Feedback is a key component in helping students progress towards the goals you have laid out for them in your class. What is good feedback? More importantly, how do we frame our feedback in a way where students read it and use it to inform their future work?
Good feedback is feedback that gives direction -- nobody wants a checklist of what they did wrong. Try to ask questions in the feedback that clarify their thinking or provide guidance for their future work.
In planning your feedback, think about the what, when, how, and who.
What is your feedback
Two types of feedback: formative and summative
Formative helps monitor progress (think of them as the rest stops of a journey)
In this way, feedback is especially impactful if students can use that feedback to either re-do or build on their work.
Structure your assignments so they can use that feedback for their future work -- otherwise students might not want to read the feedback.
Guide them towards an actionable next step.
Summative helps the students know if they’ve achieved the goals of the assignment
Qualities of good feedback:
Feedback =/= criticism
Telling a student “this needs work” or “this could be better explained” can be expanded with feedback and questions that can help your students improve their thinking. FOr example, you can ask them why they chose to frame something this way, or suggest an alternate way they can approach the problem.
Flock, H., & Garcia, H. (2019) offers the following advice:
Good feedback not only details the areas for improvement but offers actionable advice. Merely telling a student “this needs work” does not provide any guidance on how to fix the problem. Here’s a good example of specific feedback: “I would like to hear more details of why you chose this framework. You also assume the reader knows all about the theories you’re using — but it would help to define what they mean here.”
When you’re giving feedback
Give feedback promptly. This is especially important with formative feedback.
Be up front with how quickly students should expect feedback, although don’t set an expectation that’s not doable for yourself!
Don’t burn yourself out -- give detailed feedback during the impactful assignments. There’s no need to give feedback on everything, and students might become overwhelmed (in addition to you)
How you’re giving feedback
Automated Feedback using Canvas
Good for quick, just-in-time feedback for MC or one word questions
Pros: gives students immediate feedback and helps them know if they’re on the right track.
How to write that feedback: if you’re giving students a chance to take the quiz again, you can give them a prompt to lead them in the right direction. If they’re just taking it once, use the feedback as an opportunity to talk about why the answer is right.
Cons: nuanced feedback is hard to give
Rubrics
Making a rubric for your assignment is a helpful way to let students see where they are
Determine the key elements of success in your assignment
Rubrics are best paired with some personal feedback
Great for formative and summative assessments
Quick meetings/video is a good way to give feedback on works that are difficult to give feedback on (think: personal written work). It’s easy to misconstrue tone in written feedback.
Who is giving the feedback
You/teaching staff
Peer feedback
Paired well with a rubric so your students can be on the same page
Peers don’t actually have to give each other grades, it can just be feedback, such as written or spoken feedback on works in progress.
For graded work, feedback can be on very small-stakes assignments, like weekly practice problem sets
Peer feedback gives students a broader set of feedback. Use peer feedback as the semester progresses so students feel more comfortable with the work.
Peer feedback can take the form of Zoom breakout rooms, where students present their work and give informal feedback. It can also work as a discussion board post -- students can post their work and other students can give feedback.
Canvas has a peer review function. Peer review features are always kind of hard to work, though! If you’re interested in prolonged and integrated peer review, talk to our Instructional Technology Group.
Resources
Flock, H., & Garcia, H. (2019, November 11). How to Give Your Students Better Feedback With Technology. Retrieved October 22, 2020, from https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-give-your-students-better-feedback-with-technology/