Feedback (Walden U. Grad Topic)
I cannot say that I am as engaged in my graduate work as I should be. Life often interferes and one must do what one can. I am attending Walden University online and I am partially through a graduate degree in technology integration. The class I am currently in is a study of habits of mind developed by Costa and Kallick (check older posts if you want to read about that)
This week the class is learning more about rubrics within the discussion of teacher to student feedback. This is what I submitted for discussion this week:
As we move our way through the degree program I try to adopt things that change weakness into strength. The problem is that, as a new teacher, I find I am not often aware of my weak areas. Feedback is one area where I have grown in this degree program. I like to think of myself of a nice guy. I talk with my students as much as I can and I try to reinforce the behaviors that I think are appropriate. I have come to find that, although the students consider me easy to talk to about life, the classroom feedback I provide them is very general. “Good job, well done, here is a good grade.” I am a guy against grades that is providing feedback in almost exclusively grade form.
Lately, I am trying to incorporate more thought and even further action in my day to day feedback. I comment on the overall design and color schemes of projects. If possible I quickly bring up other examples and ask them to compare. I ask if the students have come across interesting information related to their project. I try to do what I can to spark a conversation about the content that the students are covering.
Although I use rubrics, I don’t think I clearly explain why I do the things I do. It is my goal in the future to include the vocabulary of feedback into the everyday classroom so that the students not only understand what I want, but can also see and understand it in situations outside of my classroom.
Yes, I love myself; however, the purpose of posting this is to hear from other, more experienced teachers about the feedback they provide. It may be teacher to student, teacher to teacher, or how you set student to student feedback. Here is a cross section of the people I would love to hear from:
Anyone else that wants to comment on the value of feedback in education.
April 10th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Today’s student (and teacher) is starved for positive feedback (and honest, kind, negative.) You’ve certainly got the first step: relationship. After you’ve built a relationship and the students see that you give honest, sincere compliments, I always try to find the one thing that students do VERY well. Even if the work is terrible, I always follow this formula:
positive, specific feedback about an aspect of their work that they did very well. Specific detailed feedback about what needs to be improved. Finally, remind them of the praise I gave. Then, I like to ask them, “OK, now what are you going to do to make this better.” to see if they have got the specific area of feedback.
If they are sorely lacking I do this is steps, otherwise they feel hopeless and I try to limit it to 2-3 things at most.
But make sure it is honest, genuine feedback, they see through fakery! I will admit that sometimes (particularly at the beginning of a course) I have to really think about how to pull out something good but there is always something good in it, even if I have to praise their attitude or their willingness to ask for feedback, that is something.
I love Dale Carnegie’s How to Win FRiends and Influence People and the basic method of handling people is to “arouse in them an eager desire or want.” So, I always keep that on the backburner — what does this student want? We all have motivations and tapping into that motivation is important. And remember, sometimes some students FEEL insufficient and just don’t want to be embarrassed so there have been times with those rare students that all feedback has to be private. (This is usually the extreme introvert but they are out there.) So, having a strict formula in this example may actually be terrible…because some introverts want NO attention in their direction. So, beware of “formulas.”
You are doing a great job asking questions! (Do you know Dr. Shepherd — she has taught me so much and teaches online for Walden — if you get a chance to learn from her she is absolutely WORLD CLASS and my favorite professor in the educational arena. She is incredible!)
Ok, good luck and I want to return and see the others. I’ve really given you a microcosmic view of my feedback here. It is a progression and you want to move students along a continuum of learning and excellence to continually become a little bit better than they were last time… It is not just about being better than the other students but about being better than you were yesterday!
Good luck! Thanks for asking, I’m honored.
April 11th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
I have not had Dr. Shepherd, but I look forward to the next phase of the program which is more curriculum based. I hope to run in to her.
Thank you so much for going above in beyond in your response. I hope to get a good cross section so I can summarize for a professional development post. May I repost your comments later?
Thank you again, I love what you do.
April 11th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
Hi kpruitt —
It always seems strange writing to someone whose name I don’t know, but I look forward to having you in class in the future. I see Vicki Davis mentioned me in her post, so I decided to jump in.
