Timely and Effective Feedback

Timely Feedback

Effective Feedback

Question Level Feedback:

Whether it’s an in-class game of Kahoot, a Brightspace quiz, a review on Quizlet, or a video quiz on Edpuzzle, providing immediate feedback after every question informs students of their understanding of necessary information. It’s crucial to have this immediate feedback before students apply it to perform higher-order objectives.

EXAMPLE

Constructive Criticism:

It’s easy to focus on the negative when grading or giving feedback, but making sure that the student understands how to fix their mistakes is crucial to the learning process. Make feedback constructive by offering clear suggestions for improvement.

EXAMPLE

Conferences:

Small group or one-on-one conferences are a great way to provide immediate and personalized feedback. Students have the opportunity to ask questions, show their thinking and explore ideas with the instructor (and perhaps their peers).

EXAMPLE

Genuine Praise

Finding something positive in what a student has produced is an effective way to engage students. Specific and meaningful praise related to their thinking motivates students to replicate what they produced and improve weaknesses.

For example, instead of a simple “Great job!” explain what was great: “The idea of X is great here because it relates to Y etc.”

Peer Editing:

How can you give 20 students immediate feedback on their assignments? Partner them up and have students provide peer feedback. With proper training, students can give each other valuable feedback.

EXAMPLE

Sandwich Criticism:

The way feedback is organized can also make it effective and meaningful. Lead with praise, and sandwich the weaknesses in a student’s work with a positive note on how those weaknesses can be improved.

EXAMPLE

Screencasts

Screencasts are a great way to provide feedback so that students can see what instructors are referring to.

Always ask students prior to the start of the course if they have a preference for written or audio/video feedback and keep the screencast to under five minutes.

EXAMPLE

One Skill

During formative assessments, an effective way of giving feedback is focusing on just one skill.

For example, if students have written an introduction to their draft, focusing on just the thesis statement can be helpful so they can progress with building the rest of their essay.