John,
Yes, your feedback should be meaningful to help the students learn and improve. You are right on target with your comments. The timeliness and specific comments are so important. Thanks!
Dr. Tena B. Crews
The three most important things for ME to remember are: 1) that feedback is meant to help the student LEARN, not to justify a grade! 2) that general comments are GENERALLY not helpful; specific feedback is most effective in helping students improve; 3) one of the most important aspects of feedback is that it be TIMELY!
John Wise, PhD
Heather,
Starting off positive and with praise is a good thing. Then, moving into constructive criticism is great. Students need to know not only what they do wrong, but why it is wrong. Thanks!
The first thing is to give them praise on what they correctly did in the assignment.
Secondly mention the things that aren't correct, what they could change.
Lastly, how they can change it, correct it.
Also always end with a positive motivating remark in the end.
Daniel,
I hope you do all of this feedback through the use of rubrics as well. Giving that encouragement and positive information helps motivate them as well. Thanks!
The feedback that I try to give is
1. what each student did right in relation to the assignment;
2. what each student did wrong (if anything); and,
3. how to correct any deficiencies.
I also try to give encouragement and end on a positive note.
Daniel
Lucille,
Connecting everything to the learning objectives is excellent. This helps the students understand why they are doing what they are doing. Nice job.
I focus on my learning objectives and goals, I focus my responses to relate directly to the learning objectives and goals, and I communicate clearly with the student when I am developing feedback for assignments for my online courses.
Walter,
You bring up good points for us to think about. Setting a positive tone helps begin the process and including constructive criticism so that the students can improve. Thanks for your input.
Dr. Tena Crews
Meaningful feedback requires the following in my opinion:
• Must have a positive tone, and constructive. Inform the students what they did correct, what they did incorrectly, and how they can improve.
• Consistent between students to eliminate confusion.
• Should teach and summaries the concepts covered.
Walter
Craig,
Relating the students back to the objectives and rubric is helpful. We want them to understand why they are doing what they are doing and how it will impact them later in their career. Thanks!
william,
Yes, we need to provide feedback to the students to help them improve. To do that we also have to be positive and fair. Thanks for your input.
When writing feedback for assignments my students submit, I always consider the following items:
1. The rubric of the assignment. This represents the immediate goals the student is trying to achieve. The rubric also provides direct structure for feedback in terms of the assignment.
2. The objectives of the course. I always consider the terminal course objectives of the course and how they relate to a particular project. Strong rubrics always relate to the objectives of the course as well as the particular assignment.
3. The student's overall career. This may seem over the top but in the field I teach in, it's very important to keep a constant scope on the student's entire portfolio and career goals. So, even basic principles and skills can consistently be evaluated and improved.
1) make sure you do not belittle the student...
2) give the student a way to improve on areas that were not up to par
3) Be fair
Vimlarani,
Right on! The main thing to think about with formative feedback is how to adjust your teaching to make the learning process better. Nice job.
I have learned that when incorporated into classroom practice, the formative assessment process provides information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are still happening. The formative assessment process serves as practice for the student and a check for understanding during the learning process for me as instructor. It also guides teachers in making decisions about future instructions. I will use some of these assessment tools in the classroom during the formative assessment process to collect evidence of student learning and for assessing course related knowledge. They can fall in following categories: assessing prior knowledge, recall, and understanding, assessing skill analysis and critical thinking, assessing skills in synthesis and creative thinking, assessing skills in problem solving, assessing skill in application and performance, assessing learner reaction to class activities, assessing learner reaction to teacher and teaching, assessing course related study strategies, etc. I also learned that summative Assessment is the formal testing of what has been learned in order to produce marks or grades which may be used for reports of various types. It is different from Formative Assessment, in which the emphasis is on on-going assessments of different types used to judge how best to help pupils learn further by me as instructor.
Kristina,
Providing the simple examples follows the KISS method. That is very helpful to many students. I like your requirements (5-8 sentences of research facts, etc.) for the postings. This would be helpful to students as well. Thanks!
Dr. Crews,
I have found the three important aspects to providing meaningful feedback are:
1) outline expectations
2) provide simple examples (when necessary)
3) be specific.
Below is an example of the first discussion feedback I provide to many students at one of the universities I adjunct at:
Please make sure future posts meet the grading rubric requirements. Initial post is well developed containing all required information in the discussion details. Initial posts should be 5-8 sentences explaining researched facts, your opinions/experiences/examples and probably solutions to the situation. Also, please make sure each post includes the proper usage of capitalization and punctuation. Since this is the first discussion board (DB) no additional points will be deducted for errors. However, please use the attached grading rubric to help maximize earned points for future DBs. Initial Post Contains Required Information - 13/15, Peer Responses - 5/5, Correct Spelling and Grammar - 5/5, On-time Posts – 5/5
Christi,
Thanks for all of your postings. As we continue to learn from each other, you bring new life to the conversation. Emphasizing professional examples is excellent. Thanks.
Christi,
Thanks for all of your postings. As we continue to learn from each other, you bring new life to the conversation. Emphasizing professional examples is excellent. Thanks.
