By: Dr. Armãndo R. Tolliver | EDUCATOR | March 21, 2017 
How
do we know if learning occurs? Seems like a straightforward question, but the
answer is far from simple. The question needs to be framed in terms of the
learner, the content, the context, and the assessment instrument. Assessment is
an essential element of education, especially in an era characterized by
accountability. Every assessment, regardless of its purpose, rests on three
pillars: a model of how students represent knowledge and develop competence in
the subject domain, tasks, or situations that allow one to observe students'
performance, and an interpretation method (National Research Council, 2001). As
a classroom tool, assessments can help learning if it provides information to
be used as feedback by teachers, and by their students in assessing themselves
and each other, to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are
engaged, and help students and teachers show progress and measure achievement
(Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall, & William, 2003). Large-scale assessments
are driving reform efforts and changing the very nature of education.
Like
other important education concepts, assessment can be defined in many different
ways. It has been viewed as measuring what a student knows, but also as a
process to understand and improve learning. It has been focused on the learning
product, on its process, and also on both of them. It has been named summative
and formative, of learning and for learning, objective and subjective. It has
been associated with grading and evaluation, and often used interchangeably. In
other words, we consider assessment to be essential to learning and teaching,
but what is an assessment, be it homework, class work, a portfolio, project,
quiz, or test, without feedback. Therefore, checking a student's performance and
providing feedback on more than one occasion over an extended period of time,
using different tools and methods, and letting different people participate in
the assessment process, to include teachers, students, and their peers, will
give us a more accurate picture of what students have learned and help transform
a student’s learning.
When
I provide feedback to students, I do my best to ensure that I provide
information as to what students are doing correctly and incorrectly, with an
attempt to provide both an explanation and example as to what is accurate and
inaccurate about their work. These are four reflection questions I used to aid
my approach:
- What
are the student’s strengths?
- What
are the student’s areas for improvement?
- How
does the student’s work compare with that of others?
- How
can the student do better?
I find that the above four
questions are also helpful when providing feedback to parents, guardians, and
counselors concerning the academic progress a student. Obviously, when feedback
is given immediately after a particular assessment, the student responds
positively and remembers the experience about what was being learned in a
confident manner; however, lapse between the assessment and feedback result in
lose of the moment and the student might not connect the feedback with the
action. In many cases, I find that I am pretty good about getting feedback to
students in a timely manner, but there are times where I have fallen short in
my approach. This actually forced me to develop rubrics, engage students in the
feedback process, and find technology tools to help manage systems.
Rubrics
have helped me to provide feedback of the assessment based upon the degree to
which it meets established criteria and the level of quality that was expected
for the assessment, it communicates expectations regarding skills and specific
knowledge. I have found that the rubrics encourage students to think about
their own thinking and possibly about their own criteria for what is perceived
to be good. They can analyze their own work and process to see how it matches
up with the standard explained in the rubric, which gives students experience
in their higher-level thinking processes. Additionally, parents have appreciated
the use of rubrics because they justify why a certain grade was assigned to
their child. Not to mention, they are easy to understand at a quick glance and
provide parents with a digestible, concise, and well-structured feedback on the
assessment. They really love the detailed feedback that the rubrics provide.
In
addition to the rubric, I try to also demonstrate to students what I am looking
for by giving them a model or example of student exemplars. We generally go
over the contrast between an “A” and a “C.” Though our focus in the classroom
is often times content, I make it protocol to also evaluate and provide
feedback on the following criteria:
- Completeness — Addresses each step/component/element required by the assignment with no obvious omissions.
- Timeliness — Completed within specified timeframe.
- Originality — Conforms to the Code of Conduct regarding plagiarism; i.e., the work is not plagiarized and does not violate copyrights held by other entities.
- Critical Thinking — Contains substantive original analysis and interpretation. Solves problems. Uses inductive and/or deductive reasoning to reach conclusions and construct big-picture meaning. Investigates and critically evaluates evidence, defines interrelationships, and presents informed conclusions. Explains procedures, assumptions, and reasoning.
