Providing Constructive Feedback
I think it's important to reach out. You need to make your presence well known in an online classroom and you can do this by providing customized feedback in the gradebook, in-depth discussion replies to students that further the discussion, and even encouraging emails (without emailing any sensitive or confidential data). Sometimes my students will get 100% on a quiz, and I'll shoot a quick email - "Great job on the Week 3 quiz - your efforts were noticed!!" Something as simply as that has yielded positive comments from students. Of course, within the quiz itself or gradebook, there should be more detailed feedback about ways to improve and areas that were done well.
In addition to using the students name and specifically address points earned/deducted (instead of generic responses), I also try to use the 'sandwich' approach in the feedback. The 'sandwich' approach is to praise something done well, then critique an area (if needed), and end with more praise...
Hello all - I use the sandwich method as well, I have had situations like Matthew mentioned where the student has done a very poor job on the assignment. In this case I typically say something like good start to the week... or you had a good start on the assignment... but like Matthew I have a hard time each week coming up with new things to say that can build encouragement when it's clear the student didn't put much effort into the assignment.
The sandwich approach can truly be beneficial and encouraging to a student. It provides a way to inform a student on areas of improvement, while building student confidence. There are situations where I have found this challenging, especially with very poorly completed assignments. What ideas or suggestions would there be to stay positive in this scenario?
Valerie,
Feedback is an excellent way to communicate both positive and negative aspects of student performance. I have learned that the most effective feedback contains three components: something positive, something negative, and a method for improvement. I also think feedback should be given to allow plenty of time for the student to incorporate changes into subsequent assignments.
The sandwich method is a well known one for online instruction and from my experience, it can be very effective. Something that adult learners need to advance their educational goals is continuous feedback. For example,if an instructor says, "great job on this week's assignment" without providing specific feedback, then it is not going to help motivate a student to keep improving. Although it's nice to be complimented, giving content specific feedback about an assignment is important to monitor and advance student success.
If a student submits an assignment that is horrible, it may be difficult to find something positive to say about it. Using the sandwich method, a teacher could begin by saying, "it's great that you submitted this assignment before the deadline. Let's look at ways to improve it and then elaborate on specific issues." Maybe a student had a personal conflict and could not dedicate the required time to submit an excellent assignment. In those situations, I let the student know that I am willing to work with him or her to allow them time to improve the situation with a re-write of the assignment or extra practice if the student is not sure how to accomplish the assignment successfully.
Giving praise as often as possible is helpful to online learning. We live in a very ungrateful world so when teachers praise students, it is a refreshing change. A number of students have told me that they have had teachers, both onsite and online who were not supportive, meaning they never received any type of praise and it affected their morale and level of engagement in the course. However, praise should be content specific and offer encouragement.
Hi Valerie,
I also use the sandwich method!
You mentioned just letting them know when they do well on quizzes. I do the same thing, but I also send a message that asks if they have questions on their quizzes when they don't do as well. I have found that students won't ask for help, even if they see that low grade, but when I send a quick note asking about questions, they often do respond and we'll spend time going over the questions and answers. I think that initial outreach in feedback makes all the difference between a student feeling bad about their grade and wanting to learn more.
Thanks,
Kate
