I would send Mike an email regarding his assignment and direct him to some of the practice exercise in the course and encourage him to take some of this exercises prior to taking the assignment.
I would also show Mike some areas in his assignment that he did not do very fell on then refer him to areas in the textbook that would help him to improve on future assignments.
My feedback with Kathy would be geared more towards preparation before taking the test and giving her more one on one help so that she understandds the assignment in greater details. Since she has such a negative view of her assignment performance I would get her more comfortable with the material.
In regard to Mike, the first thing I would do is comment on his strengths to help reinforce positive behavior. Next, I would point out the specific areas he might have overlooked and explain how he can get full credit on the next assignment.
In regard to Kathy, like Mike, I always try to start out with some form of positive feedback to build upon. Next I would restate the assignment criteria and ensure she fully understood the material. In other words, I would try to find out why she did poorly on the assignment.
Mike may not have followed the instructions for the assignment. The instructor should provide a rubric and mention this in the feedback to Mike. The instructor must begin with positive comments before giving constructive criticism. Kathy may also need to better follow the instructions and again the feedback to her should include discussion of the rubric. However, she may understand the rubric better than Mike. The instructor could provide more detailed feedback to Kathy about how to improve her performance.
Scenario 1: Mike turns in a self-evaluation of his performance on an assignment that indicates that he thought he did an excellent job and met all of the criteria in the grading rubric. When you grade Mike's assignment, you see that he has not done as well as he thought he did
Describe how you will communicate with Mike regarding his performance in relationship to how he thought he did.
Without providing the details of your feedback, discuss the ways you could provide actionable feedback to him to help him improve his performance.
Response: I would use the sandwich strategy in this situation. In another words, I would begin by informing Mike what he did well....I would then point out where you could have improved (using the rubric)...and then end my feedback on a positive note.
Scenario 2: Kathy turns in a self-evaluation of her performance on the assignment that indicates that she knows she didn't do a good job on the assignment. When you grade it you find that she accurately evaluated her performance.
How will your communications differ from how you communicated with Mike?
What will be your area of focus to provide actionable feedback to help her improve performance?
Response. My feedback will actually be similar to Mike's feedback. I will again use the sandwich approach....I will focus on the areas where Kathy successfully met the rubric's requirements....I will then identify areas where Kathy can improve...and then end the feedback using a positive tone.
Best, Eric Freeman
On Mike's feedback thank him for his evaluation and indicate areas in which you agree with his comments. Then mention areas where he needs improvement and why.
On Kathy's review indicate that she did an excellent job realizing her progress in the class. Then specifically review the areas in which she needs to improve.
In both cases, ask the students to respond indicating their degree of agreement and thoughts regarding areas which need improvement.
Feedback is very difficult in an online platform in general because you loose the verbal tone of the comments as well as facial expression. I feel it is also difficult to give any feedback that is negative as students at some stage in their education forgot what constructive criticism means "to help you do better" not a putdown.
Mike: I would praise him on what he did do well. I would then make comments more as open ended questions to hopefully have him re-evaluate himself. Why if he thought about it another way the answers may have been better.
Kathy: I would try to find out what made her do poorly, lack of time to study, not fully understanding the material, ect. Again I would praise first the things that she did do well on then encourage her to do better on the next assignment.
I agree that positive reinforcement is such an important part of online learning. I think this is also important in a face to face class. We are part of a world where people need praise to succeed. I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing. But, it seems to be the direction of learning.
My response would be the same in either scenario.... A "compliment sandwich". Discuss the good points of each first, politely critique the "answer" and finish with a compliment for effort etc.
Mahmoud,
Providing the students with praise for accomplishment and additional references is very helpful. The additional courage for Kathy is a good adjustment. Nice work.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Andrew,
Your approach is very good. It provides the student with specific, individualized feedback based on the objective criteria of the assignment. Providing this in a constructive and encouraging manner, as you indicated, will likely motivate the student toward higher forms. Thank you for sharing your insights.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
The only fair way to assess a student is to make clear the criterion for which they are being graded on. In the case with Mike I would make a point to go over each point to make sure he was clear on what was asked, what he did, and what the deficiencies were.
