Adding Rigor to Your Classroom
Allow Time for Student Feedback
What is student feedback?
- Is it students giving you feedback about your teaching?
- Is it students giving you feedback about what they've learned?
- Is it teachers giving students feedback?
When being asked what comes to mind you can't be wrong. I asked several people and I received all of the above as responses. When I Googled "what is student feedback" I found a little of all. Did you know there is an App for that?
Well no matter which kind of feedback we are talking about it needs to be specific, respectful, timely, meaningful and actionable, given with the purpose of growth.
Student to Student Feedback
What exactly are the most effective ways to use feedback in educational settings?
Although there is no quick or easy answer to this question, here are five research-based tips for providing students with the kind of feedback that will increase motivation, build on existing knowledge, and help them reflect on what they've learned.
1. Be as Specific as Possible
In a review of the available research titled "The Power of Feedback," University of Auckland professors Helen Timperley and John Hattie highlight the importance of supplying learners with specific information about what they are doing right or wrong.
For example, feedback like "Great job!" doesn't tell the learner what he did right, and likewise, a statement such as "Not quite there yet" doesn't give her any insight into what she did wrong and how she can do better the next time around.
Instead, researchers suggest taking the time to provide learners with information on what exactly they did well, and what may still need improvement. They also note that it can be helpful to tell the learner what he is doing differently than before.
Has a student's performance changed or improved since the last time you assessed her? Let her know about it, even if she still has a long way to go.
2. The Sooner the Better
Numerous studies indicate that feedback is most effective when it is given immediately, rather than a few days, weeks, or months down the line.
In one study that looked at delayed vs. immediate feedback, the researchers found that participants who were given immediate feedback showed a significantly larger increase in performance than those who had received delayed feedback.
Another research project from the University of Minnesota showed that students who received lots of immediate feedback were better able to comprehend the material they had just read.
Of course, it's not always possible to provide students with feedback right on the spot, but sooner is definitely better than later.
3. Address the Learner's Advancement Toward a Goal
Timperley and Hattie note that effective feedback is most often oriented around a specific achievement that students are (or should be) working toward. When giving feedback, it should be clear to students how the information they are receiving will help them progress toward their final goal.
4. Present Feedback Carefully
The way feedback is presented can have an impact on how it is received, which means that sometimes even the most well-meaning feedback can come across the wrong way and reduce a learner's motivation.
Psychologist and author Edward Deci has identified three situations in which feedback could be counterproductive:
- When learners feel too strictly monitored: they might become nervous or self-conscious, and as a result, disengaged from learning.
- When learners interpret feedback as an attempt to control them:Learners may sometimes interpret feedback as an attempt to control them or tell them how they should be doing something rather than guidance on how to improve.
- When learners feel an uncomfortable sense of competition:Feedback shared in a group setting could cause learners to feel like they have to compete with their peers. This can be another source of disengagement in learning.
To avoid these situations, Deci suggests fully explaining the purpose of any monitoring, and ensuring that learners understand how the feedback is meant to help them compete against their own personal bests rather than each other.
5. Involve Learners in the Process
The importance of involving learners in the process of collecting and analyzing performance-based data cannot be understated. Pennebaker says:
Students must be given access to information about their performance . . . At the broadest level, students need to know if they actually have mastered the material or not. Giving them information about the ways they are studying, reading, searching for information, or answering questions can be invaluable.When students have access to this information, they develop an awareness of their learning, and are more easily able to recognize mistakes and eventually develop strategies for tackling weak points themselves.
5 Research-Based Tips for Providing Students with Meaningful Feedback
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/tips-providing-students-meaningful-feedback-marianne-stenger
Questions
It is important to build a classroom culture that encourages students to ask and answer questions. Students need to feel safe answering questions as well as asking them. If we help them understand that mistakes are a part of learning and an opportunity to grow we are fostering a risk taking environment. Expectations for how students show respect to each other when asking and answering questions need to be clearly set. Kirstin Gerhold
had her class come up with this Discussion Element Chart.
Here are 7 ideas to increase student engagement:
- Use the 10:2 method. For every 10 minutes of instruction allow the students 2 minutes to process and respond to the instruction. This can be done in various ways by having them write what they have learned, questions they may have, or by discussing the content with a fellow student.
- Incorporate movement into your lessons. Require students to respond to a question by moving to a certain spot in the room, writing on whiteboards, or standing (or sitting) when they are done thinking about the question, etc.
- Pick up the pace. One misconception is that we must go slow for students to really understand and engage in a lesson. There is a lot of evidence that shows that when teaching is at a brisk instructional pace, students have more opportunities to engage, respond, and move on to the next concept (Carnine & Fink, 1978; Williams, 1993; Ernsbarger et al., 2001).
- Provide frequent and effective feedback.
- Allow students 5-7 seconds of ‘think time’ when asking a question.At the end of the time draw a random name to answer the question.
- At the end of a lesson have students use the 3-2-1 method of summarizing by having students record three things they learned, two interesting things, and one question they have about what was taught. Allow time to share their findings with a peer.
- Periodically pause mid-sentence when teaching requiring students to fill in the blanks.
Here is a link to a Pinterest Guide: 7 Ways to Increase Student Engagement
Hurst, Stacy. "Seven Ways to Increase Student Engagement in the Classroom." Reading Horizons, 18 Sept. 2013, www.readinghorizons.com/blog/seven-ways-to-increase-student-engagement-in-the-classroom.