Feedback Fundamentals and Phrases
Time to read: 3 minutes
Good. Great. Wonderful. Needs Improvement. Nice Try. Exemplary.
Those words and phrases convey aptitude, evoke emotion, and are often intended to praise or encourage student efforts. However, they do not provide actionable feedback that students can use to improve or expand their learning. That’s where effective feedback techniques come in.
Effective feedback serves two purposes. It shapes how educators will teach (or reteach) concepts as students progress through the material and provides a vehicle by which students can assess their learning and, in most cases, make changes and grow.
Some of the best constructive feedback does both simultaneously. It serves as positive reinforcement and a constant reminder that there is room to improve. Constructive feedback can go a long way in helping students stay motivated and on task - but we have to be intentional about providing it.
Feedback fundamentals include:
Giving timely and precise feedback regarding a student's work.
Identifying the areas in which the student made an effort and performed well.
Giving specific examples of ways to improve – and, where possible, how those improvement items are tied to a rubric or learning objective(s).
Encouraging the student to ask questions if they need additional clarification or want to discuss the feedback provided.
Most often overlooked: Following up to see if the feedback was implemented by giving students time to reflect and demonstrate their skills in future assignments.
I spend a lot of time and energy grading, and giving each student personalized feedback, so I'm always looking for ways to make the process run more smoothly. One surefire way to do this is by creating several avenues for full-class communication.
The initial section of feedback for each of my student's assignments is the same. I create a summary outlining the value of the assignment and the skills or concepts I’m looking for students to demonstrate. I make sure to explain how those items relate to the assessment criteria and course materials. This brief (3-5 sentence) reminder restates the assignment's goal and how it relates to the course's overall objectives. I then begin offering individualized feedback to each student. As I read through each submission, I frequently start to notice patterns and recurring mistakes.
I keep track of any positive trends or recurring mistakes and create a list of areas of accomplishment and resources to support learning. This list becomes what I refer to as the "Trends and Errors Report," which is naturally devoid of any information that could be used to identify a particular student or assignment submission. I send out an email or post this list of broad generalizations to the entire class in a course announcement.
Then, when providing each student with personalized feedback, I can make reference to that report and, if necessary, point them toward a specific part of the announcement. This not only doubles the impact of the feedback, giving the students and me a better understanding of the most common gaps in learning but also creates more feedback touchpoints while encouraging students to revisit the course content. A feedback double whammy FTW! **
Wait, There’s More!
Download a FREE copy of our Actionable Feedback Phrases that include ten action-oriented phrases you can adapt over and over anytime you sit down to grade assignments.
**Humble-brag: I would be remiss if I failed to mention that the praise and support students receive in these course-wide feedback communications for assignments done well, concepts mastered, and material revisited are routinely mentioned in the end-of-year evaluation as favorite resources for reinforcing student learning and building upon new knowledge throughout the semester. I can’t encourage you enough to try this in your class.