Feedback
Feedback is a critical type of communication that instructors must manage. The quality of that feedback is very important. For example, I think that it is a good idea to validate correct responses as well as provide reasons why the incorrect responses are incorrect. What do you all think? Please let me know.
Thanks,
NG
Nicole,
You are so right. The feedback you provide to students is an excellent way to communicate and help students. Thanks!
I agree that feedback is very critical and important as it relates to student performance and student/teacher interaction. Positive feedback serves to sustain writing/responses that are appropriate and effective, whereas negative /corrective feedback serves to change writing/responses that are inappropriate or ineffective. A student should be able to understand what is appropriate or inappropriate and needs to be changed by the specificity of the feedback provided.
Excellent thinking Nicole! The students look to us as their instructors for guidance. The feedback we give them will help guide them on their path. As much time should be spent by us on our positive feedback to the students as well as our constructive criticism so that they can move forward on the correct path.
Kendrick,
Right on. The feedback should be provided to students to help them improve. We want t help them achieve the set learning outcomes. Thanks for adding to the conversation.
Julie and Nicole,
You are right on target. We do have to provide both positive and constructive feedback. We do need to help them with our feedback and guidance and serve as good role models. Thanks.
I'd like to bring up another type of feedback, peer to peer feedback. I teach classes focused on graphic design and find that tasking peers to provide feedback to each other is a valuable way to get students to critically analyze work that is not their own, and to constructively communicate their findings and observations and support them with experiences and resources.
This however comes with a whole new set of challenges, preparing the students constructively offer feedback, and then to take that constructive feedback with an open mind, without hurt feelings. We have built in another whole set of guidelines for peer critique, as well as an extensive vocabulary to assist in developing a professional way of communicating.
Heather,
Self- and peer-assessment are two things I implement in my courses. I have students use the same rubric I will use to assess their work to assess each others' work. It is helpful for them to provide constructive feedback to each other and they tend to understand the expectations more when they have to assess each other. Thanks!
You make some excellent points, Nicole. If the feedback lacks quality, students will not be clear on why they did well, or why they didn't. They need reasons for both, which is why feedback indeed is a critical type of communication. Validating correct responses will encourage them; providing reasons why incorrect responses are as such, will allow them to understand why. Therefore, doing a better job next time!
Kelly and Nicole,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. The feedback does have to be meaningful enough to help the students improve. Remember assessment is not something we do to our students, but with our students. Thanks for your input in this forum.
I agree that the quality of feedback is important. I am a firm believer in the "sandwich technique." Basically, when we give feedback to the student we should state the positive first, insert the negative, and end with something positive or encouraging for the student to receive. As stated in one of these classes, feedback should not be used to tear a student's academic self-esteem down but allow them to see what they are doing wrong in order to correct it in the future. Yes, I love that we validate the correct responses, however, working on how to present feedback to the incorrect responses is crucial in the classroom. Does anyone else use the "sandwich technique" within their classroom?
Joi ,
Awesome. Glad you are using the sandwich technique and seeing results. Many people do use that technique. Thanks!
Nicole,
Do you mean you provide reasons why an incorrect response was incorrect in the discussion board where other students can see? I find this is not effective to be evaluating students in front of one another. However, I do think it would be good to give this kind of feedback in the gradebook and not just tell a student something is wrong, but also why. It makes for better learning!
Stephanie,
Good question. I give examples of good and poor posting in the syllabus and provide a rubric to show how they will be assessed. That helps. Thanks for your input.
I agree with you, Nicole. I think, too, that it is important to help students to want feedback, if that makes any sense!! I think it is important to spend time and energy helping students to understand the importance of feedback and the value of spending some time after receiving work back to learn from the experience. It is my experience that most students don’t do this at the moment, concentrating principally on the mark. :-)
Willie and Nicole,
Thanks for continuing the conversation. Keep in mind and tell your students if need be - that assessment is something we do with students - not to students. ;-)
I believe it's essential the "why" factor be emphasized during discussions and evaluations. For the student, knowing the right answer is only the beginning. Their depth of knowledge increases when the student also knows "why" that answer, or that example is correct. Long pauses often occur after the "why?" question is posed. The sound of brains working perhaps?
Robert,
Yes, when students understand why whey are doing what they are doing it helps them understand how to reach the learning outcomes. Also, when you evaluate students and they understand why what they did wrong was wrong, they can learn from that as well. Thanks!
This is great information. Feedback is critical for students especially in an online environment. Most students do rely on our feedback in order to help them improve. So it's important for instructors to offer solid and effective feedback to students.
Rhonda,
I agree. We give feedback all the time in a F2F course and don't even realize it many times. But, we have to be very conscious about providing timely feedback online. Thanks!
