I believe I have already answered this question, but. . .
Feedback must be consistent with the course objectives and the rubric used. The feedback should also be used for scaffolding my learning about what assignment issues cause the biggest problems for future course improvement.
Feedback should be courteous and encouraging, but to the point, and include the good as well as the bad elements of the assignment response.
Feedback should be specific, detailed, and directly related to the assignment, the rubric, and the instructor-provided materials. The feedback should not only specify the errors made, but identify ways to better respond and/or correct what was stated.
Robert and Beth,
It is excellent to encourage or require students to research other views on any topic. We learn a lot from others.
Thanks.
Robert,
Compliments can include minimal things. "Thanks for turning your assignment in on time.". "Your report is the proper length.". "Your project is well organized.". Etc. thanks for asking.
Robert,
You use great words to describe meaningful feedback. Using the sandwich approach with positive feedback first and last with constructive feedback in the middle is helpful. Nice job.
Naomi,
Meaningful feedback is so important to help students improve. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about feedback.
Beth,
I think it is rather easy to find areas in need of improvement, even from your strongest students. More research, examples, and solutions are always a possibility. I encourage my students to research and find different schools of thought on a topic of the assignment and ask them to discuss which school the student supports and why.
Bob
William,
I agree with your sandwich approach in number three, but what do you do if you cannot find two areas of the response to compliment?
Bob
First and foremost, the feedback must be impartial, consistent, and directly related to the rubric and learning objectives.
The feedback must be given in a timely manner, be constructive, offer encouragement, and compliment the good areas of the response--sometimes an area to compliment may be difficult to find, which is why encouragement is so important.
Feedback must be specific to the response, detail areas which need improvement, and provide examples of how to improve the response.
I believe that feedback should be:
1. Detailed and clear so that the student is not confused.
2. It must match the rubrics posted and course objectives so that the student is not blindsided, but knows exactly what to expect.
3. Feedback must be worded carefully and skillfully, pointing out strengths and areas for improvement.
Wendy,
Specific and timely feedback helps the students improve and connect their work to the course learning outcomes. This is the goal. Thanks for your input.
Tina ,
Positive, constructive, and helps the student improve. That's what meaningful feedback is all about. Thanks!
Douglas,
Right on. The feedback should help the students improve. Nice job.
When developing feedback I believe the feedback should be specific to the assignment to tell the student what they did correctly and incorrectly and examples of how to improve, the feedback should be timely and the feedback should be personalized.
1. Provide an overview of what as positive about the assignment and if the overall learning objectives and assignment instructions were met.
2. Provide descriptive feedback on those areas that were deficient and provide a question on might the content been more effectively presented or an example.
3. Provide resources that are available to the student that will aid him or her for future assignments. Provide a positive comment for my closing sentence such as "Overall, very good job on your assigment" if he or she did very well on the assignment or "Overall, good effort on the assignment presented" to acknowledge the effort that the student did exhibit to complete the assignment even if it was not of the best in quality.
1. Is this feedback contributing to the students understanding of what I'm teaching.
2. Does the student receive the feedback in a positive manner.
3. Have I followed up properly to insure the student does get the right information from the material/task.
Rob,
You have used excellent words to describe meaningful feedback. Thanks for your input.
I think the feedback should be:
- Timely: Students are often anxious to know how they did on assignments, and when the corrections/praise are fresh, they are more meaningful. I often announce the grade availability date to students in class.
- Relevant: it should relate to the assignment (i.e. specific details) and the unit concepts.
- Constructive: it's easy to tell them what they did "wrong", but it's important to find something positive as well!
Amy,
Timely feedback that helps the students improve is meaningful. You are right - the generic comments are not beneficial to the students. Thanks.
Eleanor,
Love that you tie the feedback to the learning objectives. It's so important to do that. I include the learning objectives in the rubric itself. Keep up the good work.
1. Provide feedback in a timely manner, especially in an accelerated course. This provides students the motivation and direction to move forward with their learning.
2. Share frequent formative feedback via email and discussion boards. This gives students the confidence they are heading in the right direction.
3. Provide personalized, summative feedback based on the rubric. Simply handing back a paper with generic comments will not help students learn. Show them where they did well and where improvements can be made.
