Conversation 5: Pillar Three – Feedback
Chapter 4: Pillar Three – Feedback
In this chapter, Allen notes that high quality feedback accelerates the learning process. In the example provided, Allen describes technology-based examples of feedback providers such as a fit-bit, that is even able to personalize the learning to the wearer’s experience. She recommends creating effective feedback loops to accelerate learning and help students connect at a personal level.
Using the comment tool at the bottom of this post, please discuss the following. Label your answers by question number, for example, Q1, etc.
- The author presents the four characteristics of feedback that make a significant difference for learners. Think of a recent assessment situation in your classroom. Use the four elements to adjust how the assessment can be transitioned to feedback and provide a greater impact for students. What do you predict the result would be given these changes?
- In what ways do you collect and encourage feedback in your classroom? Please share methods and tools and discuss the effectiveness of each based on the four elements in figure 4.1.
- How can we implement feedback loops in a sustainable way in our classrooms next year. What do you expect to result from this change?
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I can see this making a huge impact with students in our interior design calculations. Students would be doing fine on daily assignments, but when applying the knowledge to the creation of a floor plan their grasp on square footage became cloudy. I think having them use something like Socratic would have given them a better idea of which areas they need practice on before jumping into the design phase. I think because Socratic offers them a way to check there understanding without the pressure of a true assessment.
2. I use Socratic the most. It has different games to play to help all learners. They have the option of playing in teams or individually. They can also take practice quizzes and then the actual final assessment. All of these options give specific, immediate, frequent and actionable information to guide students towards their learning goal.
3. In order to implement feedback in a sustainable way we need students to see the value in truly learning verses earning a grade. I believe that providing feedback does encourage them to take initiative to pinpoint areas to work on without being penalized. I have noticed that students are focused so much more on their grade then whether they are actually learning. Feedback gives them guidance on how to help themselves. That is giving them ownership of their learning and can be very encouraging. I believe feedback is a great tool to shift the focus from a number to true desire to understand.
The author presents the four characteristics of feedback that make a significant difference for learners. Think of a recent assessment situation in your classroom. Use the four elements to adjust how the assessment can be transitioned to feedback and provide a greater impact for students. What do you predict the result would be given these changes?
Thinking back to last year, the major assessments that come to mind are Unit tests. There were times that this test wasn’t graded until 3-4 days after students took them, so I think that providing more immediate feedback of grade would have been beneficial for students. Also taking the TEKS that were missed and giving students very specific goals and action steps to better understand what they were missing would help students growth on these tests. I also think that setting up checkpoints from one test to another to provide students with frequent reminders of what they are trying to learn would be beneficial feedback to help students grow.
In what ways do you collect and encourage feedback in your classroom? Please share methods and tools and discuss the effectiveness of each based on the four elements in figure 4.1.
When I think about doing this in our classroom, I think about our Leader In Me program. This program helps students to set goals for themselves and look at all of these elements of feedback in order to obtain those goals. For example, students set goals for their unit tests that are very specific. They must look at what action steps they are going to have to take to reach that goal as well. Once students have set their goals, we have meetings once a week to discuss what they are doing to take action for reaching their goals. This gives students a lot of ownership of their learning.
How can we implement feedback loops in a sustainable way in our classrooms next year. What do you expect to result from this change?
I think using a program like Classflow or Pear Deck would be a beneficial way to implement feedback loops in class this year. I think that this is not only going to increase student scores, but will also increase their engagement and desire for learning. I think many times we expect so much of students but don’t show them how to get there. We need to provide students with a map to success and teach them how to use that map. By providing effective feedback, this gives students a great chance to grow.
Q1 The author presents the four characteristics of feedback that make a significant difference for learners. Think of a recent assessment situation in your classroom. Use the four elements to adjust how the assessment can be transitioned to feedback and provide a greater impact for students. What do you predict the result would be given these changes?
We completed several assessments in 1st grade. Aside from DRA & MAP, I think most teachers naturally build in the 4 characteristics of feedback throughout their instruction. Most of what we do is hands-on and therefore we can provide immediate feedback to students. I remember doing a lesson on time during math. I gave each student a handheld clock that they would use to move the hour and minute hand to show a time. I was modeling at the front of the room with my own clock. Similar to the Your Speed signs that Allen mentioned, my clock provided immediate feedback. If there was a difference, they knew the specifics of what was wrong. I modeled throughout the lesson but also gave each table group a set of cards that had a digital time printed on them. They would work as a group to make the new times on their clocks. During this part of the activity, I shifted from the one providing feedback to students being able to provide feedback to each other. They started asking each other questions about each other’s clocks. There were multiple mini activities built into the entire time lesson that allowed for the 4 characteristics of feedback to occur. I love to use sticky note feedback in my classroom. After this lesson, I could have had students write what they learned personally or provide positive feedback to a peer. Students value feedback from their peers even more so than their teachers sometimes. I think students have an ability to empower each other’s learning through effective feedback. My lesson could have been enhanced with more opportunities for feedback. As I think about writing, the opportunities are endless.
Q2 In what ways do you collect and encourage feedback in your classroom? Please share methods and tools and discuss the effectiveness of each based on the four elements in figure 4.1. Sometimes I will use a Smiley Test – that’s what I call it. If I introduce a new unit on a topic I know might be difficult for some students, I’ll hand out a Smiley Test. It has 3 emoji’s on it and basically students can tell me whether the new content was easy, they were okay with it, or it was hard for them and they need a little help. This is an example of immediate feedback. You can definitely incorporate the 4 elements in writing. Students love to read each other’s writing and write what they liked about it. Some students will even offer ideas on how to expand their writing. I love Kahoot! It is the best way to get a classroom/group assessment in one setting. It is also visual for students as well.