Vicki said “It is not just about being better than the other students but about being better than you were yesterday!” What an insightful statement about the growth you will experience day by day. If you take this focus for the feedback you receive from classmates and from professors, you can grow from positive and negative comments.
Too often people don’t find their online voices early in their career in distance learning, so they say things that sound differently from the way they were meant. If you remember this it is easier to deal with feedback that “hurts.”
I completely agree with Vicki that when you give feedback to your peers, it is always best to give a positive statement first, followed by constructive questions. Often a criticism in the form of a question is easier to digest and stimulated thinking, where a negative statement shuts a person down.
I have also found that when a negative or constructive comment is given first, followed by a positive one, that the person doesn’t receive the positive comment. The focus is on the negative. Since I believe we all learn from positive feedback and repeat what is praised, then that is where the initial focus should be.
So — practice positive feedback to your peers, and you may find that is the kind of feedback that is returned to you.
Best to you in your program at Walden. By the way, I was skyping with Vicki Davis tonight and she indicated that your blogging was exemplary, especially the way you made a link to her so she could find your blog.
Good work.
April 12th, 2007 at 7:41 am
Wow… it’s been a while since I was in the classroom with kids. I’ve been teaching adults for six years. (They just NEVER learn!
)And, I’m sure my recollection of my wonderful feedback that I gave my students differs from their take on it. 
So, let me just mention a couple of things that I did that I thought at the time were effective.
Here are some of the things I’d try to remember to say:
“I like the way you did (such and such). I wouldn’t have thought to do it that way. You’re a lot more creative than I am.”
Or, “Oh my – that’s very good. Show me how you did that.” Or, I’d ask if the person would “Show US how you did that” and then let them use my teacher station to show everyone what was done. I often commented to students that they were much more creative with things than I was and that seemed to create a target for them – be more creative than Gates! Little did they know how easily that could be done.
In programming class I often said, “I’m really proud of you for sticking with that problem like that. I KNEW you could do it.”
I do SO wish I had it to do over again, though, as I am CERTAIN that I didn’t give enough positive feedback. Here’s how I know. When *I’m* in a class (and remember that I’m in grad school now, too, in spite of hoping to retire in ‘09) I know how I feel when something is said as simple as, “Nice job, James.” . Something THAT simple, yet in spite of me having said that to others so often in the past it STILL makes me feel good. That little.. warm fuzzy, maybe?… it just FEELS good.
And I’ll close with this. NEVER FORGET that, for SOME kids in your class – and you may NEVER KNOW which ones, YOUR CLASS may be the ONLY time in their 24 hour day when they feel comfortable, relaxed, and appreciated for who they are and what they are TRYING to do. So, greet them at the door with a smile, and as they leave say, “Good work today, Kelly”, or “You guys did great today.” They’ll WANT to work for you.
April 15th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
As always, a great blog post Ken. My time as an English teacher was always spend looking at assessment. Today’s standard driven classrooms make it even more challenging to determine the best approach.
What I continue to keep in mind is that assessment is not paper on pen, it is not that one shot deal. It is ongoing and should drive the classroom. Far too many teachers feel the curriculum drives the classroom but I’ve always seen the curriculum as a more of game plan with assessment being what determines the decisions on any given moment.
This is easier said than done. For many students, the focus is on the grade which is often the antithesis of ongoing assessment. Foster the type of learning and engagement that makes the grade secondary to the experience of education and community. How? Engage the students in assessment. Not just in reflecting upon their work such as the Habits of Mind but in building rubrics, designing projects, guiding curricular decisions, and blending needs of learner and teacher.
This develops a sense of respect. It develops a sense of community. When students start seeing the classroom as a community, they will move beyond just the grades and into a sense of learning for the sake of learning.
Mr. Gates points out some great points too. Simply put, being there for the students: compliments, encouragement, and understanding. For many of these students, this is something they rarely get in the classroom, amongst their peers, and even at home. When you offer this to them, you are showing that you value them and they are likely to return in kind — some won’t but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.
