Take a minute to think about feedback you have given or received in the past three days—professionally or personally. Make a few mental notes about these comments. Were the statements more evaluative or objective? Did they convince you to change something you were doing? Or were you convinced to repeat a behavior or do more of it in the future?
Once, my daughter came home with a completed math assignment, reviewed by her teacher, that really bothered her. At the top of the paper, the teacher wrote the word "Ink." There were no other marks on the paper. As "feedback," this comment left my daughter clueless as to what errors, if any, she had made in her math. The feedback did not inform her algebra learning; it just reminded her to use a pencil.
As educators, we give feedback to students on their work all the time: in the moment, daily, weekly, and at the end of a unit or year. And research about formative assessment tells us that feedback is a foundational practice that makes a difference in student learning. But how can we make sure our guidance truly encourages our students' learning and growth at each interval? The literature includes some practical ideas to help us get there. It tells us that there is a continuum of feedback, which starts at one end with a focus on what's right or wrong. At the other end of the continuum, the type and amount of information provided turns the feedback into instruction. Let's take a look at three different feedback models derived from the literature and the insights we can take away from each one.
Model 1: John Hattie and Helen Timperley (2007) outline three key questions feedback should answer. They explain that feedback should "provide cues or reinforcement to learners." The three questions in their feedback model mirror the questions that frame the formative assessment process.
- Where am I going? ("Feed Up"): The goals or targets are clear and specific and feedback focuses on them.
- How am I going? ("Feed Back"): This feedback references criteria, focusing on what success would look like with a specific task.
- Where to next? ("Feed Forward"): This feedback helps the student develop greater fluency, more self-regulation, deeper understanding, and more clarity about what they know and don't know.
Model 2: Shirley Clarke (2003) talks about "closing the gap" feedback, using the type of feedback that will take the student from where they are to where they need to be. She suggests using three prompts.
- Success: Find the three best places in the assignment where the work aligns with the target or success criteria.
- Improvement: Use a symbol to indicate where the student could improve.
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Model 3: Emily Wray (2016) has created the RISE model for feedback, largely used for peer-to-peer interactions or teacher-to-student feedback. Using Bloom's taxonomy as the basis for a series of tiered prompts, this model provides a structure for feedback that builds to higher levels of demand.
- Reflect: Recall and communicate specific aspects of the learning target or success criteria. Example: "I like how you x because …."
- Inquire: Seek information (clarification/deeper understanding) or provide ideas through questioning. Example: "What might A look like if you considered B perspective?"
- Suggest: Offer ideas for improvement focused on specific aspects of the learning target or success criteria. Example: "You might want to include C from D."
- Elevate: expand the feedback beyond the original scope. Example: "You might consider expanding E in this way so that it could support F."
Consider the key takeaways from these models. What is a potential challenge to trying these in your classroom? What might be a potential solution to this challenge?
As you continue to expand your practice of formative assessment and think about ways to use feedback to truly encourage student learning and growth, I'd like to leave you with two of my personal favorite feedback strategies.
Comment-Only Marking
The teacher provides only comments (no grades) on student work to help students focus on how to improve their learning instead of their rank. The comments are (1) specific to the qualities of the work, (2) designed to promote thinking, and (3) clear (a recipe for action) on how to improve. Research suggests students learn better when teachers give grades as seldom as possible while students are learning, because once a grade appears on the work, students are unlikely to take in any other feedback. Writing effective comments that help students think, however, is not always easy to do. It is a good idea to practice this technique with other teachers to get ideas and feedback.
Met/ Not Yet Met/ I Noticed
This strategy focuses on aspects of quality or progress within the student's work against set criteria. On a rubric or list of criteria, the teacher places a checkmark in either the Met (M) or the Not Yet Met (NY) column based on the student's performance against the criteria, then adds a brief comment in the I Noticed (IN) column that focuses on the work's quality or progress from the last task. Forms or charts may help you deploy this strategy.
Revisit that feedback you reflected on at the beginning of this article. Which of these strategies could have made it more meaningful and focused on learning, and how could you adapt it? Consider these processes as you continue to give regular feedback, and I'm convinced you'll see more motivated and engaged learners in your classroom.