Q3 How can we implement feedback loops in a sustainable way in our classrooms next year? What do you expect to result from this change? I think feedback loops should be embedded in every aspect of our classroom. We must get rid of the typical letter/number grade written on an assignment. I don’t think you see authentic improvement in student performance. Students must receive feedback often in a non-evaluative way from their teacher, peers, and even people outside the classroom. Effective feedback allows students to take control of their learning and target areas for growth. Students can handle this even in the primary grades.
1. The author presents the four characteristics of feedback that make a significant difference for learners. Think of a recent assessment situation in your classroom. Use the four elements to adjust how the assessment can be transitioned to feedback and provide a greater impact for students. What do you predict the result would be given these changes?
Giving students detailed information on their performance makes such a huge difference in terms of their ability to respond to/adjust performance/seek clarification and get more out of their learning—I’ve seen it happen time and again in my classroom, and I know how powerful it can be. What I see as a bit more challenging is taking assessment tools like MAPs (given only 3 times), and using them to give feedback when they lack the frequency characteristic that is necessary for effective feedback.
2. In what ways do you collect and encourage feedback in your classroom? Please share methods and tools and discuss the effectiveness of each based on the four elements in figure 4.1.
The four characteristics—specific, immediate, frequent, actionable. When I think of an “assessment” tool that provides students with feedback—I think of our use of Education Galaxy. The feedback for the objectives students work on meets all four criteria—specific, immediate, frequent, and actionable. One of the things I did (in a somewhat limited way) last year, was work on matching MAPs assessment information (specifically the comprehension assessment info) with the objectives in Ed Galaxy (ie TEKS), and helping students to see areas of specific growth and need, so that they could immediately use their MAPs and Ed Galaxy data to tailor what they were working on and what they were addressing (ie picking specific objectives to attack). I definitely think that made a difference in how impactful student’s time on Ed Galaxy was, as they saw it as a more than just a “game” or something to do, but rather as a chance to excel and show off their growth.
I love using tools like quizziz to generate immediate feedback and to ask questions during the course of instruction—last year, students gave me exit ticket feedback RE the quizziz we had used during the class period (if they liked it, understood it, found it helpful, any misconceptions or clarifications they needed help with), I was able to give them immediate feedback as they worked through the questions, we talked about what and how we could improve performance, the things they didn’t understand, etc. I want to do much more of this next year. And I just installed PearDeck. I can’t wait to learn how to use it.
3. How can we implement feedback loops in a sustainable way in our classrooms next year. What do you expect to result from this change?
I know that feedback is an area in which I can continuously improve—I know how amazing it is, and I know how impactful it can be, it kills me when I (unintentionally) neglect it. Making it more automatic and reflexive is my ultimate goal. I think that remembering a few things can help making feedback loops more sustainable in our classrooms— giving students the opportunity to point out things they don’t understand/ask questions in an anonymous (and/or private way), continually soliciting feedback on ME and my performance (so as to make feedback reflexive for them, and to help them see feedback as constructive and not something to be frightened of), and giving students multiple modes and opportunities for giving feedback (meaning that it may be necessary to experiment with multiple platforms to find the ones most effective for you/your students). What I most hope for in this is that students can see feedback as helpful (rather than something to fear), and as something that is part of continual improvement and learning
Q1 I am thinking back on the last assessments we gave our students before we left for the end of the year. The assessments were MAP and DRA. Now looking back on those assessments I see how they are important for our students as well as us as teachers to see where they are and how they have advanced over the year. I always try to tell my students how they do and where they fell. Reexamining these assessments and seeing how I could implement the four feedback strategies next year, I think will better my students. It will provide them with a blueprint on what they need to do to improve. It will be a specific goal on what they need to work on. It will be immediate so they are still in the time of when it took place. I will give them feedback often so it does not get lost in time. Then lastly it will allow them to work towards it daily. I think using this feedback strategy will allow students to have a better connection to the goal we are trying to have them gain. If they do not have a direction on which way to go then they will never master what they need to have mastered.
Q2 I sort of followed these steps last year when I would give my students feedback on their weekly writings. When I would proof read their writings with them I would give them specific feedback on their mistakes. It was immediate; I would do it by the end of the week. We did writings every week so it was frequent and the lastly it was actionable because they had to go apply it to their final copies. By following this feedback procedure I found that my students were continuously improving on their weekly writings. I additionally made sure to tell them when I saw that they mastered a skill. It made them feel accomplished. Students as well as anyone enjoys to here when they are doing good or what they need to be good. I think this just guides us as teachers to be more meaningful when we do assess our students. It needs to have a purpose behind it to give them a purpose to want to achieve it. Similarly when we teach their needs to be a purpose behind it, therefore we should give more purposeful feedback to our students.
Q3 Next year I hope to do this with their reading levels. I think by giving them more feedback it will provide my students with a constant purpose. It will be individualized for each student so it will be specific. I plan on providing it immediately so the student can recall what and when. Also I will do it frequently will allow them to hold themselves accountable as well. Then lastly actionable, make sure it at a time when they can benefit the most from it. As stated above we all want a purpose and reason for doing something. Rather we take it or leave it we are still able to use it the way we want to. I also think this is good way to interact with our student parents as well. When they ask for feedback on how their child is doing. Therefore I plan on using this strategy for that as well.
Basically, I expect to see a change because people as well as students cannot act upon an action unless they are still in motion of doing the act. For example if I just told my students their reading level a month after they read with me, they would not remember what I was even talking about. Therefore by following the four feedback strategy it will be the best to guide and support my students towards success by constantly guiding their learning. Lastly by giving them ownership of their learning, which is a goal I have as a teacher.