Finally, I remember being told something that forever stuck with me from the moment I entered the classroom. There are two types of assessment: formative and summative. While formative offers the best chance for growth and development, most classes focus heavily upon summative: final exams, unit exams, research papers, etc. My professor at Illinois State University told me that summative assessments equate to an education autopsy. You can look at the information all you want but it does nothing for that person. What does that mean? I place all my energy into the formative assessments leaving the summative to evaluate me!
Sounds crazy, I know. That is why I made all assessments dynamic so long as the work was done on time. If you wanted to rework an essay, great! Let’s talk about it. If you wanted to redo a test, great! Let’s talk about it. Think your project deserved a better score and you want to work on it some more, great! Let’s talk about it.
Why such an open policy? Well, it isn’t about the grade. The stupid grade means nothing (well, it does but not in terms of learning). That grade is so subjective in the grand scheme of the class, school, district, and national perspective. Who cares? Let’s focus assessment on helping students learn NOT only placing a label on them.
Try it! You’ll see an amazing transformation!
April 18th, 2007 at 8:26 am
I am a firm believer in formative feedback. My classes at MSU are project based and I devote 3 class sessions during the semester to feedback. Students share their projects and the students critique the project based on what they have read or discussed in class. This provides constructive feedback and the students can ask for help and suggestions with their project. My students tell me this feedback is one of their favorite parts of the class. In the beginning of the semester I provide a lot of the suggestions. By the end of the semester, I usually do not have to add more to the comments because the students understand the content and provide excellent feedback.
I think this is effective because the student leave the class with an excellent understanding of the content.
April 23rd, 2007 at 8:08 pm
It is an interesting question you pose . . .
My district has spent the past year – as our new strategic plan was developed – looking into the habits of highly effective high schools as evaluated by Willard Daggett and the International Center for Leadership in Education.
According to Daggett, the underpinnings of a highly successful program center around a rigorous and relevant curriculum and strong teacher/student – teacher/teacher – teacher/administrator – stakeholders/teachers relationships.
Classroom feedback is one of the many ways for teachers to cultivate the type of respectful mentoring relationships with their students that foster greater academic growth. I have found that for feedback to be meaningful it must be relevant (timely) and constructive. It can’t be all warm fuzzies. Teachers are not their students’ “friends” – they are mentors and coaches who must exist in a different realm than friends.
Feedback will always depend upon the nature of the formative or summative assessment that has prompted the feedback. I personally believe that feedback on formative assessments are more valuable than on summative assessments. Students are more likely to be responsive to feedback on formative assessments since those types of assessments occur as students are in the process of constructing their understanding of a topic or skill. By the time the summative assessment is administered, students have cemented their learning and feedback is not necessarily as engaging.
I believe that feedback should be framed in such a way as to be motivating. It should highlight the positives as well as areas for improvement and should be open-ended enough to provide a learning lesson.
For instance, when I assess a piece of writing my gut reaction is to correct every grammar error and offer rewritten sentences to correct issues with clarity. But, if I succumb to that initial reaction, what chance do my students have of developing a creative way to address the weakness in their writing or of refining their writing skills? It is more motivating – though, also, more rigorous – to simply pose the challenge to students of rewriting and seeking greater clarity, more elegant transitions, cleaner sentence structure, etc. . . . At that point, if students do NOT know how to address the comments, they meet with me for coaching. If I were to just “fix” the problems in their writing and suggest that they meet with me, I can guarantee that few would.
I think that many technologies exist to help facilitate feedback. I have been very pleased with the teacher feedback feature on Classblogmeister. I am able to offer feedback to students before their posts go live. They can make changes and resubmit the writing to me. The feedback is private and I have found that students seek out feedback from me even when I have not initiated the process. It is really interesting when students submit a science lab report or literary analysis to solicit my feedback before they turn in that piece to their teachers (especially since I teach social studies).
I think that offering students honest, constructive, respectful, and timely feedback helps to forge a powerful learning relationship. Through effective feedback, teachers can empower students to take charge of their learning.
Also keep in mind that the thoughtful “you had some excellent contributions to our discussion today”-type comments are also feedback. It demonstrates to the students that you value their contributions and that you are really engaged in their learning.