Providing Feedback
I would go over the rubric with Mike and point out the areas where his weaknesses were. I will go over any areas where there are differences between the way he looked at his assignment and the way I viewed it. I will show him what to look for in future assignments and rubrics so that he will do his best.
I will just point out that she did a great job and show her on the rubric how well she did. I will tell her that there are always ways to improve. I will pick an area where maybe she did not do 100% on and show her how to make that area 100%.
Consider the two scenarios below and describe how you will communicate to each of these learners. Discuss the reasoning behind your feedback decisions.
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.
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?
Patricia,
Good advice on how to support student progress and build confidence in the potential of success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
For Mike, I would start with pointing out the areas in which he did do well (not all of them, but most – always save at least one for the end). I would then go over the areas in which he needs improvement. For this part, I would be sure to bring in specific aspects of the assignment that were not addressed fully and use the rubric to help him see the grading criteria. Using some of his strengths (from what he did well on), I would show him how he can improve for the next assignment. If there are additional resources (maybe in the library or a writing center),I would direct him to those resources. I would end the feedback with something positive to be sure that he feels encouraged and still has confidence in his work.
For Kathy, I would be sure to start with something positive. If she is giving herself a negative evaluation, then she needs some encouragement (even if she really did a bad job). Then I would give her suggestions for improvement on specific areas... Once again, building on her strengths from the assignment. If she has given herself a negative evaluation (and she is correct about it), then there is also a situation that I must address. Did she have trouble understanding the assignment requirements? The content? Is there something personal going on that did not allow her to do her best? Are there additional resources I can offer to help her with some aspect of the assignment? If I know of a personal situation or she did not understand the requirements of the assignment, I may include an offer to redo the assignment – which would not only give her more points in the course, but give her the opportunity to be successful. I always close my feedback by pointing out something positive in the work to be encouraging.
I would go over the rubric with Mike and make sure that he understands what areas he needs to improve and where his weaknesses are. I would make sure that he understands so that he can complete further assignments.
I would make sure Kathy knows how well she has performed and that she has done a good job and to keep up the good work.
