It is much easier for me to respond to a student like Kathy than a student like Mike. However, I'll give it a go.
In my feedback to Mike, I would first make a statement about his overall performance - excellent, very good, good, needs some work or needs work. Then, I would make sure that I indicated what he did well.
Then I would focus on those areas where his work fell short of his assessment. My tone is businesslike but firm in these sorts of communications. I try to use neutral terms as much as possible. Something like the following seems to work. While you did well, the areas for improvement are ....
I may provide examples. I finish with a positive statement of some sort -- "Overall, a good paper" for instance.
It seems easier to give good news. There's less of a chance of a negative reaction from the students. There might be any number of reasons for the student's poor self assessment. However if it is lack of confidence, I would try to be as supportive and encouraging as possible. My feedback might be:
"Kathy,
A very good paper. You demonstrate a solid understanding of the material and present your answers in a logical, well structured manner. If you feel a bit shy about evaluating your own performance, may I suggest that you focus on the criteria for assessment and try to be more objective about your own work.
Michael
Hi Ann, we use the same sandwich approach in our feedback. Making sure that learners are able to self-evaluate is important, so they don't turn in assignments that miss the mark. In addition, for learners who know they have done poorly, it is critical to flesh out whether the issue is related to time or misconceptions of the information to better support them. Tina
I use a sandwich-approach for criticism: start with a good point, explain a mistake or what needs work on the most, and end with another good thing about the assignment.
In Mike's case, this would work well - using transitions like "I see your point here. However, this is not clear" or "although it is well organized, these details are vague."
In Kathy's case, I would compliment her good evaluation and find another good element of the assignment.
Since most of my assignments are papers, I always offer a chance for revision, so they can actually apply my feedback.
Archie,
I agree with your scenario. You don't want to discourage Mike. Keeping it in a positive, constructive environment will be better in this scenario. A lot depends on your attitude with the student. If they see you as an encouraging, positive individual, they will accept your comments as positive and helpful. Kathy on the other hand needs some encouragement. I would commend her for what she has done correctly, then I would approach her incorrect items using a coaching technique "have you thought about this" and give her some guidance on where she may find some answers. I believe in keeping it positive and helpful so the student will have a positive learning experience.
Hi Samuel, Mike is exhibiting a false sense of confidence in his ability, so your strategy of explaining his errrors is important. I like your idea about having him reflect. One strategy you could recommend is to reflect on the scoring guides for assignments prior to submitting them to ensure he has met all of the criteria. Tina
The scenarios depict typical students in our classrooms; the confident student and the self aware student.
In talking to each of them, I want to be consistent in providing a positive and motivating conversation.
For Mike, I would start with his successes and commend him for the excellent work in these areas. I would next have him reflect on other aspects of the assignment that could be improved. In doing so, I do not want to specifically, state or explain his errors. I want him, through reflection and our dialog, learn from his mistakes.
In Kathy's situation, I want to commend her for her self awareness and try to discuss strategies to improve her performance. Being self aware, she should be open to positive suggestions. I would then try to incorporate some of these strategies into analyzing her assignment.
Hi Archie, you point out the importance of pointing out the positives, followed by areas that need improvement. In addition, there may be additional issues such as time management or poor academic skills that may be impacting the learner, so providing additional resources to support them can be helpful. Tina
For Mike: I would encourage him by pointing out all of things that were done correctly. I would also show him how he could improve by highlighting his mistakes and giving him feedback with the correct responses. I would encourage him to allow me to review his next assignment before submission so that I could provide additional quidance.
For Kathy: I would start by highlighting the things that were done correctly. I would ask her what factors does she believe caused the results of her assessment. I would make recommendations for improvement and encourage her to contact me when a concept is unclear, or for guidance on her next assignment. I would also ask if there was anything else that I could do to help her to succeed in the course.
Yes, I agree. The issue is more than likely about not getting into the course early enough to cover all of the materials and complete the assignment in a timely manner. Any recommendations you can provide the learner for developing time management skills will help them complete activities in a timely manner. Tina
Tina, perhaps feedback to this learner could suggest time management techniques. If a learner recognizes deficiencies, the learner should also be able to correct the deficiencies if they allow enough time. More specific suggestions might include listing areas for improvement in the assignment, prioritizing the list, and developing an improvement plan.
For example, many learners submit papers with grammar or spelling errors. My observation is that many of these learners submitted their papers at the deadline or later and probably did not devote time to the assignment. Additional time spent with a spelling and grammar checker can help the learner eliminate many errors. However, student's must plan to use the checker and must allow the extra time for this improvement technique.
Chuck
Hi Chuck, one of the issues with learners who have strong self-efficacy is that it can be a double-edge because their confidence in their ability, may keep them from spending the needed time and effort on assignments.
For the learner who knows she is not doing well, you are right about the importance of building the learners self-confidence.
For this learner, are there specific metacognitive strategies that you can recommend to help her improve her planning, monitoring, and evaluation during learning?
Tina