With Kathy, I would ask her what she thinks she did wrong with the assignment. I would then refer back to the rubric and constructively point out what she did incorrectly and correctly. I would ask her what she thinks she could have done to have a more favorable outcome. Lastly, I would inquire to see what I could do as an instructor to help her achieve her goal and to assist her in her learning.
We look forward to talking with you more in this conference through September 1st!
Scenario 1: Mike turns in a self-evaluation of his performance on an assignment that indicates that he thought he did an excellent job and met all of the criteria in the grading rubric. When you grade Mike's assignment, you see that he has not done as well as he thought he did.
Describe how you will communicate with Mike regarding his performance in relationship to how he thought he did.
I will praise what he accomplished to respond to the assignment charges. I restate the assignment charges and point to him the areas that he did not address in his response to the assignment.
I also provide him the missing information along with some references.
Without providing the details of your feedback, discuss the ways you could provide actionable feedback to him to help him improve his performance.
I also provide him the missing information along with some references.
Scenario 2: Kathy turns in a self-evaluation of her performance on the assignment that indicates that she knows she didn't do a good job on the assignment. When you grade it you find that she accurately evaluated her performance.
I will praise her honesty and encourage her to devote more time and efforts to fully address the assignment charges.
How will your communications differ from how you communicated with Mike?
she acknowledge her weaknesses hence she need encouragement and support to complete the assignment based on the assignment charges.
What will be your area of focus to provide actionable feedback to help her improve performance?
I can ask her if I can be of any assistant. I can provide her with reference material to motivate her to work harder on the assignment
Brian,
These are pedagogically sound solutions. Very good. Thanks.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
John,
Yes, rubrics can be very powerful cognitive organizers to assist students in the accomplishment of the learning objectives.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
For both students, I would ask what they were basing there grades on. For Mike, it might be a disconnect or misunderstanding of the assignment's directions. For Kathy, I would want to know why she did poorly, especially if she understood the assignment's criteria.
Mike would be a tricky situation because he thought he did well - I would need to point out where the assignment challenged him and ask for his interpretation.
For Kathy, I would ask how she could improve or what help she needs from me to understand the assignment.
Christopher,
Excellent analysis and resolution. Thank you for the comprehensive explanation. Very good.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
I agree, Amir. A rubric would show the student in each scenario the specific details of the assignment.
Scenario 1:
I would first outline a positive aspect of Mike's performance on the assignment. I would then move forward to discuss items of improvement. I would end by again addressing positive elements of his submission and make it clear that I am always available if he needed any additional clarification.
I find it best to teach by example. Therefore, I would clearly provide him with examples of how to improve in future assignments.
Scenario 2:
In this situation, Kathy already realizes that she has not performed her best on the assignment. Therefore, it is not as necessary to prepare her for her grade as she already expects a realistic score. I would still provide the same feedback format as I did to Mike (i.e. look at a positive aspect of her work, then move forward to discuss items of improvement, then end by again addressing positive elements of his submission and make it clear that I am always available if he needed any additional clarification).
I also would teach by example and provide her with examples and tools she can use in future assignments. If she needs any other assistance, I would also point her in that direction.
In both scenarios, I would provide the grading rubric and make it clear where and why points were deducted.
Austin,
The sandwich approach is one of the "best practices" that has found much success in the online environment. Maintaining this form of engagement with consistency is a corresponding component for student success. Keep up the good work. Thank you for sharing.
Dr. S. David Vaillancourt
Dr. Vaillancourt,
I would use the Sandwich method in providing feedback to both Mike and Kathy. I will emphasis the things they did right and subtly point out omissions with corresponding suggestion of correct answers.
I will provide illustrative examples and refer them to sources for further reading.
Austin
