Feedback Is a Two-Way Street

Last year, I spent a lot of time studying feedback. I was trying to perfect the feedback I gave—what I said in student-teacher conferences and what I wrote on papers. My motives were pure. I wanted to say and write the ideal comments that would cause students to dig back eagerly into their reading and writing. I was concentrating so hard on what I was doing, I forgot to focus on the kids.

As usual, a student reeled me in and refocused my learning. Nate was a junior who sporadically attended my first period class. I knew that if his attendance didn't improve, he would fall so far behind that he might fail. I decided that a little feedback on how his attendance was affecting his grade might motivate him to come to class. So in the electronic grade book, I posted zeros for the assignments Nate hadn't turned in. They showed up as Fs and averaged into the overall points so that Nate could see how his grade was affected.