After reading the article "Feedback that Fits," I found myself looking at what I do in my classroom and what other teachers are doing around me. The idea that feedback can be destructive I thought was a great point in the article and I am glad that there is research done to prove this. I have seen a fellow teacher be very destructive and maybe a pass along of that information may help. I also found it very interesting that 2 key points came up that I have thought for a while. The timing of feed back along with the amount. Too often as adults we try to fix multiple issues at once. With kids this is very difficult. It is important to start small when learning and relearning. It is also important that we not give to strong of feedback when the timing is not right. Our students must be willing to take what we as teachers have to say and learn from it. Without that willingness our feedback could be destructive.
There really is a lot that goes into feedback and it is important to understand the whole of it. When it comes to the work it is vital that there are clear and obtainable objectives. Without these students will be unable to meet or understand them. Once the work is done feedback must be given quickly and appropriately. There needs to be a healthy mix of positive and constructive feedback. Far to often teachers try to fix all of a students short fallings at once. True change takes time. It is therefore also super important for teachers to recognize their students achievements. Without doing this the students will be unlikely to listen to any constructive feedback.
There are tools that will help teachers complete this process with success. The key lies in rubrics. Rubrics will make objectives very clear and students can have a paper copy of them. The student also know how they will be graded when doing the project. There are many tools on the net to create these and have tips on how to ensure a successful rubric. With these available I am sure that I will find myself using them more and more and I am also sure that the students will have success based on this!
I do the same kind of differentiated feedback when talking to teachers about their tech accomplishments. Some teachers I will push to use more advanced tools on their classroom page. Yet for others, I am happy if they post a syllabus as a file attachment. I give just as generous of verbal feedback to each as the perception of the mountain they just climbed is equally high to each person. The objective is to get them to learn and it occurs at a different pace for every person. My advantage is that I don't have to squeeze it into a two week lesson window.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that feedback takes a lot more effort than a lot of people tend to put into it. I see the more use out of feedback that gives the student something new to think about vs. simply giving a comment (which can also be beneficial). By asking them a question to follow up their work helps push them to continue thinking about the process.
ReplyDeleteI also had to reflect a lot on my feedback practices. Too often I think I give meaningless feedback to high level students and potentially negative feedback to lower level students. It really is something more teachers need to review and revise to be truly effective.
ReplyDelete