- Synthesis — Applies and/or synthesizes course content, required readings, independent research, and original thought as appropriate.
- Credibility — Soundly supports opinions; assertions and conclusions are well supported with relevant (cited) factual information. Objectively dispels misinterpretations, misunderstandings, and erroneous conclusions. Anticipates and is able to withstand reasonable intellectual challenges.
- Treatment — Approach, voice, vocabulary, terminology, level of detail, and formality of the project are engaging, effective, and appropriate for the defined audience.
- Clarity and Concision — Composition is structured logically, focused, well organized, and flows well. Conveys ideas clearly and concisely.
- Language Conventions — Consistently employs conventional English spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, and paragraph construction.
Throughout
the year, I tried to make it a habit to make quick notes in the comment section
of the student’s electronic running progress report, which were visible to both
students and parents. During mid and post grading periods, I would have
students reflect on the feedback they received to date in areas of class
participation, behavior, improvement, test scores, etc., and hold one-on-one
conferences with each student. The students were very anxious, but looked
forward to having the attention that also allowed them the opportunity to ask
necessary questions. I did this a few different ways. Sometimes, I would
provide students with a series of things that required completion by the close
of a particular timeframe, then meet with individual students while the others
were working. Other times, I would set certain alphabet rotation days for
students to meet with me during a time that was convenient for them (e.g.
lunch, advisory, office hours, conference call). I used Doodle, which worked really great for students to
select the time that worked best for them in advance, avoid conflicting
appointment times, and automatically synced information to the course calendar.
Students knew when it was there turn to meet with me and many brought questions
of their own to the meetings.
There
were also occasions where students were working on project assessments, and I
would conference with groups or individual students on skill as opposed to the
entire assessment. This made it easy to only criticize one skill versus an
entire project being the focus of everything that is wrong. A teacher has the
distinct responsibility to nurture a student’s learning and to provide feedback
in such a manner that the student does not leave the classroom feeling
defeated, rather leave with the feeling they can conquer anything that is
placed in front of them. Therefore, I kept all of the one-on-one meetings
rather optimistic in nature. It is important to note that feedback can be given
verbally, nonverbally, and in written form. I have been told that my eyes
and/or facial expressions tell it all. I am certainly trying to be more acutely
aware of my nonverbal feedback.
With
33 students in every class, providing feedback to all students can be a
challenge, which prompted me to find ways to include students in the process.
This meant educating the students on how to give feedback. When grading papers,
I would model what appropriate feedback looks and sounds like, using the
rubrics with students to provide appropriate feedback. After the first grading
period, I usually assign accountability partners or select student leaders for
teams of students. I would then have either the accountability partner or the
student leader sit in on a meeting with their paired peers to take notes as I
provided verbal feedback. This helped me to provide feedback that was then
followed up between students, adding accountability to the individual and
collective outcomes for these students.
Whenever,
I wanted to open the floor for feedback that involved the whole class, I would
return all assessment tests and assignments to students at the beginning of
class, rather than at the end of class. This allowed students to ask necessary
questions and to hold a relevant discussion that was of benefit to all with
similar questions or ones that they had not considered. This also invited
students to give me feedback with regard as to how I was doing as a teacher,
immediate eye opener. Remember that feedback goes both ways and as teachers it
is wise to never stop improving and honing our skills a teachers.
Suggested Citation
Tolliver, A. R. (2017). Providing Effective
Feedback. [Education Project Online]. Retrieved online
at http://www.educationprojectonline.com/2017/03/providing-effective-feedback.html.
References
Black, P.,
Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., and William, D. (2003). Assessment for learning- putting it into
practice. Maidenhead, U.K.: Open University Press.
National
Research Council. (2001). Knowing what students know: The science and design of
educational assessment. Washington, DC: National Academic Press.
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