specific to a CriterionPrecise language on what to do to improveReference where a student stands in relation to a specific learning target/goalAlso specific to the learning at handBased on personal observationsFocused on the product/behavior – not on the studentVerified Did the student understand the feedback? Opportunities are provided to modify assignments, products, etc. based on the feedbackWhat is my follow up plan to monitor and assist the student in these areas?)

Essential Elements of FeedbackRecognition of the Desired GoalEvidence about Present Position (current work)Some Understanding of a Way to Close the Gap Between the Two~ Black & William

1. Recognition of the Desired Goal Includes:Clarity of the Learning Goal Clarity about Content AreaClarity of Curricular IndicatorsClarity of Mastery ObjectivesClearly communicating the desired learning goal to students through instruction.A “Vision of Excellence”

Methods to Ensure Student Understanding of Learning GoalsHave students define what successful achievement of the goals looks or sounds like. (Developing a “criteria for success”)Provide several samples, models, exemplars, etc. of products that achieve the learning goal in exemplary fashion.Lead students through an analysis of the criteria of successful achievement in terms of the samples provided. Could be through the use of rubrics or descriptions of the practice/product.Compare students’ product to the criteria for success (highlight/use “+” through criteria that were met by the product)Have students continue working on a task until they succeed.

The Language of Assessment“As a result of understanding the learning destination and appreciating what quality work and success look like, students:Begin to learn the language of assessment. This means students learn to talk about and reflect on their own work using the language of criteria and learning destinations.Gain the knowledge they need to make decisions that help close the gap between where they are in their learning and where they need to be.”~ Anne Davies, p. 38

2. Evidence About Present PositionWhat student work/assignments/projects look like – “what is”Current work samples

3. Ways to Close the Gap between Goals & Current StateProvide guidance on how to improve (strategies, tips, suggestions, reflective questioning, etc.)Provide student-friendly version of learning targets along with actual samples of student workProvide help to improve Provide time to work on the improvement, apply the feedback

Sharing FeedbackOral, interactive (one-on-one) feedback is best whenever possibleUse descriptive, not evaluative languageFocus on what went well and what can be improved in language students understandSeek consensus with the student(s) – do you agree on the assessment of this product?Focus on the performance and/or behavior – not the studentFocus on those behaviors that the student can do something about.Provide a demonstration if “how to do something” is an issue or if the student needs an example.Group/class feedback works when most students missed the same concept, providing an opportunity for reteaching.

Feedback TimingGood TimingBad TimingReturning a test or assignment the next dayGiving immediate oral responses to questions of factGiving immediate oral responses to student misconceptionsProviding flash cards (which give immediate right/wrong feedback) for studying factsReturning a test or assignment two weeks after it is completedIgnoring errors or misconceptions (thereby implying acceptance)Going over a test or assignment when the unit is over and there is no opportunity to show improvement ~ Susan Brookhart

Amount of FeedbackFor students to get enough feedback so that they understand what to do but not so much that the work has been done for them (differs case by case)For students to get feedback on “teachable moment” points but not an overwhelming number~ Susan Brookhart

Amounts of FeedbackGood AmountsBad AmountsSelecting 2-3 main points about a paper for commentGiving feedback on important learning targetsCommenting on at least as many strengths as weaknessesReturning a student’s paper with every error in mechanics editedWriting comments on a paper that are more voluminous that the paper itselfWriting voluminous comments on poor-quality papers and almost nothing on good-quality papers~ Susan Brookhart

Strategies to Help Students Learn to Use FeedbackModel giving and using feedback yourself.Teach students self- and peer assessment skills to:Teach students where feedback comes from.Increase students’ interest in feedback because it’s “theirs”.Answer students’ own questions.Develop self-regulation skills, necessary for using any feedback.Be clear about the learning target and the criteria for good work.Use assignments with obvious value and interest.Explain to the student why an assignment is given – what the work is for.Make directions clear.Use clear rubrics.Have students develop their own rubrics or translate yours into “kid-friendly” language.Design lessons that incorporate using the rubrics as students work.Design lessons in which students use feedback on previous work to produce better work.Provide opportunities to redo assignments. (Comparing a rough draft to the rubric/criteria/exemplar.)Give new but similar assignments for the same learning targets.Give opportunities for students to make the connection between the feedback they received and the improvement in their work.~ Susan Brookhart

Attaining Excellence“Students must have routine access to the criteria and standards for the task they need to master; they must have feedback in their attempts to master those tasks; and they must have opportunities to use the feedback to revise work and resubmit it for evaluation against the standard. Excellence is attained by such cycles of model-practice-perform-feedback-perform.”~ Grant Wiggins

Feedback LevelsFeedback may be directed at one of four levels:The task “The best task-level feedback corrects flawed interpretations rather than a lack of knowledge and helps students focus on using strategies to achieve their learning goals.” ~ Center on InstructionThe processing of the task ~ facilitating depth in learning (encouraging students’ use of strategies to check their work, recognize errors, and self-correct)Self-regulation ~ helping students internalize the practice of self-monitoring their learning and work.The student as an individual ~ least effective feedback

To reduce discrepancies between current understandings / performance and a desired goalPURPOSEThe Discrepancy Can Be Reduced ByTeachersProviding appropriate challenging and specific goalsORAssisting students to reach them through affective strategiesStudentsIncreased effort and employment of more effective strategiesORAbandoning, blurring or lowering the goalsHattie & Timperley’s Feedback ModelEFFECTIVE FEEDBACK ANSWERS THREE QUESTIONSFeed UpWhere am I going?(The Goals)Feed BackHow am I going?Feed ForwardWhere to next?

ReferencesBellon, Jerry, Bellon, Elner, & Blank, Mary Ann. Teaching from a Research Knowledge Base: A Development and Renewal Process, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1992.Black & William, “Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards through Classroom Assessment” Phi Delta Kappan, October 1998.Brookhart, Susan M. How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students. ASCD, 2008.Davies, Anne. “Involving Students in the Classroom Assessment Process” Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning. Douglas Reeves, Editor. Solution Tree, 2007.Jackson, Robyn R. Never Work Harder Than Your Students & Other Principles of Great Teaching. ASCD, 2009.Marzano(1), Robert. Classroom Instruction that Works. ASCD, 2001.Marzano(2), Robert. “Designing a Comprehensive Approach to Classroom Assessment.” Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning. Douglas Reeves, Editor. Solution Tree, 2007.

References, page 2Marzano(3), Robert. What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action. ASCD, 2003.Miser, W. Fred. “Giving Effective Feedback”“Providing Students with Effective Feedback” Academic Leadership LIVE: The Online Journal; Volume 4, Issue 4, February 12, 2007.Reeves, Douglas. “Challenges and Choices: The Role of Educational Leaders in Effective Assessment.” Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning. Douglas Reeves, Editor. Solution Tree, 2007.Stiggins, Rick. “Assessment for Learning: An Essential Foundation of Productive Instruction.” Ahead of the Curve: The Power of Assessment to Transform Teaching and Learning. Douglas Reeves, Editor. Solution Tree, 2007.“Synopsis of ‘The Power of Feedback’” by Center on Instruction, 2008. [Hattie & Timperley’s research]Wiggins, Grant. Educative Assessment: Designing Assessments to Inform and Improve Student Performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc., 1998.

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