FEEDBACK IN ACTION
What would effective feedback look like in your classroom?
Now it’s time to think about what effective feedback looks like in your classroom. You will first want to Create an Action Plan for implementing effective feedback. A template is provided to support this planning. Then you will want to think about evidence and activities to support your action plan.
Whether you are beginning to develop an understanding of feedback or whether you feel fairly confident you could teach someone else about effective feedback, there are some activities recommended below to support putting effective feedback into action:
- Video tape yourself teaching, and review the video using the Questions Concerning Teacher Feedback to Students This will enable you to examine your practices and students’ responses to your feedback.
- When planning a lesson, theme, or unit intentionally consider feedback structures that will assist you in implementing user-friendly, just in time feedback, such as providing rubrics to learners for ensuring clear learning targets and criteria.
- Collaborate with a colleague to observe each other teaching. Focus on the use of descriptive and evaluative feedback. Coach one another to increase the use of descriptive feedback that exemplifies the seven key characteristics of effective feedback.
- Reflect on your personal teaching context and the implementation of effective feedback by journaling about one student who may be struggling in your classroom. Consider your feedback and the student’s responses as you record, reflect, and plan next steps.
Use the Practice Profile and Implementation Fidelity Checklists as tools to support and monitor your practices, and as data to reflect on your action plan.
Implementation Fidelity Checklist
CLOSING and FOLLOW UP
Course Summary
Feedback is an essential component of the teaching and learning process. Teachers use effective feedback to guide students from where they are towards the goal of the learning task. In this manner, feedback helps to answer the questions,
- Where am I going?
- How am I going?
- Where to next? (Hattie & Timperley, 2007)
Feedback is specific information provided to the learner about the task or learning process in order to increase students’ understanding, effort, motivation, and/or achievement. Researchers have identified several key characteristics to ensuring your feedback is effective: goal-oriented, tangible and transparent, actionable, user-friendly, timely, ongoing, and consistent (Wiggins, 2012).
Next Steps Questions
Where to next?
- Which activity have I chosen to guide my learning and implementation of effective feedback?
Where am I going?
- Am I beginning, developing or proficient with implementing effective feedback consistently? What elements of effective feedback should be the focus of my action plan?
How am I going?
- What reflective practices, self-checks or peer conversations will I schedule to record my progress toward the goal of implementing feedback effectively?
- What evidence will demonstrate my progress?
Where to next?
- Are there any other gaps I perceive to be present in my instructional practices with regards to feedback?
For More Information
Bellon, 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.
Marzano(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.